You’ve probably heard of Bitcoin. Maybe Ethereum and Dogecoin too. But there are actually hundreds of different cryptocurrencies. And they’re infiltrating every area of our day to day lives. They’re also making waves in football too. Here’s how:
Football Betting
Consumers have increasingly more flexibility over how they bet. Apps like the Betpanda crypto casino app let bettors spend Crypto. Critics argue this is too difficult to regulate but fans say it gives them more flexibility and payment options.
The Sponsorship Deals
Crypto firms have spent a record £130 on Premier League sponsorship deals for this current 2024/25 season.
This is good news for revenue from Premier League clubs, many of whom have historically secured big sponsorship deals from gambling firms but now find regulation in that sector a little limiting.
Club Crypto Currencies
Many clubs across Europe (including in the Premier League) have made “Crypto tokens” available to fans. These are essentially club specific crypto currencies which are trades (and whose value falls and rises).
Ticket Sales and Gameday Food/Merch Sales
As early as 2022, Oxford City started letting people buy match tickets using crypto. Fans can even use crypto to pay for food and drink at the game.
It’s an incredibly flexible way to let fans buy and, of course, enhancing the the number of payment methods available to fans is something clubs hope will increase revenues.
Other clubs have followed suit too.
What will the future bring?
With crypto going absolutely nowhere, we can probably expect to see more sponsorship from crypto firms.
There’s potential regulation for crypto on the cards in the UK so things could become more complex. But on the flip side, the regulation may well mean some of the restrictions that currently often apply to crypto companies sponsoring clubs (like paying for big deals up front instead of over time) may be relaxed.
Across every sector it is probably reasonable to expect that crypto will become more readily accepted as a payment method and we don’t expect that football clubs will be any different. So maybe next time you take in a Premier League game, you’ll be buying your ticket with crypto and even using crypto to pay for your Bovril and pie in the stands that day.
