The Premier League have denied Chelsea permission to pursue a front-of-shirt sponsorship with Paramount+, amid fan discontent about an incoming deal with online casino Stake.
Chelsea were left surprised after the league blocked a lucrative deal with the American streaming service due to concerns about upsetting current TV rights holders.
It was deemed against the league’s rules and Chelsea are now in advanced talks to sign a one-year deal with Stake.com for the upcoming campaign.
After also reportedly seeing deals with both insurance firm Allianz and a cryptocurrency partner also collapse in the eleventh hour, the deal with Stake is expected to be completed.
But it is not without controversy given a league-wide ban of such gambling sponsorships will come in from the end of the 2025-26 season.
Chelsea’s late decision to pick a betting partner has also alienated many supporters. Some have accused the club of making a “total mockery” of the work done on gambling addiction by the club’s charitable foundation.
A survey by the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) revealed 77 per cent of 3,297 fans polled either disagree or strongly disagree with the decision to pick Stake.
They believe that signing up the estimated £40million partner will ‘eradicate any goodwill’ earned by the new Boehly-Clearlake owners through their ambitious charity work so far.
CST have urged the club’s board to open dialogue over the decision, writing in a statement on Sunday: “It is public knowledge that the sponsorship with Three was due to expire this summer.
“The CST is disheartened and unsure as to why it has taken until June to reportedly establish this new sponsor? An online casino and betting company as the primary shirt sponsor is not in line with the commitment of growing Chelsea FC as a “world class” organisation.
“It is within the public domain that Stake’s most notable product is ‘online slots’, and it should be noted that online slots have an addition or ‘at-risk’ rate of 45 per cent.
“We understand Chelsea’s desire to maximise revenue streams across the whole club. Whilst we accept that it will happen, it must not take place at the expense of the club’s values.”
