How Sports Sponsorship Exploded in India

European betting companies are making crores from football. India could do the same with cricket.

Ten years ago, sports sponsorship in India meant putting your company name on a cricket team's jersey and hoping for the best. Today, brands are spending thousands of crores just to get noticed during cricket matches.

IPL sponsorship deals have grown like crazy. Vivo was paying Rs 440 crores every year just for IPL title rights. Dream11 is now paying Rs 222 crores annually. One IPL match reaches 400 million people – that's more eyeballs than any TV channel gets in months.

Indian Sports Viewership Growth

Football also became big business once ISL started. Hero MotoCorp, Jio, Mastercard – everyone wants their logo on football jerseys because urban youth watch more football now. Even kabaddi turned into proper business when Star Sports created Pro Kabaddi League.

European Football Shows the Real Money

Almost every Premier League team has a betting company or casino as their main sponsor. Manchester United gets $58 million yearly from TeamViewer. Real Madrid earns $70 million from Emirates.

West Ham, Everton, Crystal Palace, Leeds United – gambling brands are everywhere. These companies pay huge money because sports fans and betting customers are basically the same people.

"Betting partnerships bring serious money to sports teams," said Anand Sharma from SevenJackpots.

Why This Matters for Indian Cricket

Cricket fans in India do exactly the same thing. They predict match results, debate team selections, analyze performance – often through fantasy sports apps due to strict gambling laws.

Kerala state lottery makes Rs 8,000 crores yearly. If they could sponsor IPL teams directly, the impact could be enormous.

Current sponsors are mainly consumer brands like Jio and Paytm. Their strategies work, but the space is crowded and costly.

The Potential Path Forward

Europe shows that when gambling is regulated properly, it creates real businesses that fund sports. Indian cricket could benefit from similar transparency and regulation.

The audience is ready. Fans already engage in prediction games and fantasy leagues. The question is whether India wants this money to stay local or continue flowing abroad.

India could open this door slowly — starting with lottery sponsorships, allowing regulated online gaming partnerships, and developing controlled systems that benefit Indian sports.