Vietnam gambling sites NET88 and DEBET have inked deals with two English premier league clubs to sponsor their shirts next season. This was reportedly arranged through a British freelance PR consultant.
Gambling in Vietnam is illegal but is still rampant. There have been some attempts to legalise the practice, particularly sports betting, with guidelines for a pilot program legislated back in 2017, but no business has as yet taken up the opportunity. This is in large part due to restrictive regulations that limit the size of a bet to VND 1 million or about US$42 and to just a handful of sports. A minimum capital contribution of VND 1 trillion or US$42 million is also required.
It’s in this context that illegal sports betting sites like NET88 and DEBET have been able to flourish to the extent that they can now apparently afford to sponsor Premier League soccer teams. For some perspective, sports marketing agency, Sports Quake, says that front of shirt sponsorship in the Premier League can cost from US$50 to US$70 million for the most well known teams and between US$5 and US$15 million for lower tier teams.