Forest agree shirt sponsorship deal with Kaiyun Sports (2024)

Nottingham Forest have agreed a two-year sponsorship deal with Kaiyun Sports.

Steve Cooper’s side will have Kaiyun ’s logo on the front of their shirts for the first time when they face Burnley in the second round of the Carabao Cup this evening (Wednesday).

Kaiyun has partnerships with other clubs across Europe, including Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Crystal Palace.

It is the first front-of-shirt sponsorship deal that Forest have agreed since promotion to the Premier League. Last season, they had an agreement with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which saw them have the charity’s logo on their kit from December having failed to find a sponsor immediately following their promotion.

Some will have concerns about them now reaching an agreement with a company that promotes gambling in Asia. The Kaiyun Sports ‘sportsbook and casino’ UK website is labelled as still being under construction.

Forest’s announcement of the new deal does not mention that Kaiyun’s core business is gambling.

A Forest spokesperson said: “We look forward to working closely with Kaiyun Sports on a number of exciting activations and initiatives to engage with new and existing audiences in Asia and across the world.

“Kaiyun Sports has a reputation for redefining the fan experience for global audiences of the Premier League and other dominant European leagues.”

So, what is Kaiyun Sports?

Analysis by investigations writer Joey D’Urso

Forest’s press release describes Kaiyun as a “leading digital sports platform” but fails to mention the words “betting” or “gambling”.

In the UK, however, Kaiyun does not have a functioning website, which it says is “currently being built and will be live very soon to provide UK players with a brand new Sportsbook and Casino”.

Kaiyun is targeting people in China, as evidenced by the fact that the logo and some of the writing on billboards around the City Ground will be in Chinese Mandarin.

There is nothing wrong with companies using Premier League clubs to sell to consumers around the world but gambling firms are strictly illegal in China, despite betting being very popular there.

A loophole called the “white-label” system enables foreign gambling firms such as Kaiyun to access the UK market via a “white-label” agreement with another firm. Here is it TGP Europe based in the Isle of Man, which has deals with lots of other Premier League sponsors.

Despite the Premier League introducing a voluntary end on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships from 2026, many teams still have “white-label” sponsors including Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Burnley.