Football fans in Scotland who like to combine their love of the game with their love of a bet have probably had the best news since the SNP results in the general election, as top bookmakers Ladbrokes announce a new sponsorship deal with SPFL from the start of next season.
In what is the most lucrative deal of its kind in the history of Scottish football, the top leagues in Scotland will be known as the Ladbrokes Premiership, Ladbrokes Championship, Ladbrokes League 1 and Ladbrokes League 2, in a two-year deal which includes rights across all four leagues and 42 clubs.
The high profile sponsorship agreement between Ladbrokes and the SPFL just goes to show how far Scottish football has come as a brand, since Rangers were forced to drop out of the Scottish Premier League, the SPL Title stopped being a two horse race and competition for it suddenly got more interesting.
In a recent statement to the press SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Ladbrokes to the SPFL’s growing family of key sponsors and partners and look forward to working with them from season 2015/16 at this truly exciting time for Scottish football.
“This announcement is the result of significant investment of energy and effort and further strengthens our optimism about the future health of the game in Scotland.
As a worldwide recognised brand and leader in the betting and gaming industry, Ladbrokes has recently had successful partnerships with the Rugby Football League as well as high quality horse racing events including the St Leger Festival at Doncaster and World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Jim Mullen, CEO of Ladbrokes also went on to say: “We love football so we are delighted to be working with the SPFL on one of the best opportunities in British sport.
“This partnership will help to propel Ladbrokes and the SPFL to new heights and will put us at the heart of Scottish football throughout the year. Getting people engaged with great sport and making sure they share our passion is at the very core of everything we are about.
Ladbrokes will also be using their unique insight to good advantage as they plan to run a host of activations through the different rights of its SPFL title partnership.
You can now bet on the SPFL using the new Ladbrokes Grid card and mobile app.