Sporting Charleroi has just announced a strategic partnership with Napoleon Score, which will become the club’s main sponsor from the 2025/2026 season. This alliance once again demonstrates how gambling operators are adapting to new advertising restrictions.
Sporting Charleroi has unveiled a major partnership with Napoleon Score, which will take over as the club’s main sponsor as of July 1, 2025. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for the Zebras, as Belgium’s regulatory landscape rapidly evolves to tighten controls on gambling-related advertising.
Behind this new name is Napoleon Games, one of the country’s leading gaming operators. Through this sponsorship, the group maintains its visibility in professional football while complying with new legal requirements.
A new name on Charleroi’s jerseys
Starting with the 2025/2026 season, Napoleon Score, an app specializing in live sports scores, will be featured on all official kits worn by Sporting Charleroi’s professional squad.
Already well-known for its speed and reliability, the platform will now serve as the sports-facing brand of the Napoleon group. For the club, the deal reflects its long-term ambitions.
In an official statement, club CEO Mehdi Bayat declared:
“We are pleased to welcome Napoleon Score into the Zebra family. Partnering with a brand of this scale reflects the ambitions our club holds for the future. This collaboration marks the beginning of a new adventure, one we are approaching with great enthusiasm.”
Both parties also emphasized their shared commitment to boosting the Charleroi region’s appeal by supporting local sports and strengthening the club’s national presence — while offering unique experiences to its loyal fanbase.
Napoleon Score: a legal workaround?
Although this partnership may seem standard at first glance, it is in fact part of a well-calculated legal strategy. Since July 1, 2023, Belgium has significantly tightened its gambling advertising laws. Operators can no longer appear on jerseys, in stadiums, or within sponsored sports content.
For Napoleon Games, the parent company of Napoleon Score, it is crucial to maintain a presence in the sports world without breaching regulations. The solution? Launch a dedicated brand with no explicit link to gambling, but which remains under the same corporate umbrella.
Napoleon Score offers neither sports betting nor games of chance. It is a neutral sports information app, fully compliant with Belgian law, yet backed by the same teams and capital as the gaming operator. This tactical rebranding allows the brand to remain visible on the field, while strictly adhering to the guidelines set by the Belgian Gaming Commission.
Not alone in this strategy
Napoleon Games is far from the only operator using this method to sidestep the advertising ban. Several other companies have already followed suit:
- PepperMill Casino launched PepperMill & Friends, a social initiative supporting meaningful community and individual projects, such as the Kinderkankerfonds, which helps children with cancer and their families.
- Circus introduced Circus Daily, a sports media outlet sharing football news and betting predictions.
- BetFirst created Antwerp First, a social project supporting Antwerp residents across four pillars: education, health, inclusion, and sustainability.
What does the Gaming Commission say?
The Belgian Gaming Commission has made its position clear regarding the use of sub-brands for sports sponsorships:
It will not initiate sanctions if a sub-brand (such as a TV channel, website, or app) appears on sports jerseys, provided that these sub-brands contain no reference to gambling, betting, or any platform facilitating such activities.