itstargetnews
At the start of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace in London, top-ranked players such as teen sensation Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Michael van Gerwen are competing for the bumper £1,000,000 winners’ prize and the Sid Waddell trophy, but they have a lot of competition.
The game of darts has never been this good.
This year at Ally Pally, as the London venue is colloquially known, a record-breaking £5million prize pot is on offer, including a winners’ cheque.
Other incentives include a £60,000 prize spot for any player to make a nine dart finish, while the same amount will be won by one lucky fan in attendance, with a matching amount donated to Prostate Cancer UK.
The charity has received more than £2 million from Paddy Power in the past two editions of darts’ biggest show.
@paddypower will remain the title holder of the World Darts Championship until 2031!
Their game-changing charity campaigns have already raised over £2m for @ProstateUK until today.
Next stop: Ally Pally, Dec 11
Jan 3. pic.twitter.com/xGtawDPw4R
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 1, 2025
Darts and betting are a partnership that works, with mutual benefits
The healthy position that darts enjoys thanks to its partners and supporters, including Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Paddy Power of Flutter Entertainment, the title sponsor of the PDC World Darts Championship.
The organisation’s chief executive praised the relationship that professional darts enjoys with the betting industry, and he said it would not change.
Matt Porter spoke to the SportsPro Podcast when he detailed how the company now has an affiliate network that is more diverse and more extensive than ever, beyond just betting.
However, he also stated that betting companies are “queuing up” to get on board the PDC.
It is a partnership that works, with mutual benefit, and the synergy is clearly visible.
Darts are relentless. The ‘arrows’ hit the board, and the sums are added up. Players then review their options, quickly figuring out what the next best option is to get the win.
Then, in the setting of Alexandra Palace, the stakes and the sense of occasion were raised.
With every decent throw, the crowd roared and demanded more from the players until the game was won.
THE 9 DART BONUS IS BACK!
As part of THE EVEN BIGGER 180, we once again gave away £180,000 when 9 darters landed during the World Darts Championship
this is:
£60k to @ProstateUK
Throwback to @DamonHeta180 crucifixion… pic.twitter.com/wz31jnXBRO
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) December 10, 2025
Darts lend themselves naturally to different markets and betting patterns, thanks to their speed of play and simple concept.
The point is that the commercial relationship is a positive, productive one, as evidenced by the portfolio of sponsors in the darts circuit.
Various betting brands, BetMGM, Betfred, Boylesports, BetVictor, Ladbrokes, Mr Vegas, and StarGames, are now partners in PDC events.
That’s in addition to Paddy Power, the sponsor of the World Championship tournament title, and both parties have recently extended that agreement until 2031.
There is a long established relationship between darts and betting
Paddy Power is taking over the mantle from defunct online car retail platform Cazoo in 2024, with a relationship that will run for at least eight years.
PDC CEO Matt Porter said of the new deal: “We are delighted to continue this partnership until 2031 and look forward to working together to continue to grow the event, support the players, and use the global platform of darts to raise vital funds and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK.”
Ladbrokes was the title sponsor of the biggest darts event from 2003 to 2014, then William Hill had the rights from 2015 to 2022.
The link between darts and gambling is strong and very visible.
Porter also spoke of the growing partner pool, as well as the fact of ongoing ties to the gambling industry, which dominates sponsorship.
“We have a wide range of partners (including) hotel partners, tire partners, financial services partners, there are half a dozen or so (partners) that you see on set when you watch our events,” he said.
“We have a limited amount of inventory for that. So now our commercial team is creating and putting together packages that are digital, activation only, or just different from the usual, traditional branding model.”
Porter continued, “But you have to look at it commercially. The product works for the betting companies and the betting companies line up for it, so we have to service the event first and foremost.”
Like soccer, betting on darts is a part of the experience for many fans and spectators, but there is growing concern about the exposure to gambling in sports and how it affects vulnerable demographics.
Counterproductive for darts and gambling
In England’s Premier League, a voluntary ban on gambling sponsors on the front of the shirt will come into effect from the start of the 2026/27 season.
It’s a form of caution and self-control that is unlikely to be replicated in darts, according to Porter.
He does not want darts to be limited or overly dependent on sponsorship from the gambling industry, but under his watch, the organization will not limit such agreements or reduce the exposure of betting brands that decorate the advertising space around major tournaments.
“I think it’s an ongoing evolution,” Porter said.
“We’re never one of those sports that come out and say, ‘We don’t want to have betting partners anymore’.”
“That’s just not our model, it’s going to be counterproductive for us and for them.”
Sportsbook data shows that the number of bets placed on darts has increased by 37% since 2018, while fixed bets on the flagship PDC World Championship have increased by a whopping 92%.
Information from betting giant Entain also shows that overall stakes have increased by 59%, as part of darts’ increasing appeal, from strength to strength.
Image credit: PDC Darts
The post The PDC Darts boss praised the integral partnership with gambling companies first appeared in ReadWrite.
