With the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship underway at Alexandra Palace in London, top-ranked players such as teen sensation Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Michael van Gerwen are vying for the bumper £1,000,000 winners’ prize and the Sid Waddell trophy, but they will have plenty of competition.
The game of darts has never had it so good.
This year at Ally Pally, as the London venue is colloquially known, a record-breaking £5million prize pot is on offer, including the winners’ cheque.
Other incentives include a £60,000 spot prize for any player to make a nine-dart finish, while the same amount will be won by a lucky fan in attendance, with a matched amount being donated to Prostate Cancer UK.
The charity has received more than £2 million from Paddy Power over the last two editions of the biggest show in darts.
@paddypower will remain title sponsor of the World Darts Championship until 2031!
Their game-changing charity campaigns have already raised over £2m for @ProstateUK so far.
Next stop: Ally Pally, Dec 11
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 1, 2025
Darts and betting is a partnership that works, with mutual benefit
The healthy position enjoyed by darts comes thanks to its partners and backers, including Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Flutter Entertainment’s Paddy Power, the title sponsor of the PDC World Darts Championship.
The organization’s chief executive has lauded the relationship that professional darts enjoys with the betting industry, and he has stated that it will not change.
Matt Porter was speaking to the SportsPro Podcast when he detailed how the company currently has a partner network that is more diverse and expansive than ever before, going way beyond betting.
However, he also stated that betting firms are “queuing up” to get on board with the PDC.
It’s a partnership that works, with mutual benefits, and the synergy is clear to see.
Darts is relentless. The ‘arrows’ hit the board, and the sums are added up. The players instantly assess their options, quickly identifying what the next best option is to get the win.
Then, in the Alexandra Palace setting, the stakes and the sense of occasion are heightened.
With every decent throw, the crowd roars and demands more willing on the players until the game is won.
As part of THE EVEN BIGGER 180, we are once again handing out £180,000 when a 9 darter lands during the World Darts Championship
That’s:
Throwback to @DamonHeta180 nailing… pic.twitter.com/wz31jnXBRO
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) December 10, 2025
Darts naturally lend themselves to various betting markets and patterns, thanks to their speed of play and simple concept.
The bottom line is that the commercial relationship is a positive, productive one, as is evidenced by the portfolio of sponsors on the darts circuit.
Various betting brands, BetMGM, Betfred, Boylesports, BetVictor, Ladbrokes, Mr Vegas, and StarGames, are current partners of PDC events.
That is in addition to Paddy Power, the title sponsor of the World Championship tournament, and both parties have recently extended that agreement through to 2031.
Long-established relationship between darts and betting
Paddy Power took over the mantle from the fallen online car retail platform Cazoo in 2024, with the relationship to run for at least an eighth year.
PDC CEO Matt Porter said of the fresh deal: “We are delighted to extend this partnership through to 2031 and look forward to working together to continue growing the event, supporting the players, and using the global platform of darts to raise vital funds and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK.”
Ladbrokes was the title sponsor of the biggest event in darts from 2003 to 2014, then William Hill had the rights from 2015 to 2022.
The link between darts and gambling is well-established and very visible.
Porter also spoke of the growing partner pool, as well as the reality of the ongoing relationship with the gambling industry, which dominates sponsorship.
“We’ve got a wide range of partners (including) a hotel partner, a tyre partner, a financial services partner, there’s half a dozen or so (partners) you will see on the set when you watch our events,” he said.
“We’ve got a limited amount of inventory for that. So now our commercial team is being creative and putting together packages that are either digital, activation only, or just different from the standard, traditional branding model.”
Porter continued, “But you have to look at it commercially. The product works for betting companies and betting companies are queuing up for it, so we have to service the event first and foremost.”
Just like in soccer, betting on darts is part of the experience for many fans and spectators, but there is growing concern about the exposure to gambling in sports and how this impacts vulnerable demographics.
Counterproductive for darts and gambling
In the Premier League in England, a voluntary ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors will take effect for the start of the 2026/27 season.
This is a form of caution and self-policing that is not likely to be repeated in darts, according to Porter.
He does not want darts to be limited or too reliant on sponsorship from the gambling industry, but under his watch, the organization is not going to limit such agreements or reduce exposure for the betting brands that adorn the advertising space around the big tournaments.
“I think it’s an ongoing evolution,” said Porter.
“We’re certainly not one of those sports that are going to come out and say, ‘We don’t want to have betting partners anymore’.
“That’s just not going to be our model, it would be counterproductive for both us and for them.”
Sportsbook data has indicated the number of bets placed on darts has increased by 37% since 2018, while specific bets on the flagship PDC World Championship have spiked by a massive 92%.
The information from betting giant Entain also showed that total stakes have risen by 59%, as part of darts’ soaring appeal, going from strength to strength.
Image credit: PDC Darts
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