More and more football clubs are beginning to wear uniforms featuring gambling company brands. To the average viewer, this appears to involve little beyond random sponsorship and backing. However, there’s actually a good reason why gaming companies and football teams are becoming increasingly linked.
This article covers all the essentials of the relationship between online gaming brands and football teams globally.
Why Are Gambling Companies Sponsoring Football Clubs
According to Statista, the ad spend for online gambling in the United States alone was over one billion dollars last year. This perfectly portrays how much value gaming companies place on adequate marketing reach. However, the pertinent question is why they are doing this. The reason is simple — better exposure.
The success of any business is dependent on its visibility and reach. The more popular the company, the better its chances of increasing its user base. This fact remains true even where casino operators are concerned. This is precisely why they tend to invest a lot in marketing and sponsorship campaigns.
Why Football?
Football is one of the most popular sports globally, with a fan base of billions of people. Latest figures show that more than 1.5 billion people follow the English Premier League. For gambling companies, sponsoring an EPL club equals having their brands in the faces of over one billion viewers for months.
This, in turn, translates into better brand recognition and higher conversions. It’s also important to mention that team sponsorship can also be used to promote activities like sweepstakes and loyalty programs.
According to Stakers, casino brands licensed in Australia are increasingly eager to promote their services via such collaborations. As the sector grows, new online casinos tend to explore partnerships with sports teams beyond the conventional European leagues.
How Does It Work?
The basic structure of a sponsorship deal between casinos and teams is pretty straightforward. The company pays the team to have its logo displayed on the kit, stadium advertising boards, and other affiliated channels.
However, the particular monetary value involved depends on the profile of the club in question. Simply put, the bigger the team, the bigger the financial remuneration involved in the deal. For example, Everton reportedly gets paid $12.55 million per year from its partnership with Stake.
Some other notable examples of partnerships with football clubs include the following:
- LeoVegas Group & Inter Milano FC
- 678.com & AC Roma
- BK8 & Aston Villa
- Beltway & West Ham
- Winamax & VfB Stuttgart
Impact Of Partnerships
The partnership between entertainment brands and sports has had several significant impacts on the sports industry as a whole. Some of these include the following:
- Increased Acceptance: High-profile clubs and players entering into deals with casino brands have done a lot to reduce the stigma placed on the activity. Thanks to this, the industry’s growth projection has been significantly improved. This has, in turn, resulted in the birth and registration of even more online casinos.
- Competition: With online gaming becoming increasingly common, existing pokies website have been forced to up their offerings. For example, examining the compilation of all-new pokie titles shows how top casinos are becoming more innovative in providing the perfect entertainment experience.
- Responsible Gambling Measures: It is also important to point out that there has been an increase in the clamor for responsible gaming measures for online casinos. This has led to the mandatory inclusion of features like financial limits, strict age verification processes, and time-out sessions
