|
|
|
|
|
Online Casinos take over
Professional Sports Sponsorship |
|
|
|
|
Its not news to anyone
who gambles that online gambling and in particular, online casinos, have
blossomed over the last two decades. But that fact has recently been brought to
every sports fans attention by the people who sponsor their sport or team. If
you watch football in the UK where 60% of the teams in the top two leagues are
sponsored by gambling companies, with a massive 17 out of 24 in the
championship, you can't fail to have noticed. Added to that, three of the
EFL divisions are sponsored by
Sky bet with their name all over the coverage however you watch it or even
listen to it.
Many of these sponsors are new to the public and it can be
quite confusing as to what some of them represent, especially as many now have
names that don't tell you anything relatable to gambling. For the likes of
Huddesfield Town who have OPE, QPR with Royal Panda and particularly Bristol
City who are sponsored by Dunder, it is not clear what they are all about. So
if you are inclined to find out if your sponsor is one of the
best online casinos
you're probably best of checking an online casinos review website to compare
the deals on offer.
It is not just football that is reaping rewards from
gambling advertising. Pretty much all sports in Australia rely on a direct link
to online gambling which is not a surprise as Australians gamble more per head
of population than any other nation on the planet.
Of course the big
target for gambling marketing money is the USA. Until recently online gambling
was nearly completely illegal across the 50 states with the exception on some
inter-state websites which did not take a lot of action. But now there is a
gradual repeal of anti-gambling laws in a state-by-state rollout after the
Supreme Court took down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of
1992 which restricted legal sports betting to only Nevada. That ruling earlier
this year has meant MGN Resorts has become the first official gaming sponsor of
a sport after signing up to be the
official gaming partner of the NBA and WNBA. Many other sports
are now rubing their hands in expectation of a wall of money coming their
way.
MKTG Canada President and CEO Brian Cooper said, This will be
a tsunami of money for teams and TV rights holders.
Recently, Sean
Bratches, the marketing director of Liberty Media's new acquisition, the
Formula One World Championship said they want to enhance fan engagement through
an improved offering and he was referring to the development of in-play betting
markets during Grand Prix. This announcement comes immediately after their new
deal with Sportradar who buy up the rights to sports data and sell it on to
bookmakers. But the cost of buying space in the F1 marketing world is so
expensive it is likely that the real bookmakers target is the F1 fans who can
be persuaded to bet on other sports.
Of course there are many opposed to
gambling sponsorship of sports. In 2017 the English FA cut its ties with
Ladbrokes after realsiing it didn't any make sense when they themselves had
banned all players from betting on any football match anywhere in the world
whilst they were still involved in football. Furthermore the FA has gone to say
it will ban any new owner of Wembley Stadium from using gambling sponsors which
no doubt has decreased the value of the stadium to Shahid Khan, owner of Fulham
FC and NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars. His offer is still thought to be worth
£900m.
So there is a battleground set for a war between gambling
money and those looking to halt the spread of gambling for many reasons, not
least the protection of vulnerable people that the governemnt gave up on long
ago. This is going to rumble on for decades to come. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|