Why More and More Casinos are Sponsoring Football Teams

Back in 2005, a relatively unknown casino company from Austria called Bwin struck a deal to sponsor Portugal’s first-tier football league. Two years later, the bookmaker signed a contract to sponsor Spanish football giants Real Madrid.

Within a few years, everyone was talking about the betting company. Over time, the brand was reporting record gross earnings. It also spread its reach worldwide and inspired a lot more casinos to sponsor football teams. But how exactly do gambling companies benefit from partnering with sports organizations?

It Creates Brand Awareness

Little was known about Bwin before it entered into sponsorships. It probably would still be an unknown company to date. But by partnering with the Portuguese League and Real Madrid, Bwin got a platform to promote its brand worldwide.

Most casinos that sponsor EPL teams also started as small gambling platforms. Bet365 started in Stock City, but it’s currently one of the most successful gambling brands in the world. 1XBet, which has a partnership with Tottenham, came out of the blues and is gaining popularity fast through Europe, Africa and South America.

Of course, casinos pay millions of pounds to have their logos published jerseys. But they benefit from knowing millions of football fans can view their logos and names and get interested in their services.

It Stimulates Excitement

Studies show football fans generally love their clubs’ sponsors. That’s good news for casinos. If millions of people like your brand’s association with a team they love, it’s easier to convince them to try out your blackjack, poker or sports betting services.

Before they even love brands, sports fans also love their teams. They get excited at the thought of watching their favourite players score goals. They love to watch their teams play and get emotional when they lose.

The most successful sponsors involve fans and clubs in their branding efforts. They find ways to connect with fans—to make them feel excited about their products as much as they are thrilled by their favourite football teams.

It Boosts Sales

What’s more important than creating brand awareness? Sales: the number one reason casinos are competing to sponsor the biggest football teams in Europe. Sponsorships boost sales in numerous ways.

For starters, teams have agreements to promote their sponsors’ betting odds on their social media accounts. Arsenal, for example, used to publish the odds provided by their digital betting partner Sportspesa for some time.

Some teams also publish links to their sponsoring casinos’ websites on both social networks and their official websites. They mostly do this when there’s also a promotion like a slots bonus or a poker competition.

It Allows Casinos to Share their Stories

The advertising industry changes constantly. Presently, it’s more competitive than ever. And for casinos, they have to deal with anti-gambling campaigners. Sponsoring football teams allows betting companies to tell their stories and convince people why they should use their services.

Of course, casinos have different ways of sharing their stories. Some feature famous footballers playing poker on their platforms. Others make documentaries to showcase players they have nurtured financially, paying for their education and other ways.

Nonetheless, football provides casinos with numerous ways to show the world why they stand out from their competitors. Some clubs even give their brands access to their facilities and video equipment to help them share their stories in the best way possible.

It’s Effective for Targeted Marketing

Not only do football clubs allow casinos to create awareness about their brand worldwide, but they also make it easy to do targeted marketing. British casinos, in particular, prefer to offer promotions exclusive to UK customers and different offers for their international customers.

Football teams have a myriad of communication platforms that reach out to different groups of people. As such, casinos can choose a specific channel like Twitter and create content the football clubs will only tweet to their UK fan bases.

If a casino wants to target Nepal casino players, they can partner with a club with a huge fan base in the county. They can then create content that’s exclusive to these customers. Locally, the gambling companies can also sponsor community events together with football teams. The clubs will attract attention and make people attend the activities while the casinos will have a local platform to promote their services.

Branding Appeals

Numerous studies show that people love being associated with companies that advertise regularly. They love brand names, successful companies with associations to things they love. Essentially, branding creates excitement, as we mentioned earlier.

What’s more, it influences people the right way. Instead of looking at a casino as a regular gambling site, they view it as a brand. They associate it with class, success, and all the other factors every casino hopes people love them for.

About appealing, branding also has a lasting impact. If you love the EPL, you probably remember Arsenal’s previous sponsor JVC. The brand name alone creates nostalgia. Man United fans still remember the days Sharp sponsored their club while Barcelona’s UNICEF branded jerseys will always be iconic.

To Be Part of Football’s Success Stories

When France won the world cup in Russia in 2018, Nike launched a multi-million branding campaign titled “We won it in France.” The title is eye-grabbing and confusing, right? But after watching its advert, the message comes out clearly.

Nike’s “We won it in France” campaign created the impression that France won the world at home by nurturing its football talent. It featured ace players Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba telling their stories of how they began playing football in the streets. It ended by dedicating the campaign to all kids around the world that dare to dream.

Despite being a story-telling video to show how France’s World Cup winners began their football journeys, it was also a chance for Nike to share its contributions. And in doing so, the company not only impression football fans globally, but it earned new customers in the process.