Sponsorships Becomes Main Marketing Channel for Expanding Betting Companies

Betting Companies Turn to Sponsorships as Main Marketing Channel

Sports and gambling. They honestly go together like bread-and-butter, but many purists within sports shy away from allowing gambling organizations and establishments to have a prominent place within their sport. They do not want the look of impropriety to play a role in any of their competitions.

It is understandable that sports officials would be apprehensive about gambling entities being involved in their sports. After all, there have been a number of match fixing scandals that have rocked the sports world, even some recently, so many desires to separate the two worlds. However, this is no longer realistic. Gambling entities are becoming more involved in the sports world, and this is being showcased in the new sponsorship deal between 22Bet and Paris Saint-Germain.

Many Sports Betting Sites Available

Betting on sports is big business. There is an ever-growing number of sports betting websites out there, and players are flocking to them across Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America to place wagers on their favorite sports and contests.

Several of these sports betting websites are rapidly growing with the rise of this industry. For example, 22bet is growing in Europe and Africa as well as in Asia where it attracts attention from many nationalities including Filipino players according to this review here.

Because of their rapid growth across the planet and their close ties to the sports world, it is not surprising that they would want to take action to try to combine those to benefit themselves. After all, large organizations understand that tying themselves to a major player in an industry, whether it is an individual or a team, is a great way to promote their own business.

This is why companies hire social influencers, like clothing designers, sports figures, or master chefs, to speak on behalf of their product or to become spokespersons. They know that these individuals will influence the market on their behalf.

A Deal to Promote 22Bet

In the world of football, Paris Saint-Germain is one of the most established and well-recognized names. It does not matter whether one is talking about Europe, Africa, or Asia. This is a football club that has built an international reputation especially with the arrival (and extension of the contract to 2025) of Neymar and the fact that PSG reached the Champions League final in 2020.

So, when the team made a deal to have 22Bet as a partner, this made international news. Not only would the PSG logo appear on the 22Bet website, but 22Bet logos will appear on team jerseys and team marketing information, and will have a prominent place at games. That 22Bet chose to make a deal with PSG shows the importance that this football club has in Africa and across Asia.

“The fast-growing presence of the club worldwide will help us further promote our brand in the African region. Like Paris Saint-Germain who works hard as a club to innovate to give the best experiences to its fans, we are providing the best gaming experience to our users.”

Explained by Olatunji Idowu, director of 22BET Africa

What Does This Mean in the Sports Betting Industry?

Most will shrug their shoulders considering that this is more hype than substance. However, that is not the case at all. What was once a thin but distinct line between the gambling and sports industries has now been crossed. One might even say that it has been obliterated.

With 22Bet sponsoring one of the most important football clubs on the planet, this will likely open the door for several other sports betting websites and establishments to start to sponsor clubs as well. This will force leagues to accept these betting sites as partners, and it will also require them to start creating guidelines that ensure that the integrity of the games is not compromised.

The biggest concern about a sports betting website being involved with a team is that that site would have inside information about player injuries, performances, or other information that would not be available somewhere else. This would help that site to have a significant advantage, and unfair advantage to be honest.

There is also a concern about how that sponsor may influence the actions of the team. Could a sports betting website push to have a player sit or to sign a particular player because it best serves their interests? Most will deny that is a possibility, but who is to know?

These types of concerns are going to lead leagues to create more stringent guidelines that will help to assure the integrity of their sport.

A Great Branding Idea

While there is some legitimate concern about these kinds of issues, the truth is that 22Bet did not create a partnership with PSG to influence games. Instead, they saw this as a fantastic marketing opportunity to promote themselves and their site by partnering with one of the most influential football programs on the globe.

This was a brilliant strategy that will help to open the door for the company to become even more prominent as a sports betting site. Football fans on every continent are going to see the 22Bet logo prominently displayed on PSG uniforms and apparel, and that is going to lead to a large increase in their customer base. In that way, it was a brilliant move.

It is also a move that many other sports betting websites are likely to copy. They are going to see the success that this has had for 22Bet, and are going to be looking for their own teams to start sponsoring. This is just the beginning.