A feeling of uncertainty looms over the gaming marketing industry. Legislation passed in 2006 banned the Malboro Man and all familiar cigarette sponsorships from F1 Racing. Similarly, the gaming industry and its sponsorship of sports faces the same precarious future in the UK as well as in Portugal.
To learn more about the online casino industry, Martim Nabeiro, our expert here, shares his insights. Likewise, Portugal’s casino online https://casinoportugal.online/ enlightens betting enthusiasts with on-point information and commentary.
Betting’s fingerprints are so prominent on English football that 17 out of 24 Champions League clubs display betting company logos on their kits. Ten out of the 20 Premier League clubs feature betting logos on their jerseys.
Apart from the kits, entire stadiums often display gambling sponsorships, including Bet365 Stadium. This trend, however, extends far beyond the top two English League divisions.
The UK Gambling Commission regulates gambling in the United Kingdom and might soon see changes to it’s gambling laws and changes to sponsorship.
Online Betting in Portugal
If the history of betting in Portugal was bleek, the future does not promise anything better. Up until 2015, Portuguese betting was monopolised by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML).
In June of 2015, the Legal Regime of Online Gambling and Betting (RJO) was established allowing for international bookmakers to set up shop in Portugal.
To date, only these eight licensed bookies remain in the country:
- Betclic.py
- Bet.pt
- Luckia.pt
- Placard.pt
- Nossaaposta.pt
- Betano.pt
- Casinoportual.pt
- Estorilsolcasinos.pt
Popular bookmakers like Bet365, Betfair, and Bwin have left the country due to the high taxes, which range between 16% and 18%, that are levied on their gross income.
There are a number of unregistered international bookmakers that do accept Portuguese players and offer higher odds.
Good news is that gamblers aren’t stopped from betting on non-licensed bookies. Neither do they pay taxes on their winnings.
In addition to all the sports betting available, Portugal has seen an increase in eSports wagers on games like League of Legends, Fortnite, and Overwatch. Where there’s a championship, there’s online betting.
Gambling Brands’ Future in Sport
Egypt instituted a ban on sponsorships from betting companies in 2018, and Italy has recently done the same.
Sunday, 23 May 2021 is the last day of the La Liga season and probably the last season that we see Spanish teams displaying betting sponsors on their kits. The Spanish Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón, is working hard to create a ban on gambling sponsorship in sport.
Spanish La Liga has the second highest percentage (95%) of clubs with betting partners. All 18 clubs in the German Bundesliga are partnered. Likewise, the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group has promised the end of such sponsorships in the UK by the end of 2023.
Whatever the future holds for gambling brands, they will certainly not be featured so prominently on football jerseys in the coming months and years.
Conclusion
Time alone will tell who will come out victorious in the gambling brands sports sponsorship wars. One thing is for certain, sponsors’ names on jerseys may change, but the beautiful game will remain the same.
