Betway Announces Sponsorship Deals With FC Schalke 04 And Hamburg Open
Betway has announced two new sponsorship deals this week; one with German football club FC Schalke 04 and another with the Hamburg Open tennis tournament.
The leading gambling operator announced earlier this week a three-year partnership with FC Schalke 04, full name Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., under which Betway will act as the club’s premium partner and its branding will be promoted across the club’s VELTINS-Arena for the upcoming three seasons.
Maik Brodowski, the Head of Marketing for Betway Germany, said in a statement: “It’s a great honour to be partnering with FC Schalke 04, one of the most recognised names in German football. We look forward to supporting the club and their ambitions to work their way back to the Bundesliga. In the following years, the premium partnership provides Betway with extensive advertising and marketing rights.”
Alexander Jobst, Schalke’s board member for Marketing, Sales and Organisation, commented: “Together with Betway we agreed on a long-term partnership, which guarantees us security through the new legal regulation of gaming in Germany.”
In addition to its sponsorship with FC Schalke 04, Betway has announced a sponsorship agreement with the upcoming Hamburg Open tennis tournament. Under this agreement, Betway will receive courtside and digital exposure at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center between July 7th and 18th.
Anthony Workman, the CEO at Betway, said in a statement to CasinoBeats: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with [the] Hamburg Open as we become their Official Betting Partner. The tournament is a highlight of the summer clay circuit and we’re looking forward to seeing the Betway brand at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center.”
Sandra Reichel, the tournament’s director, added: “We’re delighted to announce this partnership, especially in these unusual times, and I think it’s tremendous that they’re sponsoring the overall event in both the women’s and men’s tournament weeks. Besides being highly respected in its industry, Betway shares our commitment to creating a safe environment for customers. This was important to use when choosing a partner.”
According to Betway, the two new sponsorship agreements, as well as previous partnerships, are part of its “ever-growing commitment” to sports and creating sports sponsorships, despite their recent controversy and investigation as part of the Government’s review of the Gambling Act 2005.
Edinburgh City FC Partners With The Big Step
Meanwhile, Edinburgh City FC has become the first Scottish football club to pledge its support to Gambling With Lives’ Big Step initiative.
The Big Step is an initiative aiming to ban gambling advertisements from football and other sport to make it safer for everyone. The initiative has been backed by several MPs, including Carolyn Harris, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling-Related Harm who has argued for a ban on sports sponsorships.
Edinburgh City FC is the first football club of the Scottish League to back a ban on gambling ads, despite both the Scottish League Cup and Scottish Premiership having been sponsored by gambling operators William Hill and Ladbrokes.
Jim Brown, the Chairman of Edinburgh City FC, said in a statement to Insider Sport: “We decided it was time to adopt an ethical approach to all our partnerships; the pandemic has shown just how much football has the potential to be an immense power for good, so it makes sense to us to reinforce only positive messages both for physical and mental health. We are delighted to support The Big Step in their campaign as we share the same core value of trying to change the existing reliance on gambling in Scottish football.”
James Grimes, the founder of The Big Step, added: “We are thrilled to have the support of Edinburgh City during a pivotal time for gambling reform in this country. For most of us involved with The Big Step, the harmful relationship between gambling and football was the gateway for years of addiction – if only our clubs had taken this stance, things may have been different for us.
“Football doesn’t promote tobacco because of the health risks – It’s now time for more clubs to replicate EFCF commendable stance on advertising gambling, which is causing harm to millions of people.”
Entain Launches Party Responsibly Initiative With McLaren F1
Also this week, gambling operator Entain has launched its Party Responsible initiative with McLaren F1 to promote responsible gambling across the industry.
As part of the initiative, Entain’s Party Poker and Party Casino brands will promote responsible gambling via a mini-film titled Time To Pit, which features McLaren F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo discussing the importance of gambling limits and staying in control. McLaren F1 cars at the Austrian Grand Prix will also feature Party Responsibly messaging instead of product ads.
In addition to the above, Entain will launch its partyresponsibly.net internet hub, where players can check how in control they feel over their gambling and access various resources to help stay safe when gambling.
Grainne Hurst, the Director of Corporate Affairs at Entain, said in a statement: “We believe there are lots to learn from the importance McLaren and Daniel attach to managing risk and staying in control. That’s why we think Party Responsibly is a great way to use the partnership to promote safer betting and gaming, to ensure our players respect their limits and enjoy a great entertainment experience with us.”
The news comes after Entain announced a new virtual reality multi-sports entertainment experience, which will reportedly launch later this year. As we reported earlier this month, the operator will build utilise its partnership with Verizon Media to launch the experience across its numerous brands.