Winamax, Synot Tip, Ladbrokes ink footie deals; Svenska Spel ditch hockey deal

winamax-veikkaus-svenska-spel-ladbrokes-synot-tip-sponsorshipsFrench online poker operator Winamax has inked a sponsorship deal with the Olympique de Marseille football club.

Terms of the two-year official partnership weren’t disclosed, but Winamax will have its logo emblazoned on the club’s shorts as well as throughout the Ligue 1 club’s home Stade Vélodrome venue. Winamax CEO Alexander Roos said having his company’s trademark present at the “birthplace of football” would be “a real satisfaction.”

Czech lottery provider Synot Tip has struck its own two-year deal to see its logo on both the home and away jerseys of AC Sparta Prague, the top club in the Czech Republic. Synot Tip already has a title sponsorship with the Czech First League, the division in which AC Sparta plays. Synot Group owner Ivo Valenta said the new deal had furthered the firm’s strategy of becoming Czech football’s top sponsor.

The Australian division of UK betting operator Ladbrokes has inked a one-off shirt sponsorship with Aussie footballers Brisbane Roar FC for next week’s preseason match against visiting English Premier League side Liverpool FC at Suncorp Stadium. Ladbrokes Australia is already a silver partner of the Roar club and Lads chief marketing officer James Burnett expressed delight at securing front-of-shirt position for “such a high-profile game.”

In less favorable sponsorship news, Swedish state-owned gaming operator Svenska Spel has ended its over two-decade relationship with the Swedish Hockey League. The existing pact expired in June but Svenska Spel CEO Lennart Käll told eGaming Review that the two parties were “too far apart in the valuation” to reach agreement on extending the relationship. Svenska Spel remains the principal sponsor of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.

Sticking with hockey, Finnish lottery/betting monopoly Veikkaus inked a two-year shirt sponsorship with Helsinki squad Jokerit, which plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. Veikkaus replaces Nordicbet, who were forced to remove their logos from the team’s away jerseys following a decision by Finland’s National Police Board that the deal was unlawful.