UK-licensed online betting operator Betsafe has signed on as the new sponsor of English Premier Leaguers Manchester City FC.
On Thursday, Betsafe announced it had become Man City’s official betting partner across the team’s core regions for both the Men’s and Women’s teams. The deal allows Betsafe to set up branded betting kiosks and LED advertising at Etihad Stadium, with prominent placement across the club’s official digital channels as well as the standard special bonus offers for the teams’ fans.
Betsafe, an offshoot of Nordic operator Betsson, has a similar deal with German Bundesliga club FC Köln but global brand manager Martina Brynielsson said the company was “over the blue moon” for snagging Man City as Betsafe’s “first sizable foray” into UK partnerships.
STOIXIMAN INKS SHIRT DEAL WITH OLYMPIACOS
In another first, Greek online betting operator Stoiximan has inked a new shirt sponsorship with Athens-based footballers Olympiacos FC. The two-season deal further solidifies Stoiximan’s Athens sporting presence, having previously struck a betting partnership with basketballers Panathinaikos.
In addition to exposure on all three Olympiacos’ shirt variations, Stoiximan will enjoy lots of branding opportunities at Karaiskakis Stadium and a presence across the club’s digital and social media channels.
The deal marks the first time Olympiacos has partnered with a betting firm not named OPAP (the former state-owned betting monopoly that was privatized in 2013). Club managing director Ioannis Vrentzos said the Stoiximan deal represented the end of “coercing dilemmas for Greek football,” as clubs can now “select the sponsor meeting their requirements and thus not bow to strategies that may incorporate other parameters.”
FC PORTO HOOKS UP WITH BUZZTRADE
Online binary options trading platform BuzzTrade has inked a two-year deal with Portuguese football mainstays FC Porto. BuzzTrade becomes the team’s first official ‘online trading partner,’ entitling the company to highly visible branding opportunities in and around the club’s Estadio do Dragäo venue, as well as the standard website and social media exposure, exclusive image rights plus player and stadium access.
BuzzTrade CEO Tamar Schoppik called the deal a “fantastic opportunity” for his company to introduce its trading products to a whole new audience. FC Porto VP Adelino Caldeira said the deal reflected the club’s ambition to “appeal as a global brand.”
SPORTINGBET INK GREEK BASKETBALL DEAL
Finally, GVC Holdings’ Sportingbet brand has become the official betting partner of the Greek market coverage of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague basketball, Europe’s top pro basketball competition. Sportingbet has a strong presence in Greece via GVC’s partnership with Centric Multimedia SA.
GVC had cancelled many of Sportingbet’s sponsorship deals following its 2013 acquisition of Sportingbet’s grey market operations but Sportingbet will now enjoy lots of exposure on game highlights for the EuroLeague’s Final Four as well as the finals of the second-tier Eurocup Basketball competition.
