Pros and Cons of gambling sponsorship in football

Over the last decade, football has grown to be much more than just an entertaining sport. It now controls over billions fans worldwide. This multi-billion dollar industry that also attracts the attention of major gambling companies, online casinos as it is one of the biggest platforms they can use to promote their business. This is a given because the most successful teams need to maintain their players so as to continue been at the top of their game.

The sponsorship from gambling companies to some of these top teams in the world comes through adorning logos on the shirts of players by the betting companies. Sometimes, as high as 9 out of 20 of these teams are sponsored by gambling companies. This situation has made gambling experts concerned. This concern is further escalated by a total of 17 teams having gambling companies logos on their shirts.

Despite this concern, there are some pros to having gambling sponsors in football. The first is;

Fans find it appropriate as opposed to other sponsors in the past

For a long time, sponsorship of football teams has been a marketing tool used by multinational brands as a vehicle for the enhancement of their brand image, sales, market share and awareness. This space was at one time dominated by the alcohol and tobacco companies which raised various moral issues amongst fans but has now been replaced with gambling companies. A lot of states also have issues with the promotion alcohol and tobacco companies on football teams so, these teams are left with seeking for sponsorship from gambling companies.

There exists an interdependent relationship that benefits both the club and the gambling company.

What this means is that one feeds on the other. From a commercial perspective the football clubs and gambling companies need this relationship so each of them can grow. With football teams, there is a need for solid financial backing as huge amounts of money are needed for the teams to be successful. Gambling companies invest millions of dollars in this clubs in return for a platform they can use to reach out to their target audience. This platform is one of the most effective there is as football followers numbers run into millions and are spread all over the world. Asides from sponsorships which appears from shirts, gambling companies can also sponsor ads on the sides of the football pitches in stadiums. What this does is place millions of dollars in the coffers of the club and also raises the trust of these gambling companies services and their bookmarkers. These factors come together to make sure the gambling companies continue to be a going concern. Online casino reviews show that these avenue of sponsorship through football teams translates into high revenues.

One of the best known ways of supporting the increasing football standard

Clubs need all the financial help they can get to ensure they remain at the top of the football industry. As the standards of the football continue to rise, gambling sponsors invest huge amounts of resources in form of money, which aids the improvement of training facilities, financially support the players and the local community and build or maintain a modern stadia. A great number of these clubs end up running local youth clubs through the investment of noteworthy amounts of cash. What this means is without the money gotten through the various sponsorship from gambling companies, many football teams would suffer from the constraints of limited financial freedom.

The other part to this is the cons of gambling sponsorship. There have been mixed reactions about gambling industry sponsors of football teams. The debate comes from the morality of these companies and also the dangers that gambling addicts face when constantly faced with these companies ads all the time. The following are the cons;

It makes gambling seem normal

Gambling sponsorship in football stirs up mixed reaction for different reasons. There is the perception they convey through their sponsorship that gambling is normal, safe and synonymous with watching sports. There is the possibility of image transfer when gambling companies are advertised on football teams. There is also the added fact that fans may link these gambling companies to successful players and therefore see it as a normal activity they can engage in at any time.

It may lead to gambling problems

The constant advertising of gambling companies through this football teams might lead to some fans getting addicted to gambling. Certain studies have shown that seeing the gambling companies constantly on football teams have led to some individuals develop gambling problems. Despite most fans saying that these gambling companies sponsorship do not affect their decisions to gamble or not, some individuals have been influenced by this support. This is escalated by how easy it is to access the gambling companies from online platform and through mobile apps.

There is the problems of Minors getting involved in gambling

Remember that minors below the legal age can get involved in gambling from seeing the sponsorship of gambling companies on their favourite teams and players who are there idols. With gambling ads littering the pitches, minors get to see them constantly and might be left with the impression that gambling is a part of football culture.

Gambling companies have huge amounts of money to invest in the football industry and this has blurred the lines between the sport and an activity which has some moral conflict. Nevertheless, there exist a mutually beneficial relationship between the football teams and gambling companies. The teams get much needed money to run all parts of the club like stadium maintenance, players maintenance while on the other hand the gambling companies get one of the largest platforms to reach their target audience and boost their businesses.

Despite this relationship, there are still underlying issues which arise as a result of sponsorship like gambling problems which might arise from fans who religiously follow these teams and see these ads constantly.