Betfair Signs Sponsorship Deal With English Football Club Sunderland

The European football off-season has yielded a few sponsorship signings between major football clubs and online gaming companies.

First, Mansion announced that it had signed a deal with newly promoted English Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, and then French operator Winamax announced that it had inked a sponsorship deal with French side Olympique de Marseille.

Now another company has jumped on the football sponsorship bandwagon.

London-based online gaming and poker powerhouse Betfair has announced that it too has also aligned itself with a football club, having become the official betting partner for English side Sunderland.

Betfair spokesperson Stephen Mault said the company was “thrilled” to have signed the deal with a club like Sunderland.

“Sunderland is a club with great heritage and we look forward to growing a successful relationship over the course of the upcoming season,” he said.

While the Betfair-Sunderland deal technically does not make Betfair a major sponsor, it will still lead to their brand being viewed by thousands, and possibly millions of people during the football season.

Sunderland may not have the huge following of other Premier League clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United, but its longevity has made it a notable club in English football. Its home ground, the Stadium of Light, has a capacity of 49,000 spectators, which is largely filled for most of Sunderland’s regular season matches.

Some of its major games are also likely to be televised in the UK and beyond next season, which may attract a large number of viewers depending on the opposing team.

The formal introduction of notable football figure Dick Advocaat as the coach of Sunderland is also likely to increase fan interest in the club during the 2015-16 season.

All of this means that Betfair’s brand, which will be placed in and around the Stadium of Light during home matches, have the potential to be viewed by a greater number of people. Betfair is hoping that the increased exposure will lead to greater numbers of players signing up to its online poker and other gaming networks in what is becoming an ever so competitive environment.

With three notable sponsorship deals signed between online gaming and top tier European football teams so far in the European summer, it raises the question of whether any more similar deals will be inked.

There is no clear answer to that at this stage, but with so much currently going on in the online poker and gaming area, don’t be surprised if there are one or two more sponsorship deals signed before the summer is over.