French Winamax Signs Sponsorship Deal with French Marseille

Yet another online poker operator has gone down the professional football sponsorship route. French network Winamax signed a two-year deal with top French side Olympique de Marseille that will see the operator become one of the club’s key sponsors.

The deal will see Winamax’s logo on the short of Marseille’s players throughout all of their Ligue 1 (the premier French football league) matches. It will likely result in Winamax getting more focus from curious online gamers, which the company hopes will translate into more players and a further increased market share in France.

Marseille are among the largest clubs in the French Ligue 1, being the main team to represent the second largest French city of the same name. The club is one of the most accomplished in French football, having topped the standings in the top league nine times, the last time being in 2010.

Marseille also hold the distinction of being the only French club to have won the prestigious UEFA Champions League. Those accolades will help boost Winamax’s reputation as they are likely to be seen as being aligned with a strong leading club in French football.

The move may also help boost player numbers on Winamax’s network given the amount of football fans of the club, which may assert Winamax’s position as the market leader of online poker in France.

According to PokerScout, Winamax.fr currently has a seven day player average of 900, which makes it the largest in France and the eighth largest overall. The only other major rival to Winamax in France is PokerStars.fr, which currently has a seven day player average of 700.

While its sponsorship of Marseille may see a bump in player numbers, it may also help act as kind of insurance should the French online poker market decline like others in Europe have.

As it is the only major network to sponsor a French football side, players may be less inclined to leave Winamax in the event of a decline as it has a presence that most other networks in the country do not have.