FC Barcelona extends partnership with betting provider from Curacao

FC Barcelona has extended its partnership with the gambling company 1xBet by several years. The gambling provider, which has a licence from Curacao, has been a sponsoring partner of the record Spanish cup winners since 2019. But how much money is 1xBet paying for the multi-year sponsorship agreement and what do critics have to say about the deal?

Just a few days ago, we at GambleJoe reported on the criticism of the new partnership between Tipico and the DFB Cup. A new sponsorship partnership is also a thorn in the side of critics in Spain. Specifically, it is about FC Barcelona, which has now extended its partnership with 1xBet until 2029. 1xBet is a comparatively well-known gambling provider with a licence from Curacao.

Advertising primarily planned at international level

As similarly strict regulations apply in Spain with regard to gambling advertising, the sponsorship partnership will be focussed on an international level. According to FC Barcelona's official press release, the plan is to make 1xBet visible as a gambling provider via various digital advertising media of the football club.

However, 1xBet will not make it onto the jersey of the Spanish club with the second most national championship titles. This is simply because Spanish law prohibits sponsorship by gambling companies on jerseys and in stadiums. Only about a month ago, we at GambleJoe asked ourselves whether Bundesliga clubs could still manage without gambling sponsors.

Alex Sommers, spokesman for the gaming company 1xBet, expressed his satisfaction with the extended sponsorship partnership in a statement:

"We are delighted to continue our partnership with one of the most recognised sports brands in the world. (...) The extension of our partnership with FC Barcelona confirms that we are on the right track".

Sponsors from the gambling sector are heavily criticised

Not only in Germany, but of course also in Spain, gambling companies are viewed critically as sponsors, especially in sports. In addition, 1xBet "only" has a gambling licence from Curacao. In Germany and Spain, 1xBet does not have a licence for sports betting or virtual slot machines. Anyone wishing to visit the 1xBet website from Germany will receive the following message:

"Access denied. This website is not available in your country"

Unfortunately, neither FC Barcelona nor the gambling provider 1xBet have published details of the sponsorship partnership. We can therefore only speculate about the financial scope of the deal.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/jersey-t-shirt-football-fußball-5457156/