Formula 1: Stake.com is new sponsor of Alfa Romeo

A few days ago, the 74th. Formula 1 World Championships Grand Prix started in Bahrain. During the preparations, the racing team of Alfa Romeo has attracted unwanted attention. The reason for this being the new title sponsor- the crypto casino Stake.com. Is a gambling provider as a main sponsor of a Formula 1 race morally acceptable and reliable?

In November of last year we had reported that a real Formula-1-car has driven through a casino in Las Vegas. A Formula-1-Car is now attracting unwanted attention. As the racing team Alfa Romeo (formerly Sauber) presented its new high-powered car in Zürich, there was a large company logo of “Stake” on the Formula 1 car. The crypto casino is the new title sponsor of the formula 1 racing team from Switzerland.

How much money does Alfa Romeo receive for the deal with Stake.com?

Unfortunately, till now no amounts have been confirmed. What is certain is that the cooperation between the racing team and the crypto casino stands for three years. However, experts are assuming that Stake.com has put around 75.5 million Francs on the table. Since the Formula 1 races are broadcasted all over the world, in the new season Stake.com will be seen all over the world. This year the team is also appearing in public under the name “Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake”.

In recent years stake.com had attracted attention because it had offered famous streamers high amounts to play on Stake. In a somewhat older article we had questioned why do so many casino streamers play on stake.coms. Besides this, Stake.com is the official sponsor of Everton FC, an English league club.

Is an online casino reliable as a formula-1-sponsor?

Since an Alfa Romeo is a racing team from Switzerland, the Swiss Spielbankenkommission is responsible for the monitoring. This is the official gambling authority of Switzerland. A spokesperson for the authority stated to the tagesanzeiger.ch, that the authority knew about the cooperation and “where necessary it will initiate investigative procedures” to find out whether there is an infringement on the advertising ban for games of chance.

As a sponsor of Alfa Romeo, Stake.com will definitely face problems when the Formula 1 is a guest in the country in which there is a ban on games of chance. For example, in Great Britain games of chance may not be advertised (Grand Prix on 9th.July 2023). As from June of this year there will also be a similar ban in Belgium (Grand Prix on 29th. July 2023). Last year, at the end of the football World Cup we had raised the issue, why are crypto and gambling providers WM sponsors.

Formel 1 Racing calendar 2023 (excerpt):

• 19th. March: Grand Prix in Saudi-Arabia
• 2nd. April: Grand Prix of Australia
• 29th. April: Grand Prix of Azerbaijan
• 7th. May: Grand Prix of Miami
• 21st. May: Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna (Italia.)
• 28th. May: Grand Prix of Monaco

Conclusion

Whilst several F1 race teams have parted ways with Crypto Exchanges as FRX as sponsors, Alfa Romeo has found a sponsor from the crypto and games of chance sector. It is questionable whether the Formula-1-car in the guise of Stake.com will be allowed to race in all the countries as it should or whether advertising bans will thwart the racing plans of Alfa Romeo and Stake.com.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/sergio-perez-carlos-sainz-6633997/