Study: Gambling sport sponsoring not popular

Sponsoring by the gambling industry has been part of the international sports industry for a long time and it would be hard to imagine the latter without the former. In der Football Bundesliga for example there are several clubs which are sponsored by gambling providers. However, a recent study from Great Britain shows that the majority of the sports fans who were interviewed and who hailed from 17 countries are against the sponsoring by the gambling industry in sports.

Only a few weeks ago we reported about a study which was carried out by the University of Bristol and which came to the conclusion that many children find gambling adverts “appealing“. Now the market research provider YouGov has published a new study. According to the survey, the majority of those questioned from a total of 17 countries oppose sponsoring by the gambling industry in sports outright.

Sports reaches several billion people worldwide

Gambling providers offer an attractive advertising ecosystem, and this is not only for the sports industry. There is no other industry in which the providers can reach more potential customers. At the end of the day it is obvious that advertisement for sports betting is done during sports events. Several billion people watch the different sports disciplines, and thus even the advertisements shown here receive a lot of attention. 

The opinion research institute YouGov has recently published a new study. This study looked at the market acceptance of the respondents to particular advertisers in the sports industry. Several thousand persons over 18 years from 17 different countries were interviewed in November 2021 for the purpose of the study. In summer of the past year we reported about a YouGov-Study, which addressed the question, how much money do the Germans spend for gambling in a month.

Gambling Sponsoring with lower acceptance

According to the YouGov-Study, there are other industries, besides the gambling industry, which are more suitable as sponsors for professional sports clubs, leagues and individual sports athletes. The respondents approved most (36 %) of the car industry. The respondents named it as the most popular advertising industry for the sports world. With an approval rating of 34 % in the second and third place we find the technology and telecommunication companies. In the fourth and fifth place, with an approval rating of 31 % we find the banking and insurance sector, as well as the tourist and travelling industry.

Further to this, one in every four respondents (24 %) stated that they cannot name any industry which they find appropriate as sponsoring for sport. In the sixth place with an acceptance rating of 17 % there is the pharmaceutical industry. A further 13 % of the respondents have stated in the British study that they do not endorse any kind of sponsoring in the world of sports.

Gambling sponsoring for the world of sports is only found in the seventh place with an acceptance rating of just around 12 %. This means that only one in around ten respondents approve of sponsoring from gambling providers in the field of professional sports. With an approval rating of just 10 %, the respondents found sports sponsoring from crypto currencies even more unpopular than sponsoring by gambling firm. The entire results of the study can be found on the official YouGov-website here.

In July 2021 we reported that the German media is from time to time criticised for sports betting advertisements.

Conclusion

Sports betting and gambling providers have become an indispensable part of the international sports world. Meanwhile there are hardly any professional sports football clubs which are not supported by large sports betting providers as Tipico, bwin, Betway, 888sport, Interwetten or Unibet. However the recent survey by the research institute YouGov showed that the majority of respondents view gambling sponsoring in the world of sports critically. They are of the opinion that other industries such as car manufacturers, technology firms and tourism providers are more suitable as sponsors for professional sports.

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