Tipico advertisements at Bayern stadium illegal

The perimeter advertising at the football stadium in Munich has brought several repercussions for the gambling provider Tipico which is an internationally operating company. What happened? Illegal advertising slogans were displayed on the boards during the match between FC Bayern München and Hertha BSC. What was displayed on the board and what are the consequences for Tipico?

A few weeks ago on GambleJoe we had published an article about the possibility that it will be the end for betting providers at Werder Bremen. The billionaire sports betting and casino provider Tipico has now been admonished by the professional association for gambling addiction. The club was given a warning for displaying illegal perimeter advertising on the 30^th. April at the Allianz-Arena in Munich.

Advertising slogans at the stadium – infringe the State Gambling Act (GlüStV)

The gambling provider, which is based in Malta, has been issued with a warning for displaying illegal advertising on the boards at the perimeter sidelines during the Bundesliga game between FC Bayern München and Hertha BSC. The advertising slogan which was displayed stated “tipico – place your bet now” and “Tipico – official partner of the Bundesliga”.

The problem: According to the new State Gambling Act (GlüStV), only the brand name may be advertised at the stadium. Consequently, extra wording such as “Place your bet now” are forbidden and this is therefore considered to be an illegal marketing measure. We had asked in another article why do athletes advertise games of chance so often.

Tipico was given a warning – what is the fine due?

The Professional Association for Gambling Addiction wrote to the betting giant shortly after the Bundesliga match and the company received a warning. Besides this, the company was requested to make a cease-and- desist declaration. According to a report in the “Spiegel”, Tipico has meanwhile given the cease-and-desist declaration. If there is an infringement, Tipico will be bound to pay a contract penalty.

Besides this, it is expected that Tipico will receive a fine from the GGL, the Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder. Till now it is not known what the amount of the fine will be. The Chairperson of the Association, Ilona Füchtenschnieder, is however sure that the GGL will follow up on the case:

“We have passed on the information on what we discovered and know that the case is being seen to over there.”

However parallel to this, Füchtenschnieder points out that in the past they had also discovered several similar offences. The association however does not have all the necessary resources to follow up on all cases.

Conclusion

Tipico is and will remain one of the most important sponsors of German football. Despite all this, the successful gambling company was made aware that the GGL is monitoring more than ever before that the regulations of the GüStV are adhered to. The provider, which is based in Malta was however reasonable and signed the cease-and-desist declaration. We are excited to see whether in the future the gambling provider will be making use of just its brand name for marketing purposes or whether it will include any extra wording in its adverts.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/allianz-allianzarena-fußballverein-5201816/