Why are crypto & gambling providers sponsoring The World Cup?

In Qatar, which is influenced by Islam, there is a completely different system of values than in Europe. In the Emirates in the Persian Gulf, both homosexuality and all forms of gambling are banned. Why is it then that many of the sponsors during the football World Cup were from the gambling and crypto industry?

About a month ago we had reported about the controversial start to the football World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Now, the football World Cup is over. However the criticism in all areas has not stopped: there are still reports about the violation of human rights in the living conditions in Qatar. It is known that gambling is banned in the desert state which is influenced by Islam. Before the beginning of the World Cup, those responsible had requested that tourists respect the local culture. But how does this explain the fact that several gambling and crypto firms were direct or indirect sponsors of the football World Cup?

Betting providers and crypto platforms as sponsors of teams and FIFA

In mid-November the FAZ had reported in an article about gambling and speculation in the desert. Despite the fact that the Islamic World is critical of gambling and crypto, several sponsors from these same industries, sponsored the World Cup.

An example: The official sports betting sponsor of the German National Team is bwin. Just a few weeks ago we had reported, that bwin has acquired the first licence for online poker. Besides this, the operator Entain has also received further licences for virtual slot machines for the brands bwin, Ladbrokes and Sportingbet. Besides, as from the coming year, Interwetten will be the new sponsor of the German National Football team. These circumstances did not seem to bother the sheiks in Qatar.

Crypto Exchange is also a big sponsor of the football World Cup

Besides this, the crypto exchange Crypto.com, which is based in Singapore was also an important sponsor of this year’s football World Cup. It is quite surprising that those responsible did not feel disturbed by the fact that companies from the gambling and crypto sector were involved as sponsors. In January of this year we had reported about a study, which had concluded that Gambling sponsoring is unpopular in sport.

In October 2021 we had also reported about this when we tackled the issue, whether crpto trading can also lead to addiction.

Conclusion

After nearly a month, the most controversial football World Cup in history is over. Once again it is surprising to see the double standards which were adopted by the host country of Qatar. On one side there was pressure to accept the local culture. On the other sides the sheiks accepted sponsors from the gambling and crypto business.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/leder-brieftasche-geschäft-karten-3080553/