In history, gambling and sports have always gone hand in hand. When you watch highly anticipated sports with rich or influential people, you’ll see that they put some money on the ones they think will win. We saw it in Roman history, where chiefs bet on the gladiators they thought would win. We see it in horse racing and combat fights.
Although how we bet has changed, today betting and sports are still best friends. Nowadays, betting companies sponsor sports, a new dimension of sector-to-sector relationships. These partnerships come in different forms, such as advertising on jerseys, naming rights, and ads during sporting activities.
Our focus in this article is casino sponsors of motorsports. On the one hand, motorsports teams get the needed finances from casinos, and casinos get that large audience for advertising purposes. For a deeper dive into the various ways casinos sponsor sports and the benefits they reap, explore more in our complete list from Canadian CasinoRIX experts.
The appeal of motorcycle racing for casinos
The concept of business or building a company is to make more profits. Casinos operate on the same principles, although they’re in the gambling niche. They want to develop a business relationship that will bring business growth. That’s where motorsports come in.
Motorsports has a large audience. To give you an idea of how large this audience can be, the stats from the 2021 racing on Sky Sports can give you a clue. About 1.59 million people watch each of the 22 races in Formula 1. In 2020, the figure was 1.27 million viewers. Any business will be happy to put their names in front of these millions of potential customers. Another great thing about the size of this audience is that they’re global. Formula 1 occurs in many locations or circuits in different countries, but the audience expands to other countries worldwide.
A great example of a casino and motorsports partnership is the Williams F1 team and Canon partnership. Once the partnership was in place, the Canon logo became the center of the event. We spotted the Cannon logos on the Williams F1 cars and their team uniforms, which announced the brand to the world. The partnership worked well for both parties, so it extended for a few years.
The benefits of casino sponsorship for motorcycle racing
The major benefits of the casino sponsorship for motorcycle races are:
Financial support and investment
The sponsorships from casinos are a source of financial support for motorcycle racing. Casino sponsorship creates more revenue for the sports team. The event’s organizer gets more finance for planning and execution, too. They can use the funds for resources, such as infrastructure, equipment, cars, and offers.
VIP experiences and hospitality
Over the years, the financial injections from casinos have helped plan and cover games and events. In some ways, fans get a better experience during the game. The amount of money that goes into planning and covering such events has since attracted a wider audience. Also, people of authority in other sports, business, and politics have taken to the stands to become part of motorsports.
Challenges and controversies
There are controversies around the appearances of casinos as sponsors of motorsports races and other sports in general. In some areas, betting, casinos, and gambling are considered harmful products and should be put in the same category as tobacco and alcohol. Some analysts believe that betting can cause equal harm or worse to people the way tobacco can do to public health.
In some countries (Poland, Qatar, and Lebanon), casinos are illegal. They are unlicensed and attract legal action if promoted. Expanding the audience or sponsoring sports in those areas has been a challenge.
Future prospects
There are new trends in sponsorship agreements between casinos and motorsports. Nowadays, brands use their social media pages to engage with sports brands. After sponsorship, they still use social media to share clips and updates and contribute to the discussion of motorsports events.
In the future, we might see more advanced use of technology and modern tools for sponsorship and event planning. For instance, brands can rely on data from different online platforms to measure the effectiveness of their sponsorship, campaigns, or marketing plans.
Conclusion
The relationship between sports and betting started a long time ago. When you think of gambling, you often associate it with a game such as horse racing, combat fights, or card games. Nowadays, the relationship has expanded into sponsorships. Betting companies and casinos now sponsor sporting events and facilities. The sports organizers or teams get needed funding, while the casinos use the size of the sporting event audience as leverage for advertising.
