The Long History Between Motorsports and Casino Sponsorships

There is a historical affinity for high-stakes racing and gaming. Both are generally associated with individuals who desire the thrill of taking risks and large crowds of people willing to wager on event outcomes. As such, when sweepstakes casinos online emerged as one alternative for Americans to gamble online with virtual currency, instead of real money, the relationship between gambling and motorsports had already existed for some time. This relationship has also evolved from merely being related to sponsorship and branding to a much more sophisticated form of partnership.

Early Roots: When Tobacco Left, Gambling Moved In

Major tobacco companies were the largest sponsors of all forms of motorsport until tobacco company logos were banned from all forms of racing venues in Europe over the last decade. Like the racing world, tobacco companies operated in a grey regulatory space; utilized aspirational marketing tactics; and had substantial funds to allocate towards supporting racing programs. With the advent of wide-spread prohibitions on tobacco advertising across Europe at the start of this decade, an opportunity arose as racing teams lost a significant revenue stream. Racing teams needed new partners with deep pockets willing to spend heavily (in terms of dollars), and able to associate their brand with speed, glamour, and competition at the highest levels. By the end of the year, the gaming industry was positioned to fill the void. Operators within the gaming industry, including book-making firms, poker rooms, and casinos viewed motorsports as an ideal vehicle to reach their target audience, which consisted of males with relatively high incomes; knowledgeable about brands; and accepting of risk.

How the Partnership Evolved Across Series

There was no universal transition from tobacco to gambling in sponsorship for each type of racing. Each racing category has been sponsored by a variety of gambling companies based upon their geographic location, audience size and the local regulatory environment.

Below is an overview of how casino and sports betting companies are positioning themselves within major motorsport series:

What Casino Brands Actually Buy

To understand how this deal happened we need to see the actual returns for the money spent. The benefits are much bigger than having a logo on a car door.

• Globally there were over 100 million people watching one F1 race. The brand placement on a top level racing team will generate so many more media dollars than an equal advertising dollar amount.
• Prestige is associated with motorsport through precision, technology, and elite performance. Casino brands want to be seen as part of that world (motorsport) vs. strictly just another casino product.
• VIP player hospitality has been using track side events for years. Exclusivity of locations and use of these events as tools to retain high value players.
• Most modern day sponsors have some form of content rights which allow them to utilize behind the scenes video footage, the ability to schedule drivers for public relations type opportunities, and social media utilization.
• Broadcasting digitally and geotargeted advertising allows teams to swap out the same digital board to broadcast to different regions. If you operate in a country that does not permit casino advertising, you may only wish to expose your brand in countries you have licensed to offer gaming services.

The Current Landscape and What Comes Next

There is no way that there will be some kind of shift. The connection between casino brands and motor sport is today so much more complex than it was twenty years ago when tobacco left the pits. Casino brand sponsorship is no longer simply the act of applying a logo to a racecar. Rather, it includes co-marketing with a variety of different types of fantasy racing competitions, in addition to integrating with sports wagering betting markets, along with co-branding many different digital marketing initiatives throughout each year’s race schedule.

These changes were driven by the exponential growth of Internet-based gaming, the increasing popularity of in-play betting, as well as the expansion of legalized sports wagering into virtually every state in America. The U.S. based racing series (due to federal restrictions) had long-kept gambling related sponsors away from their events; however, as one state after another begins to legalize sports wagering, they are aggressively pursuing relationships with gambling operators, who are also interested in using racing-related advertising opportunities.

On the other hand, the number of people scrutinizing this relationship is expanding. There are numerous governing bodies, TV broadcast companies and regulatory agencies located in Europe where they are reviewing the rules regarding what forms of advertising for gambling brands are allowed within various forms of sports. Additionally, prior to making modifications to its existing law banning almost all forms of gambling sponsorship of sports activities, Italy implemented a complete ban on such sponsorship activities.

As a result of these concerns, how future agreements between racing organizations and gaming operators will be constructed will ultimately be impacted by what forms of advertising are allowed and therefore will likely lead to increased use of digital media (e.g., social media platforms) and “behind-the-scenes” type sponsorships/activations that may be difficult to monitor and control compared to advertising placed directly onto racecars or in front of live audiences via television broadcasts.