Everton F.C. has addressed its sponsor Stake.com, urging it to stop using its imagery in a global promotion that offers a free bet of $10 to anyone who places bets worth $5,000 in a period of a week.
The marketing scheme has faced criticism from both anti-gambling campaign groups and football fans, who have also questioned the apparent involvement of Everton F.C. in the promotion.
The promotional offer was especially targetted at an international audience and was linked to the professional football club’s results. Club branding was also used as part of the promotion. Although it was visible for customers with an IP address in the UK, it was not available to such individuals.
As reported by The Guardian, the English football club was unaware of the offer and the fact that Stake.com used its branding in the advertisement before it was launched. Reportedly, now the club had addressed its sponsor, asking it to no longer use pictures of its players or Everton sports kits for the international promotion.
A couple of years ago, the CEO of the club, Denise Barrett-Baxendale, shared that in an ideal world Everton F.C. would not have a gambling company as an official shirt sponsor.
Football Clubs Still Doing Nothing about Voluntary Gambling Sponsorship Ban
Lately, the UK Government has been considering the potential ban on gambling companies’ logos on football shirts as part of the major review of gambling laws. Although there has been an initiative associated with such a suspension, the final decision has for now been left in the hands of the clubs themselves, with them delaying a vote on a voluntary suspension, after the announcement of the Government’s gambling review has been once again postponed.
In the meantime, the online casino operator Stake.com, which is also a sponsor of another English football club – Watford F.C. – has enhanced its marketing strategy, including the addition of a social media campaign called “Road to Glory”. It is exactly this campaign that was associated with the performance of Everton F.C., which currently occupies the 18th position in the English Premier League (EPL) ranking.
As mentioned above, a $10 free bet has been offered by Stake.com to anyone who has wagered $5,000 in the past week. The promotional campaign, however, triggered fierce criticism from anti-gambling campaigner groups, football fans, and the wider public.
A lifelong Everton F.C. fan who is also a recovering problem gambler, Ben Melvin, had already started a petition asking the English football club to dispose of Stake.com as a shirt sponsor. So far, the petition gathered almost 40,000 signatures. According to Mr Melvin, Everton should do the right thing and look after people, and its fans, in particular, protecting them from potential harm. He, however, felt let down by the club’s decision to remain in partnership with the gambling company.
- Author
Olivia Cole
