Unibet Extends Partnership with PSG Football Club
Paris Saint Germain, more widely known as PSG, is one of the biggest football teams in the world. With international stars like Kylian M’Bappe, Neymar, and Edson Cavani on the team, their brand reaches across the world is as good as almost anyone else in the game.
That makes them an attractive prospect for online betting and casino marketers, such as Unibet.
The Kindred Group-owned online casino and sportsbook has been working with the Parisian football team since 2018 and has this week announced its intentions to continue doing so until the end of the 22-23 season.
New Markets
Last year, Unibet involved the PSG brand in a number of advertising campaigns. Targeted at French players, the ads included TV adverts, posters, billboards, and promotion on PSG’s 80-million-follower social media accounts.
However, such efforts have so far been centered around Europe.
Given the global nature of PSG’s on-field personnel, and thus the brand’s appeal, the announcement that this new deal will see the partnership extend their reach to a worldwide audience is no surprise.
Unibet recently opened up shop in legal US markets, where the popularity of the sport is rising, and their Major League Soccer franchise is doing well. In fact, just last year, the league’s Commissioner Don Garber said the MLS was ‘ready to embrace legalized gambling.’
Closer to home for the Swedish-based Kindred Group and Unibet, this agreement also extends Unibet’s European rights to use the PSG brand. Details are thin on the ground as to what this means right now, but it could lead to some innovative content in the coming years.
“This decision shows how relevant and effective our alliance [with Unibet] is,” said PSG’s Head of Partnerships Marc Armstrong. “The results to date motivate us to continue to build on these efforts and offer fans ever more engaging experiences,” he continued.
The price of the new deal for Unibet has currently not been revealed, but the previous agreement was widely estimated to be worth about €1.5 million (~$1.65 million) a season.
Supporting the Spirit of the Sport
Unibet owner Kindred Group has also hit the headlines recently with a different kind of advertising.
The umbrella operator who owns and runs 11 betting brands across Europe (many focus on the UK gambling market and the Canadian casino market), and now the USA, has upped its efforts to use popular sports as a platform to raise awareness of both problem gambling and mental health issues.
For example, last month, they announced they are to give up their advertising space they had purchased for the upcoming Handball European Championships in Norway and instead give the space to mental health awareness group European Network of Active Living for Mental Health.
“Thanks to the opportunity provided by Kindred GroupM, the European Network of Active Living for Mental Health will be in Norway to support the spirit of the sport and share our message with a big audience,” said an ENALMH spokesperson.
Around that time, Kindred Group also put on a problem gambling awareness event and campaign, in collaboration with their brand 32Red and former England football captain Wayne Rooney.
The famous footballer, currently playing for English second-tier side Derby County, was outspoken about past periods of problem gambling in his biography and has often been featured by gambling operators promoting responsible play in the years since.