The Sports Committee of Germany’s Bundestag rejected a ban on sponsorship of sports in Germany at an open meeting.
Experts cited the importance of sponsorships to German sports and the loss in funding that would result from a similar ban as primary reasons for rejecting it.
Inka Müller-Schmah is the managing director of Association of Sports Sponsorship Providers. She explains that there needs to be a legal structure to make sure sport sponsorships continue to benefit German sport.
Muller Schmah stated that sports sponsorship should be possible no matter when, where and how the sport is played and broadcast.
Problems in the German gambling industry
Black market activity has been a real problem for the German market. Tight restrictions have pushed players to offshore companies.
In a 2023 University of Leipzig study, the rate of channelisation towards German legal online operators was only 50.7%. There are safety concerns for bettors when nearly half of Germans gamble with illegal operators.
Between 9pm and 6am, operators are not allowed to advertise on TV or online. There are also restrictions regarding the use of sports clips and advertisements.
Luka Andric (Managing Director of the German Sports Betting Association, DSWV) pointed out that the restrictions were “extremely stringent”.
Andric, speaking to iGB said: “It is probably the most strict system around, unless it’s a monopoly or you are in a place where advertising is completely banned.”
Operators in the Netherlands are prohibited from sponsoring sports events until July 2023. Currently, there is a period of transition to enable existing agreements to be concluded.
France will also introduce new regulations on sports sponsorship in 2023. The French regulator Autorite Nationale des Jeux attributed it to the shifting role of sponsorships.
Sport partnerships in France with licensed operators increased 20% between 2022-2023 to EUR40.7m ($44.3m) (PS34.8m/EUR40.7m). Clubs also signed sponsorship agreements worth EUR15m with non-licensed sites to benefit African and Asian athletes.
In April of last year, English Premier League teams announced that they had reached a consensus to end the practice of sponsoring gambling companies in the front of their shirts.
This will be implemented at the end of 2025-2026. This hasn’t dampened interest. Aston Villa signed a contract with Betano to sponsor the club’s shirt until 2026.
