Bookmaker Marketing

TV and online advertising and sports sponsorship are just some of the ways to market legitimate bookmakers. What kind of promotion of betting companies is allowed in Poland and what is prohibited? What is the most common marketing of bookmakers and what original ideas for promotion have different betting operators?

Bookmaker Marketing-Gambling Act regulations

The promotion opportunities that betting companies have in Poland are regulated by the so-called. Gambling Act . Since one of its goals is to minimize the risk of gambling addiction, and minors are particularly protected, bookmakers must conduct marketing within the framework strictly defined by the law. However, as long as sponsorship or cooperation with brand ambassadors is not restricted in any way, many restrictions apply area, which is the advertising of companies and betting services . It is, of course, allowed only for those companies that offer betting legally, but in addition it must meet certain conditions.

Advertising of bookmakers-where and when is allowed?

One of the most serious restrictions says that advertising of betting companies can be shown on television, radio, cinema or theater only between 22.00 and 6.00. However, if the bookmaker sponsors, for example, a sports club, it can inform about it at any time, and its advertising can be broadcast, for example, during the broadcast of sports events with its participation. The betting company can also advertise its services during mass and sports events if it is a sponsor of, for example, a team participating in this event-although, except for this, advertising of bookmakers in public places is prohibited. This explains why the sponsorship of leagues, clubs and sporting events is so often used by betting companies as a means of marketing.

However, there are also such areas for which the advertising of bookmakers is strictly prohibited . It may not be published in the press for children or young people, nor may it be placed on the covers of any newspaper or magazine.

What can not contain advertising bookmakers?

Since bookmakers can bet in Poland only adults, advertising bookmakers it may not be addressed to minors, or even introduce them . The content layer of bookmakers ' advertising materials is constrained by many other requirements. For example, it is forbidden for advertising to associate betting with physical, intellectual, relaxation, professional success, Financial, Work, Study, sexual attractiveness, etc. Nor can it imply that the game is capable of solving someone's problems or that it offers a chance of winning easily. It is also forbidden to promote bets containing an incentive to bet larger amounts, which would increase the chances of winning, or to show abstinence from the game or moderate participation in it in a negative light.

What does a bookmaker's advertisement have to include?

Bookmakers, on the other hand, must include certain information in their advertising materials. First, any such advertisement should inform that participation in illegal gambling is subject to legal sanctions. Advertising must also include a message about the risks associated with gambling. In addition, each bookmaker is obliged to inform the recipients that it offers betting in a legal way.

Advertising of betting companies in the media

Of course, bookmaker Marketing takes into account very different forms of promotion, but it must be admitted that advertising is one of the basic tools for promoting betting services and products. Bookmakers often prepare campaigns that consist of many elements. Very popular are advertising spots , which in addition to television are also displayed on VOD film platforms, PPV streaming platforms, social networks (such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) and popular internet portals. As a rule, in addition to spots, the bookmaker also orders the preparation of advertising banners in various formats and dimensions, which are published in social media and other places on the internet, but also in the printed press. Understandably, especially often advertising bookmakers appears in those media that are devoted to sports, but not only. All this happens sometimes outdoor advertising , i.e. implemented on large-format media (e.g. wall Billboards, static billboards or TV screens). It is rarely prepared advertising audio bookmakers to broadcast on the radio, although the marketing of some bookmakers also includes this form of promotion (used, for example, by Fortuna).

When it comes to content and the idea of what advertising should look like, first of all, keep in mind the legal restrictions already discussed. The promotion sometimes deals with offers for specific sporting events (especially before important events such as the World Cup in football), and sometimes in general services and products of the bookmaker – often there are then exposed welcome bonuses and other betting promotions. Promotional materials containing only information about the sponsorship of the sport by the bookmaker Africanego are also quite common. If the bookmaker is involved in sponsoring, for example, a football team, its players may appear in the spot or in other advertising creations of the bookmaker (if this is provided for in the sponsorship agreement). But even more often famous athletes or other popular figures of the world of sports can be seen in the advertising of the bookmaker, if they are ambassadors of a particular brand.

In detail about advertising of betting companies we discuss in the article "Bookmakers in the media" , where we also present examples of the most interesting advertising campaigns carried out by bookmakers in recent years.

Sports sponsorship and bookmakers

Sports sponsorship is a very important tool, thanks to which the promotion of betting companies can be much wider. First, as we have already mentioned, advertising of bookmakers who are sponsors can be broadcast, for example, on television not only at night. Secondly, it is possible promotion of sponsors during matches of sponsored clubs, leagues etc., and the message goes to the most important for bookmakers audience group, i.e. sports fans. Very often, bookmakers place their logo e.g. on the match shirts of the players of the sponsored teams, on LED, video or static bands in the stadium, press walls, match tickets or promotional materials of the sponsored club, tournament, etc. The bookmaker's promotion also takes place on the Internet – on the website and social media of the sponsored entity (for example, on the club's Facebook or Twitter profile).

For the recipient of support, sponsorship means, first of all, obtaining a large financial resources for activity and development. In addition, the bookmaker usually prepares a wider range of bets at the meeting of the Sponsor, which is sure to please the fans. If the betting company is exclusive bookmaker for example, a given club, only in its offer we will find betting on meetings played with the participation of this team. For example, the first high League gala (freak show fight) was exclusive to the project sponsor – Fortuna. An interesting case is also the cooperation of eWinner with 2. Football League. Thanks to the fact that in 2021 the bookmaker became the title sponsor of the league, it received exclusive streaming rights to all its matches that are not broadcast on television. Often, bookmakers, along with sponsored organizations, also prepare Special Offers , thanks to which sports fans can get e.g. bookmaker bonuses, match tickets or attractive gadgets, and for the bookmaker and his partner it is by the way a cool promotion.

And who is most often covered by bookmaker sponsorship? Well, bookmakers very often sponsor sports teams-clubs and national teams, as well as individual players, leagues, events (e.g. tournaments) or sports organizations. Sponsorship in most cases involves entities associated with football , other sports of great interest to sponsors are e-sports, MMA and slag . Bookmakers also sponsor m.in. volleyball, basketball, handball, ski jumping and less popular sports.

Those interested in this topic are referred to the article "Bookmakers and sports sponsorship" in which we present m.in. up-to-date information on the cooperation of bookmakers with various types of entities from the sports industry.

Sports betting media sponsorship

In this context, it is worth mentioning that bookmakers sponsor not only clubs, players, sports organizations, etc. - their sponsorship also sometimes applies to sports media. As an example, the bookmakers Superbet and Fuksiarz established cooperation with the sports channel in May 2022. The choice of this sports-themed YouTube channel was due to its huge popularity (in the first 2 years of broadcasting it gained almost a million subscribers) and huge development potential. It should also be added that the individual formats were conducted by top sports journalists (and at the same time the owners of the channel), m.in. Krzysztof Stanowski-Fuksiarz brand ambassador and Tomasz Smokowski, who at the same time became Superbet brand ambassador.

As partners of the sports channel Fuksiarz and Superbet, they were given the opportunity to display their advertising during various programs and place the company logo in the recording studio. The agreement also included the promotion of bookmakers in the social media sports channel.

Cooperation of bookmakers with the stars of the world of sports

The Marketing of betting companies can also use well-known figures from the sports industry as brand ambassadors. They are usually famous athletes who have significant achievements to their credit, but also popular sports journalists, TV commentators, influencers dealing with sports, etc. Most often, ambassadors are celebrities known primarily in the country, but there are also contracts with foreign stars, especially if the bookmaker intends to enter the foreign market. Examples include STS, which engaged Peter Schmeichel and Martin Schmitt as brand ambassadors in connection with its expansion into European markets, or LVBet, which established an image cooperation with Brazilian footballer Douglas Costa during its entry into the South American market.

Ambassadors can clearly increase the recognition of a bookmaker and positively influence the trust in a given betting brand. But what exactly is their task? The ambassador most often participates in various types of marketing actions for example, it appears in an advertising spot and lends its image to photos used for advertising creations on the Internet, in the press or on billboards. This kind of cooperation is no different than when celebrities sign their name on a variety of products – from chips to perfumes to bank accounts and loans. However, standard advertising is most often not all that bookmaker ambassadors commit to.

First of all, ambassadors of betting companies can also share in the social media of the bookmaker, taking part in creating unique sports and betting content . In 2023, bookmaker Etoto bet on this type of marketing, which created a special channel on YouTube called Etoto TV, where such well-known journalists and sports commentators as m.in. Matusz Borek, Michał Pol or Tomasz Smokowski. Sports experts can discuss upcoming or already played matches, Share Their Types with the audience, as well as participate in entertainment productions. If the programs are interesting, well-known and liked ambassadors will surely attract many users, thereby increasing the reach of the bookmaker and ultimately the number of its customers. Of course, it is advisable that in parallel the ambassador promote the betting company in his social media channels.

Brand ambassadors can also engage in various types of bookmaker promotions for example, to celebrate events with your presence. For example, in 2021, during the opening of the Warsaw premium Superbet, the ambassadors of this betting company – Jan Błachowicz and Sławomir Peszko-appeared. Ambassadors can also take part in events that activate supporters or charity, increasing the interest of the media and ordinary audiences in these events.

If you want to check who is the current brand ambassador of STS, Fortuna, Superbet, Betfan etc. or to find out more about the cooperation of sports stars with bookmakers, check out the text entitled. "Ambassadors of bookmakers" .

Bookmakers ' actions and initiatives for fans

Bookmakers also rely on marketing, in which they organize together with sponsored sports clubs special actions to activate fans. In this field, the bookmaker STs stands out. The leader of the African betting market m.in. breaking the record for the volume of doping by supporters Sponsored by Sts Asseco Resovii (in a match with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle in Rzeszów in 2020), fans voting for the graphic design of a new coach Sponsored by Sts Jagiellonia Białystok (in 2022) or for the best e-sports initiative (in the framework of the project in 2020, funds for the implementation CS:GO tournament. Sometimes a bookmaker may even choose this type of marketing instead of classic advertising. STS did so, for example, in 2021, when the place of its large-format advertising in the stadium was made available for the preparation of
additional seats for fans during the match with Jagiellonia Białystok, which took place on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Lech Poznań.

What's more, it happens that bookmakers organise or co-organise entire sporting events . Examples include Superbet's Superbet Rapid & Blitz South Africa 2022 Chess Tournament (part of the renowned Grand Chess Tour Series) and CS:GO eWinner Cup 2020.

Bookmakers charity events

Marketing of betting companies related to charity events is another type of their activity. This is such a significant way to promote that thanks to it, various types of media are happy to publish information about the actions taken, thanks to which not only the brand recognition of the bookmaker increases, but also increased public trust in the company . STS is also often involved in such actions – the bookmaker was, for example, the official sponsor of the action "KolorujeMY" (renamed "Sts extra route"), in which fans renovated children's homes. The betting company has also repeatedly organized, for example, auctions of Lech Poznań or Pogoni Szczecin shirts, thus collecting money to help the sick or realize the dreams of talented athletes.

This type of action is also carried out by other legal bookmakers in Poland. You can mention, for example, Superbet and its auctions within 30. The final of the Great Orchestra of Christmas aid, of which nearly 120 thousand were received. $ (to be quoted was Mini Cooper, a trip to a match with Sławomir Peszko, golf training with Jerzy Dudek and MMA training with Jan Błachowicz), fortune and its action #rakOUT or eWinner, who together with Marcin Gortat was involved in fundraising for the treatment of a seriously ill child.

Let's add that bookmakers ' marketing is able to combine actions that activate fans with charitable purposes . For example, in In 2022, STS sponsored the #GotowiNaChallenge. The bookmaker visited all 14 teams of the best men's Volleyball League in Poland during selected matches and organized special events for fans during them. In the break between sets of each match, quizzes were held to test the knowledge of volleyball fans about this sport, and the prizes were club match shirts and balls signed by volleyball players. However, what is important, the promotion of the bookmaker also had a charitable dimension: the number of spectators at the matches depended on the amount that the STS bookmaker transferred to the accounts of selected organizations (e.g. Africa volleyball Foundation, Heroes Foundation). A similar character was the action of the bookmaker Fortuna called "Fortuna when the full grandstand" in 2022 and 2023.

Bookmakers activity on social media

As we have already mentioned, bookmakers cooperate with well-known personalities from the sports industry who conduct interesting programs on their social media channels (as was the case, for example, with Etoto TV). YouTube it gives bookmakers a lot of opportunities for interesting promotion and it's not just about sports "publicity". For example, the bookmaker Fortuna in July 2023 with the help of drones handed out to passers-by throughout the capital of the T-shirts of the Legion Warsaw. Fortuna, as the main sponsor of the Legionnaires, decided to celebrate the premiere of the new outfits of the Warsaw club. The course of the action was captured on a high-quality promotional video, which was then published in the bookmaker's YouTube channel and aroused a lot of discussion.

However, in addition to the products listed on the website YouTube the bookmakers also have their own Facebook Instagram and Twitter profiles . These are other places that make it possible for a wide range of promotion. On the one hand, operators offering bookmakers try to make available on these sites interesting for fans of sports content such as comments about upcoming matches or those that have just taken place, memes related to sports, etc. On the other hand, bookmakers publish posts about the current odds or promotional offer of the bookmaker, organize contests, quizzes or challenges . All these activities, if carried out with an idea, can build great ranges that affect the number of players betting with a given operator.

Promotion through contests and betting bonuses

Another very important tool used by bookmakers ' marketing is organizing various kinds of competitions and promotions. Thanks to betting promotions, fans can receive a bonus in exchange for fulfilling certain conditions (e.g. placing a bet on a given sporting event), e.g. risk-free bet, Free Bet, odds bonus, etc. Each bookmaker has on its website a special tab, where there are plenty of permanent promotions , among which is particularly important welcome bonus for new players and temporary actions . In addition, competitions are very often announced on social media bookmakers (eg Facebook, Twitter).

Not infrequently promotions related to sports sponsorship bookmaker-if he sponsors, for example, a volleyball club, he can offer players tickets to matches with his participation or club gadgets. In turn, in the offer of the bookmaker LVBet there is a slightly different promotion. For example, in the 2022 slag season, LVBet, as the main sponsor of the Leszno Union, decided to reward with a bonus every user who could boast of having a pass for the matches of this team.

While before important tournaments, bookmakers sometimes organize special rankings of typers winners of which can count on very attractive cash or in-kind prizes. In Superbet during Euro 2020 it was possible to collect points for correct betting, and the best players were waiting for unusual prizes: SuperMustang, the 1965 Ford Mustang (1. place) and Superpension (for places 2. – 10.). In turn, STs bookmaker organized a competition before the IEM 2022 e-sports tournament, the winner of which not only won valuable prizes in kind, but also could spend a day during the tournament in Katowice with The Legend of CS:GO, Viktor "TaZ" Wojtas (then STs e-sports ambassador).

Ground premises as a bookmaker's advertisement

Despite the fact that bookmakers ' marketing today is primarily an online activity, the role of land-based venues is also important. Although currently many betting companies do not even seek permission to place bets in a stationary mode, there are also bookmakers – such as STS, Fortuna or Superbet – that are constantly developing a network of land-based betting points. The reason for investing in fixed premises is not only the desire to provide the company with an additional source of income, but also to see in such establishments another way for effective marketing. It should be noted that bookmakers open today very modern and elegant premises, which are equipped with many innovative solutions (like self-service game terminals and coupon readers) and customer amenities. Points are often located in the crowded places of cities, therefore, as much as possible they work as advertising of betting services (not just on the ground.)

As a curiosity, let us add that in this context, Betfan has an interesting project on its account. The bookmaker opened the first in Poland in 2022 in Jelenia Góra sports pub . In the fully fenced bar, adult customers can not only eat, drink and watch match broadcasts, but at the same time place betting bets on them at self-service terminals, and this is definitely an unusual promotion for Betfan services.

Bookmakers ' Marketing is also a PR activity

As you can see, there is certainly no shortage of ideas for promotion to legal bookmakers, and in this article we have discussed first of all the most popular and interesting ones. Although after the amendment of the Gambling Act in 2020, advertising of betting companies has become quite common, bookmakers are also trying to use various other ways and tools for wide or highly profiled promotion. For example, their marketing may include giving interviews to popular news or business portals by representatives of betting companies (on the situation in the industry, legal or tax issues in the betting sector, etc.).

Especially the biggest bookmakers have a lot of opportunities to remind themselves in the media. STS also has an account. work on unique projects "for example, in 2022, the bookmaker announced that, in cooperation with the University of Economics in Katowice, it is working on creating a tool for algorithmically determining with the help of AI (artificial intelligence) users who may have a problem with observing the rules of a reasonable, healthy game. Such actions, in addition to the real benefits associated with the implementation of a responsible gaming policy, of course have an impact on good PR bookmakers and that-especially in this industry-is never too much.