1xBet faces surrogate advertising claims in Asia
Online operator reportedly using 1XBat sports site to sponsor Sri Lankan cricket tour in legal loophole
Sports betting operator 1xBet has come under fire for surrogate advertising in Sri Lanka to circumvent local gambling regulations.
On 16 July, Sri Lanka Cricket named 1xBat as its official title sponsor of the test series between the island nation and Pakistan.
Under the remit of the sponsorship, 1xBat was given title rights to the series, along with branding opportunities, namely on the stumps during the game.
However, accusations of surrogate advertising emerged on Twitter in the following days.
Did you notice the brand whose logo is on the stumps (and also on the boundary ropes and outfield) during the #SLvPAK Test?
It's 1xBat.
Never heard of it? Here's a
on what this brand is. pic.twitter.com/rLrzIk8HTj
— Jaideep Vaidya (@jaideepjourno) July 19, 2022
When searching 1xBat on Google, the search engine returns results for the operator 1xBet as its top results.
This redirection from the sponsor of the series to the operator has been noted as a prime example of surrogate advertising.
Customers face difficulty in finding the cricket news site (1xBat) and are instead inundated with links to the operator.
Online gambling is illegal in Sri Lanka, with 1xBet being licensed in Curaçao and based in Cyprus.
Alongside 1xBat, the operator also operates 1xNews and 1xBet sports blog.
A similar story of surrogate advertising appears in India via 1XNews, which recently inked sponsorship agreements with Indian football club FC Goa and Kabaddi team Bengaluru Bulls.
In June, Josimar reported 1xBet had been declared bankrupt in Curaçao, with the firm being pursued in a class action lawsuit representing a group of players alleging they are owed €860,000 in winnings.
EGR has contacted 1xBet for comment.