Entain to axe Australian sports sponsorship stable
Operator makes proactive move amid sea change in public attitudes but will retain horseracing portfolio
Entain is set to pull its sponsorship of Australian sports teams as the operator signals a definitive shift in strategy in the market.
The London-listed firm, which operates the Ladbrokes, Sportingbet and Neds brands in Australia, confirmed it would pull its sponsorship stable amid a change in attitudes in the region.
Ladbrokes and Neds both sponsor swathes of Australian sport, including NRL and AFL teams, as well as sponsorships with the A-League and UFC Australia.
The definitive move to remove all sponsorship in sport follows Ladbrokes decision to pull its A$7.5m sponsorship of NRL side Brisbane Broncos in July.
Ladbrokes cited the increase of point of consumption tax and a new 5% racing levy by the Queensland government as the reason for pulling the commercial deal.
However, Ladbrokes will continue its extensive set of partnerships in Australian horseracing.
An Entain spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald: “While we have had many great partners in this space over a long period of time, we understand some of the community sentiment around this and feel it is the right time to step away from this area.”
Entain’s decision comes as Australia is set to implement new gambling messaging for adverts to replace the existing “Gamble Responsibly” tagline.
Following research conducted by the Department of Social Services, new taglines including “Chances are you’re about to lose.”; “Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?” and “What’s gambling really costing you?” will go live in March 2023.
Elsewhere, Entain is also being investigated by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre over potential failures regarding its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies.