NordicBet to resume sponsorship of Danish football
NordicBet will sponsor Denmark’s first division for another season after last season’s pause due to changes in advertising rules.
Denmark.- Betsson AB’s sportsbook NordicBet extended its deal as title sponsor of Danish football’s first division, the country’s second-ranking division.
The sportsbook has sponsored the division, named NordicBet Liga, since 2017 but had to suspend its sponsorship of the 2020/21 season due to changes to Denmark’s advertising laws.
Divisionsforeningen (DF), Denmark’s football league association, has now confirmed that NordicBet will return as the main sponsor of the first division for the new season, which starts on July 25.
DF CEO Claus Thomsen thanked NordicBet for continuing its commitment to Danish football despite the suspension of its sponsorship during the past season.
He said. “In NordicBet, we have a dedicated and stable partner with a focus on responsible gaming. They are a partner that is supporting Danish football even in such a challenging time for world football. This extension sends a signal that Danish football is still worth supporting.”
Betsson noted that it had continued to support clubs while its sponsorship of the league was on hold.
Ronni Hartvig, chief commercial officer at Betsson Group, said: “Even though our sponsorship was on pause, we still continued supporting the clubs by looking on from outside the pitch and now we are happy to step back in the pitch and resume this great partnership.
“Our goal is to continue in strengthening the league and drive new initiatives which we hope will bring fans even closer to the clubs they support.”
Danish gambling revenue falls 15.3% in first quarter
While online casino revenue continues to scale new heights in Denmark, it’s still not enough to make up for the loss of land-based gaming revenue in the country.
Denmark’s gambling revenue from the regulated market in the first quarter fell 15.3 per cent year-on-year to DKK1.31bn (€175.5m).
Online casino revenue increased by 28.7 per cent year-on-year and by 7.7 per cent against 2020 Q4 to a quarterly record of DKK717m.
But that didn’t offset the zero revenue from land-based gaming. Denmark’s casinos, gaming halls and restaurant casinos closed under new Covid-19 restrictions from December 9 until April 5, meaning they were closed for the entire quarter.
Sports betting revenue also fell since retail betting was unavailable. Revenue fell 7.4 per cent year-on-year and 18.8 per cent from the previous quarter to DKK588m.
The figures continue a pattern seen last year, which saw Denmark report its first annual decline in gambling revenue since the re-regulation of the market in 2012, with revenue down 8.7 per cent year-on-year to DKK6bn.
