So now the Polish govt have decided to give exemptions on the online betting advertising in Poland to companies investing in sports sponsorship - but with a catch.
A rather confused situation this. I imagine a discussion something like this behind closed doors....
"Let's ban all forms of betting unless they have a Polish licence"
"Is that a good idea, that only leaves land-based casinos that rob our citizens blind?"
"But they pay us lots of taxes"
"Well, that's OK then.... What about the sports sponsorships? Unibet, Bwin and other companies pay a lot of money to sponsor sport in Poland, and have legal contracts as well..."
"Hmm, we don't want our football clubs to end up like ones in Albania and Latvia that are being investigated for match-fixing... I know, how about we give them an exemption, so they can still spend their money, but reap no benefits from it?"
"So you expect these companies to pay hundreds of thousands of euro for a sponsorship deal, and then not let them do any marketing apart from on the football field, they can't show their website address to show viewers where to go or even run promotions using the players they have paid a lot of money for?"
"Yes. Brilliant idea isn't it?"
"Yes Prime Minister"
OK, they have a President in Poland, but if you like classic comedies, you'll understand the reference.
Here's the story.
Bwin, Mangas brands, Unibet escape Poland sponsor ban
Expect some of these contracts to be renegotiated, or a legal battle to commence shortly.
A rather confused situation this. I imagine a discussion something like this behind closed doors....
"Let's ban all forms of betting unless they have a Polish licence"
"Is that a good idea, that only leaves land-based casinos that rob our citizens blind?"
"But they pay us lots of taxes"
"Well, that's OK then.... What about the sports sponsorships? Unibet, Bwin and other companies pay a lot of money to sponsor sport in Poland, and have legal contracts as well..."
"Hmm, we don't want our football clubs to end up like ones in Albania and Latvia that are being investigated for match-fixing... I know, how about we give them an exemption, so they can still spend their money, but reap no benefits from it?"
"So you expect these companies to pay hundreds of thousands of euro for a sponsorship deal, and then not let them do any marketing apart from on the football field, they can't show their website address to show viewers where to go or even run promotions using the players they have paid a lot of money for?"
"Yes. Brilliant idea isn't it?"
"Yes Prime Minister"
OK, they have a President in Poland, but if you like classic comedies, you'll understand the reference.
Here's the story.
Bwin, Mangas brands, Unibet escape Poland sponsor ban
Expect some of these contracts to be renegotiated, or a legal battle to commence shortly.
Now it is Poland making noise about banning online gambling outright, before it was Sweden staunchly defending its national monopoly... And the list could go on... Taking into account that national governments are mostly interested in their national interests and inflate the state budget, rather than in consumers choices, consumers are gathering and developing initiatives such as Right2bet aimed at guaranteeing the right of consumers to decide which betting operator they want regardless of the country where they are based on. If you also believe in a truly open single European market, go to www.right2bet.net and sign the petition that will be presented to the European authorities.
ReplyDeleteI have had a look at the website mentioned and I think this type of initiatives are great at least to raise awareness about the fact that politicians are not listening to consumers wishes, thus consumers need to raise their voices.
ReplyDeleteThe information provided can end some misunderstandings as regards the gambling sector, there is a lot of information on the current state of affairs and several tools, such as the MEP one to email politicians on the subject.
I recommend the site to everyone who believes in an open and single EU market in every economic sector, gambling included.