Why Did Tottenham Hotspur Sign A Sponsorship Deal With An Online Casino In 2006?

Even though the iGaming industry has always been in strong connection with traditional sports, it wasn’t until recently that major clubs decided to turn to world-renowned casino brands for sponsorships. One of the clubs that did it almost two decades ago was Tottenham Hotspur.

In 2006, the Premier League club signed a 4-year contract with online gambling company Mansion. Moreover, this Gibraltar-based brand offered Tottenham Hotspur a $64 million dollar shirt sponsorship, which at the time was one of the most lucrative deals in the Premier League.

However, back in the day, it was unusual for a football club to go into a sponsorship deal with a gambling company. Therefore, many critics speculated about the reasons why Tottenham Hotspur decided to say “Yes”. And in this article, we’ll take a closer look at those reasons.

They Wanted To Fortify Their Brand Outside The Traditional Circles

Even though Tottenham Hotspur had its own fan base, it’s very likely that they wanted to make their brand grow outside their usual target audience. By signing a deal with an online gambling company, this club would become present even amongst those people who wouldn’t usually watch their games. And this means even outside the UK borders.

For example, most gambling fans spend a lot of time browsing the net in pursuit of different information which is casino-related. Some European players will spend hours on Danske casino onlinecasinosdk.com so that they will learn more about the best casino brands. And those who did the same in 2006 were aware of the connection between this team and the Mansion brand. Automatically, this would have brought this team closer to online casino enthusiasts, who would in return show interest in supporting or even betting on this club.

They Were Thinking Outside Of The Box

It was considered very risky for a football club to sign a deal with a gambling company, especially in 2006. Even though today these types of sponsorships are completely normal, back then it was considered as somewhat unpopular. Online casino visitors who also enjoy lees over casino site Belgie in their free time know that the concept of online gambling didn’t become very popular until the second decade of the new century. So, one could say that Tottenham Hotspur was thinking outside of the box when they accepted this deal. They saw the potential of growing as a brand with this sponsor and they took it.

They Wanted To Stay Relevant To The Future Generations Of Sports Betting Fans

Another important reason why a Premier League club would sign a deal with an online gambling company in 2006, is because they saw the potential in the iGaming industry. It wasn’t until later that online casinos and sportsbooks became popular, especially online ones. In 2006 there weren’t many online operators. Unlike today when you can find a countless number of artikel over eerlijke online casino or blogs about the best online casino sites, in 2006 there weren’t as many of them available. However, many speculate that Tottenham Hotspur saw that the future lies in the online casino and sports betting industry, and they wanted to be among the first ones to join in. And as it turns out, that isn’t so far from the truth. Soon afterwards, online casinos and sportsbooks became extremely popular, and many sports and gambling fans made the transition from land-based sites to online platforms.

They Were Aiming At A Major A Publicity Stunt

As it turns out, Mansion’s first pick wasn’t Tottenham Hotspur, but Manchester United. However, this club declined this sponsorship and they ended up signing the contract with Tottenham. For this reason, it wouldn’t be surprising that Tottenham Hotspur was looking to gain a little publicity by signing a contract with a sponsor that was aiming at another club. What is more, the publicity at the time would also come from the fact that they accepted sponsorship from an online gambling company, something that most of the other clubs were too afraid to do. In any case, the sponsorship deal with Mansion brought this club a change for the better. What is more, it was a perfect example to other Premier League members to be more open-minded in the future to a new generation of sponsors.