The Austrian bookmaker has signed a E10m deal to sponsor the Portuguese Soccer League for the next four seasons, sparking the protest of the Association of Portuguese Casinos and of the Santa Casa da Misericordia, a charity which holds the state monopoly for lotteries and pari-mutuel betting.
Santa Casa da Misericordia said in a statement that publicizing the Austrian-based company is illegal, as the Portuguese advertising code says that only gambling promoted by SCML could be advertised in Portugal.
BetandWin Director Manfred Bodner said he trusted European legislation to rule on the conflict.
Apart from numerous sponsoring activities on sports such as Formula 1, the MotoGP championships and tennis, the Austrian bookmaker has an extensive list of partners in soccer, including at club level: FC Barcelona (Spain), Juventus Turin (Italy), Girondins Bordeaux (France), Werder Bremen, FC Koln and Fortuna Dusseldorf (Germany).
BetandWin is also one of the main sponsors of the Hungarian national team and of the national teams from Germany, Italy and Spain in the qualifying rounds of the World Championships.
According to the deal, BetandWin has acquired rights that include displaying its logo on the jerseys of all Portuguese first and second division players, using the designation “Title Sponsor” or “Official Sponsor of the Portuguese Soccer League”, and maintaining an extensive presence at the clubs\’ stadiums.
The agreement also covers the use of the company\’s logo on merchandising, media cooperations, and the integration of BetandWin into the league\’s website.
Portuguese teams play a central role in European soccer championships. In 2004 FC Porto won the UEFA Champions League, whilst this year Sporting Lisbon was defeated by CSKA Moscow only in the final of the UEFA Cup.
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