Newcastle United is on board as Parimatch’s latest English Premier League partner. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Latest EPL partnership
Newcastle United is the latest English Premier League (EPL) team to partner with online sports betting brand Parimatch. With the latest agreement, Parimatch now has partnerships in place with four EPL teams; the other clubs are Aston Villa FC, Leicester City FC, and Chelsea FC.
will primarily focus on media rights
The deal with Newcastle will primarily focus on media rights. A similar agreement is in place with Aston Villa, but Parimatch’s relationship with the other two teams has more of an expansive scope, focusing on the likes of digital and offline rights, tickets, club merchandise, and accessing certain club assets.
Mutually beneficial
reacting to the deal with Parimatch, Newcastle United head of commercial Dale Aitchison spoke about how the agreement helps the team access new areas and markets. Evgen Belousov, CEO of the sportsbook operator’s parent company, Parimatch Tech, also welcomed the new partnership. He acknowledged that having relationships with EPL teams helps to boost the brand’s expansion in certain markets.
Parimatch was started in Ukraine and its operations are currently based in Cyprus. It officially launched in the UK market in October 2020, where it offers sports betting and online casino games.
Parimatch has had a presence in the EPL for some time, signing an agreement with Chelsea in September 2020 and with Leicester in August 2021. It also recently extended its agreement with Aston Villa to cover the 2022/2023 season. Parimatch previously had relationships in place with other EPL teams, such as Southampton FC and Brighton and Hove Albion FC.
A contentious issue
Parimatch’s new agreement with Newcastle United comes at an interesting time. There have been calls from many circles in recent years to curtail the influence that betting brands have on the UK sports scene, particularly soccer. Many of the biggest teams in the region have official sports betting partners, with a lot of them also having gambling-related shirt sponsors.
can have a negative impact on young and at-risk people
Those against gambling-related sponsorship believe that linking these companies with teams and athletes can have a negative impact on young and at-risk people. The relationships can allegedly normalize gambling for certain people and often lead to issues down the line with gambling behavior.
The long-awaited UK government review of gambling legislation has been completed, but the white paper has yet to be published. It had been expected that a ban on gambling-related sponsorships could be on the horizon, but there are now doubts that this will happen because of a change in leadership at the top of British government.
