Real Madrid in danger of losing Bwin sponsorship

By Staff Writer
Updated: 15 May, 2012

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Newly crowned la liga champions Real Madrid have been sponsored by European online gaming giant Bwin since the 2007-2008 season, in a deal that has been reported to net the club around 23 Million euro per-year. However it now appears the Spanish giants could be in danger of losing that sponsorship.

Back in February, Spanish betting operator Codere took online poker and sports betting giant Bwin to court claiming: “Bwin carries out unfair advertising, competing unfairly in Spain with authorised operators such as Codere.”

Their complaint is based on the fact that Spanish operators can only advertise after authorisation from Spanish gaming authorities; Bwin is allowed to skirt these laws as they are not Spanish operators.

Madrid’s Commercial Court returned with their decision in March and agreed with Codere that Bwin was indeed competing unfairly. According to the court: “any offering of gaming or betting activity that has not been granted a prior administrative authorisation is, indisputably, prohibited.”

The current contract with Madrid sees the Bwin brand prominently displayed on team uniforms and their Santiago Bernabeu stadium until 2013 and many had wondered whether the online giant would actually resign the deal. However with the current ruling, the company may have the excuse they need to discontinue their sponsorship deal.

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