Real Madrid has signed partnership with Russian sportsbook Marathonbet. This is the first Russian investor in one of Spain’s top-tier soccer teams, after a similar partnership between Marathonbet and Sevilla.

Real Madrid Teams Up with Marathonbet for Betting Partnership

Spain’s soccer powerhouse Real Madrid has struck up a partnership with Russian sportsbook Marathonbet. As a result, the home stadium of the team, Santiago Bernabéu, will now display the betting partner’s logo during official matches.

Marathonbet will work on special marketing opportunities, leveraging the potential of Real Madrid’s brand name. The sportsbook plans on introducing a number of bonuses and promotions, including VIP experiences, special offers, and regular bonuses. Real Madrid’s list of partnerships is long and it includes brands such as:

• Tecate
• China Citic Bank
• ManBetx
• Palladium hotel Group
• Coca-Cola

Marathonbet is the first Russian brand to join this list of sponsors. This is not a first sponsorship for Marathonbet either. The platform has focused on La Liga and Spanish soccer in particular through an earlier partnership with Sevilla, a top-tier team in the championship.

The partnership between Sevilla and the sportsbook is estimated at $5.5 million whereas no financial information was disclosed regarding the deal as of this moment.

To achieve better visibility, Marathonbet has also partnered with a number of established soccer teams in the English Premier League (EPL):

• Manchester United
• Liverpool
• Tottenham Hotspurs

These partnerships are no longer active.

Spain’s Gambling Sector Continues to Grow

The country’s gambling sector has been growing at a tremendous pace. Commutatively, the industry hit $8.48 billion in 2018. Sports betting didn’t account for the bulk of the amount, but interest was sustained.

Most importantly, Spain saw a 270% increase in gambling operations over the course of the past five years, from 2014 through 2019. While the gambling industry has been developing well, despite regulations, there have been some thorny issues to address.

For instance, one-in-five Spanish children admits to gambling one of the higher rates across Europe. Spaniards briefly protested the spreading of sports betting shops in October, but without exciting much interest from media.

Meanwhile, the country has decided to introduce stricter advertisement measures for online gambling establishments which will come into effect on January 1, 2020.

The EPL Continues to Sign Up Betting Partnerships

Back to soccer and the EPL, the world’s most-watched soccer derby has multiple ties with betting operators. Only three clubs have no partnerships with a betting entity. Bet365 and Betway both have multiple partnerships within the league.

Marathonbet is teamed up with Manchester City and William Hill is sponsoring Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile, Watford signed up a partnership with Sportsbet.io, a blockchain-powered sportsbook.

While betting partnerships continue to increase across the English Premier League, a voluntary water-shed ban has been agreed-upon to help limit exposing underage individuals to gambling content.

The move was welcome by a selection of top tier betting companies across the United Kingdom. The proposal was brought up by the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG) and endorsed by a number of companies.