Birmingham City FC is looking to go second time lucky with an Asian betting partner, announcing a new collaboration with Duelbits.
The crypto casino replaces God55 as the Championship side’s Asian betting partner, as the club continues the globalisation of its marketing strategy.
Earlier in the year, the blues hit the headlines after an iGaming Expert investigation revealed that God55 was misleading consumers over claims that it held a Maltese Gaming Authority (MGA) licence.
Though the club never responded to the allegations, they did remove a promotional video featuring God55 from their social media channels.
Little details have been shared on how the Championship side will promote Duelbits, however, the club has hailed the addition to their growing list of commercial collaborations.
Birmingham City Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Dale, said: “We are excited to welcome Duelbits onboard as the club continue to increase our global standing.
“As an organisation, we are big on fan experience, and in Duelbits, we have a partner who shares that approach and puts their customers at the forefront of their operation.”
Asia has long represented a growth market for English football teams, evidenced by the continuing trend of clubs partnering with Asian-focused gambling operators.
In Birmingham’s case, they noted how current players such as Japan’s Kyōgo Furuhashi and Tomoki Iwata and South Korea’s Paik Seung-ho are helping to grow their profile in the region.
Football’s recurring conundrum
Teams have faced significant scrutiny from fans, politicians and the UK Gambling Commission over their involvement with the gambling industry operators that are not licensed for the UK market.
In October, Leicester City were scolded for choosing to “legitimise” BC.Game by returning to the operator as their front-of-shirt sponsor for the current Championship season.
Duncan Garvie, Founder of BetBlocker, told iGaming Expert: “That a major UK football club has chosen to legitimise a gambling operator that is illegal in the UK only adds to consumer confusion around which sites are legal and appropriately regulated,” said Garvie.
“This is a practice that the [UK Gambling Commissions] need to be empowered to stamp out. The standards for safer gambling practices have been clearly set in the UK market. If BC.Game was meeting those standards, they would hold a UK license.”
Though the UKGC does not have any rules that prevent such partnerships, the commission has warned football clubs that they must ensure that “sufficient due diligence” is done to ensure that consumers in the UK cannot interact with operators not licensed in the UK.
Duelbits previously had a presence in the UK, however, this ended when TGP Europe exited the UK market after a UKGC investigation revealed significant AML failures. The operator currently holds a licence from the Curaçao Gaming Authority.
While some believe that previous controversies may lead to clubs reconsidering the value of sponsorship deals from such operators, it appears that this is not the case for Birmingham as it seeks to grow its commercial portfolio.
