National football league consists of many teams and some of them are pro-casino advertising, whereas others are against it. Under a new league policy, it is absolutely legal to advertise casinos on the stadium banners, no matter whether it is a new offline casino or an online casino with free video slot games.
One of the teams that are firmly against any sort of gambling ads is Chicago Bears. As the players and the team’s vice president of sales and marketing have commented: “The Bears choose not to participate in casino ads because of certain values they believe in.” Also, it was added that they deal only with the best and most prestigious brands and companies and gambling entities simply don’t seem to be right.
Chicago is the city with a great variety of prestigious gambling houses such as, for instance, Rivers Casino and Horseshoe Casino that would gladly sponsor the team. But the Bears prefer to lose about $2 million annually just to stay away from the casino ads.
The Bears and “blue chip” brands
As it was mentioned above, the Bears do not want to advertise anything that is more or less connected with the gambling industry. Their position on this is quite serious. They prefer to deal with such “blue chip” spheres as banking, telecommunications, automobile industry, and others. Because dealing with second-tier brands means ruining their own brand.
By ignoring the participation in casino ads, the team loses an opportunity of making several million dollars every single year.
NFL teams that cooperate with casinos
When the law came into force, many teams became interested in advertising casinos. For example, San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals were promoting the names of certain gambling houses. By doing so, a team makes from $800.000 and up to $1.000.000 per year.
Contracts and rules
The contract that is signed between two parties (a casino and an NFL team) lasts only 2 years. Apart from that, there are certain restrictions that should be taken into account: banners should be located in the upper bowls so that to avoid television cameras. And 5% of the money that is received for the ads should be spent on the NFL’s anti-gambling program for its employees.
It is not a secret that gambling industry plays a vital role in the NFL’s popularity as the football games are watched by millions of people worldwide, including keen football fans and gambling addicts. The fact that during Super Bowl people make bets for hundreds millions of dollars only in the USA can serve as an example of its popularity.
That’s why, the discussion about the advertising balance and the outcomes of it is always interesting.
