Betway renews CD Leganés partnership despite imminent Spanish ad ban

Betway has renewed its front-of-shirt sponsorship with Spanish football club CD Leganés ahead of the country’s proposed clampdown on gambling marketing.

The deal – originally signed in 2018 – has been extended into next season despite the club’s relegation from La Liga to the second tier, albeit at a reduced price.

The agreement reportedly cost around €1m per season while CD Leganés was still in the top flight.

The Spanish Ministry for Consumer Affairs has proposed sweeping measures in recent months designed to combat the proliferation of gambling advertising in the country.

The overhauls – first suggested during Covid-19 lockdown to protect at-risk consumers – will outlaw gambling sponsorship in sport and confine the sector’s marketing activity to between 1am and 5am.

🖤💚 Our 2020/21 away kit!#SentimientoPepinerohttps://t.co/fY9SbtplS4

— C.D. Leganés 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@CDLeganes_en) July 29, 2020

EGR understands Betway has implemented an escape clause in the renewal, allowing the operator to opt out of the sponsorship should the ban be rubberstamped by the European Commission.

There are currently seven clubs in La Liga that feature gambling company shirt sponsors, including Valencia, Alavés, Granada, Mallorca, Sevilla, Osasuna and Levante.

Betsson is another operator to have taken a gamble on Spain’s Royal Decree falling at the final hurdle after securing a sponsorship deal with third-tier UD Ibiza in July.

Spanish trade body Jdigital has previously described the Royal Decree as “disproportionate and unjustified”.