The Vanarama National League announced earlier today it has chosen major gambling firms Unibet and 32Red for its official betting partners. The two operators are part of the Kindred Group and have agreed on a two-year partnership that will last throughout the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 football seasons. The two selected betting brands service customers from a variety of European markets and have already secured sponsorships with different international leagues.
The Kindred Group operators’ logos will appear on the Vanarama National League stadium, during game programmes, and its digital channels. The Vanarama National League’s General Manager for the UK, Mr. Mark Ives said the League was delighted to welcome the two popular betting brands as its official partners. Mr. Ives praised the League for prioritising its fans and embracing social responsibility through community projects and promoting gambling awareness.
The General Director said the last eighteen months have been particularly challenging for the League. This two-year partnership is more than welcome, especially now that fans have started to return in greater numbers after the easing of the pandemic-associated restrictions.
The Kindred Group is equally delighted with the newly sealed sponsorship deal. The Group’s General Manager Neil Banburry said the partnership is very important for the gambling company and everyone connected to it. Mr. Banburry likened British football to a pyramid, saying that the elite levels of the sport cannot exist without non-league football, which is the sport’s “lifeblood”.
He also expressed hopes that the new sponsorships would help support the sport but said fans were football’s main supporters through their unswerving dedication and loyalty. The importance of the fans to football clubs has become particularly obvious during the last year and a half, according to Kindred’s General Manager.
Kindred Demonstrates Community-Centred Approach with Its Sponsorships
Because of this, Kindred would strive to ensure fans can see and feel how the new sponsorship deals would benefit the League. The Group would continue to demonstrate its commitment to reinventing the sponsorship model so that it works to the advantage of the broader community, Mr. Banburry concluded.
The community-centred approach is in line with the gambling giant’s other sponsorships, which include Middlesbrough F.C., Rangers F.C., and Derby County F.C., among others. All three football teams receive six-figure amounts from their sponsorships that go toward the Team Talk initiative, whose purpose is to support the mental well-being of football fans. Both footballers and clubs’ staff members are involved in the initiative.
The Kindred Group received plaudits for yet another reason earlier this year, when it became the first betting operator to publish what amount of revenue it gets from problem gambling. The company has made it its mission to hit 0% of revenue from problem gamblers by the end of 2023.
It publishes figures on this each quarter, with the main idea being to ensure transparency with data and increase awareness of the importance of problem gambling prevention. According to the company’s report for Q2 of 2021, it has derived 4.3% of its revenue from problem gambling. The gambling giant will award free tickets for National League games on September 4 to celebrate the new sponsorships.
- Author
Daniel Williams
