bwin.party has signed its sixth betting partnership with an iconic European football club for its bwin brand, this time with French giants Olympique de Marseille (OM).
The London-listed operator said the three-year deal would support its brand building in France, where it has operated sports betting and poker from bwin.fr under French licence since June 2010, as well as strengthen its position across Europe as the leading brand for betting on football.
Bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger said the bwin brand was “proud” to announce this latest partnership with one of the oldest and most successful clubs in France.
OM general manager Philippe Perez, added: “l’OM” continues to be the most popular club in France. This sponsorship deal proves it.”
The club is one of the undoubted big three of French football, along with Paris St Germain (PSG) and Olympique Lyonnaise, boasting an average home attendance of more than 52,000 last season, the highest in Ligue 1.
Bwin.party said today that OM was the best -supported team in France, with 14 million fans and selling more shirts – 350,000 every year – than any other team, as well as the strongest presence on Facebook, its 1.5 million fans dwarfing the 983,000 for PSG. It also remains the only French team to lift the European Cup, in 1996.
The deal follows similar digital partnerships between bwin in Spain with Real Madrid, in the UK with Manchester United, in Germany with Bayern Munich, in Italy with Juventus and in Belgium with Anderlecht.
In common with the digital partnership with Manchester United, bwin and OM expect to develop co-branded social games as well as mobile applications. The deal also includes fan-based initiatives, integration into the club’s digital and social platforms, in-stadium branding, and access to OM players for marketing campaigns.
Article written by Peter Holmes
