Bet-at-home in hot water

Real Mallorca have been forced to advise Bet-at-home to change their aggressive advertising campaign that has caused national controversy in Spain. The adverts in questions take no shame in their references to sex and drugs which the club see as harmful to their image.

Bet-at-home became the new shirt sponsor of Real Mallorca in the summer in a £650,000 deal for 2 years after the sponsorship with Air Europa expired. And co-vice president Jaume Cladera stated that “the advertising campaign is as far from sport as it could be and we have no choice but to address the issue. We will tell them to take into account that they are a sports betting agency, and that they have signed a sponsorship with a sports organisation that is far away from drugs and sex.”

It seems that the club are unlikely to terminate the contract, having their hands tied. Cladera dismissed the idea of ending their relationship, but Mallorca are at a crossroads. They cannot afford to terminate the sponsorship due to the subdued advertising market during the global recession but cannot be associated with the low morales demonstrated by Bet-at-home, who have had problems with censorship in Austria.