Betsson ends football sponsorship in Chile
16th October 2023 9:33 am GMT
Betsson has ended its sponsorship of Chilean football following a crackdown on online betting operators in the market.
The Stockholm-listed online betting and gaming operator has supported football in Chile since 2021 and was the title sponsor of Chile’s First Division, Campeonato Betsson, for the 2023 season.
This has now ended with the termination of the sponsorship deal as of 15 October.
The termination comes after Chile’s Ministry of Justice ordered an end to all gambling partnerships and the Supreme Court ruled that more than twenty online sports betting websites were operating illegally in the country.
The case was brought by National Lottery operator Polla Chilena de Beneficia against telecommunications company Mundo Pacífico, seeking to block access to 23 websites providing gambling servvices in Chile “without legal authorisation”.
They included Betsson, Betano, Betway, Betcris, Coolbet, 1xbet, Rivalo and Betwarrior.
The court ruled that without legal authorisation for the websites in question, Polla Chilena is the only entity authorised to provide online sports betting in the country.
Chile’s National Association of Professional Football (ANFP), which agreed the sponsorship deal with Betsson, was unsuccessful in its appeal against the Ministry’s order.
The Chilean football season began on 20 January and is scheduled to end on 10 December 2023.
Shares in Betsson AB (STO:BETS-B) were trading 0.77 per cent lower at SEK102.60 per share in Stockholm early Monday.
