British Boxers Getting Involved in the Online Casino Industry
Boxing and betting have always gone hand in hand. The explosive and exciting nature of the sport has always been attractive to sports bettors, with the chance of a knock-out occurring at any second being a huge selling point. The British, in particular, have a soft spot for boxing and like the online casino industry, the British boxing scene has undergone a boom in recent years.
Stars like Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have captured the country’s imagination, and you will now find many of the best online casino bonuses in the UK are based around boxing. In this article, we are going to take a look at the relationship between boxing and online casinos, and how boxers have been getting involved.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Boxing fights in the UK draw huge crowds. Anyone who has ever tried to get a ticket to watch Tyson Fury fight will know just how popular boxing has become in the country. After a period of quiet in the mid-late 2000s, boxing in the UK has really taken off, with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua now being two of the most recognisable sporting names in the country.
Of course, this has not gone unnoticed by brands worldwide, with both being showered with sponsorship opportunities and deals. Online casinos have thrown their name into the ring for a piece of this. Anthony Joshua is one of the biggest boxers to land a sponsorship deal. The former champion worked a sponsorship deal with William Hill, the hugely popular UK bookmaker and casino operator.
Joshua starred in an ad campaign for the operator in 2019, creating the company’s first brand-led advert. He is not the only boxer to have been sponsored by a betting company, with the likes of David Haye also having lucrative sponsorship deals with casino operators in the past. Haye was one of the first to do so, signing a multi-year deal with Betfair. It is also not uncommon to see casino branding in the ring or around the ringside.
Conversely, Tyson Fury has refused to wear any online bookmaker or casino branding to the ring. Fury has long been an advocate of men’s mental health and has publicly spoken about the need for men to deal with their mental health issues in a positive way. As such, Fury has turned down multiple offers from gambling companies. In itself, this move will no doubt help put a focus on responsible gambling and start a discussion about the need for regulation in some areas of British gambling.
Bonus Offers
Big events offer casinos and bookmakers the chance to run unique promotions that will help attract customers. There aren’t many bigger sporting events in the UK than boxing matches. The heavyweight boxing scene has been dominated by Brits for the last decade or more, and as such, there is huge interest in these fights from the British public. Operators are quick to jump on this, offering bonuses for players to take advantage of.
Online casinos might run bonuses that use boxing-themed slots, or they may offer certain bonuses depending on the outcome of the fight. Bookmakers don’t need to get as creative, with free bets and price boosts often dominating their promotions pages during these fights.
Other Commercial Opportunities
Both the online casino industry and British boxing continue to grow in popularity at a rapid rate. As such, more and more commercial opportunities and cross-overs are going to become available. One option that hasn’t been explored as much as you might expect is branded slots.
Famous boxers like Mike Tyson have given their names to the slot industry in the past, and given the pulling power of some of the UK’s biggest boxers, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see them turn up in a slot in the future.
The sports and betting industries have become closer than ever before, with sports stars often providing betting analysis and punditry on top events. This is another avenue that casinos and bookmakers could explore in the UK.
Dilian Whyte, another top British boxer, has also worked with Lucky Block, a crypto-based casino, as part of a sponsorship deal. The company sponsored Whyte for his heavyweight showdown with Tyson Fury in April 2022. Lucky Block also runs a sporting podcast that Dillian Whyte has promoted. Multi-media opportunities are becoming incredibly common, with many modern casinos blurring the lines between different mediums.
A Continued Relationship
One thing is clear, the relationship between British boxing and online casinos is only going to get stronger. Whether it’s through sponsorship deals, branded slots, or other commercial opportunities, you should get used to seeing British boxers interacting with the online casino industry more and more.