German football star Lukas Podolski, who plays for Turkish team Antalyaspor, has had his brand ambassador partnership with Gauselmann-owned sports betting brand, Xtip Sportwetten cancelled, due to German restrictions on sports personalities promoting gambling.
After becoming the first German gambling company to receive a licence for sports betting in October (alongside GVC and Tipwin), Gauselmann has been forced to cancel the marketing partnership with the player.
This due to rules set out in the nation’s new gambling regulations, the Glücksspielneuregulierungstaatsvertrag (GlüNeuRStv), around the use of professional athletes to promote gambling businesses.
“It is a shame, because Lukas is and will remain the ideal brand ambassador for us – natural, honest and authentic,” Gauselmann’s head of sports betting Markus Ettlin said. “All that remains is for us to give our heartfelt thanks for such a successful collaboration that was a lot of fun – and how could it be any other way with Poldi?”
Podolski added: “If I do something, then I have to stand behind it, that has always been important to me. And it was exactly the same when working with XTiP. But the law is the law; you have to look just as sporting as the decision of the referee!”
“Working with XTiP has always been a lot of fun for me and we have achieved a lot together, especially for my foundation, which helps disadvantaged children and young people.”
Gauselmann Group recently reported a 6.7% year-on-year rise in revenue for its 2019 financial year, despite its business being impacted by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Revenue for the 12-month period amounted to €2.56bn (£2.31bn/$3.04bn), up from €2.41bn in the previous year. However, the group saw revenue from Germany decline 3.7% to €998.0m.
The group closed all 700 of its land-based gaming establishments in Germany in March, in response to the pandemic. It also shut down all production and sales activities across its business, while its development departments around the world remained open to work on products for the future.
In October, it announced it was backing a newly formed igaming brand, Eyas Gaming, and hoped to secure a German igaming licence for when the market opens in July.
