PokerStars has become an official betting sponsor for Formula 1 through a partnership secured by the motor racing championship’s sponsorship and data rights partner, Interregional Sports Group (ISG).
The partnership will see Flutter Entertainment-owned PokerStars feature exclusively throughout the European broadcast market via virtual trackside advertising for each Formula 1 season until 2023.
The deal is the latest brokered by ISG, a leader in the deployment of virtual advertising technologies to help brands target specific regional audiences through televised sport, as part of a partnership with F1 that dates back to 2018.
“Working with Formula 1 provides us with the opportunity to reach a fan base whose passion for sport goes way beyond motorsport,” said Tom Warren, group marketing director at PokerStars Marketing. “To be able to engage an audience of this size and yet focus just on the regions that are key to us makes this a very exciting proposition.”
Tony Ragan, joint chief executive of ISG, said: “We’re delighted to have reached this agreement with Flutter Group. Combining the worldwide appeal of PokerStars and this targeted approach in engaging fans with many similar traits as the PokerStars’ community is an incredible opportunity for innovation and further engagement between the two popular brands.”
Last year, ISG brokered a five-year deal in the Asia region between F1 and online betting brand 188Bet. The operator’s branding appears on virtual trackside advertising for races that are broadcast, together with bespoke activation and integration across F1’s various digital and social platforms.
In addition, 188Bet has exclusive ownership of F1 Play, a predictor app for the Asia sports betting market, and receives official F1 betting data supplied by Sportradar.
Under its 2018 deal with F1, ISG is able to sub-license betting partnership rights to betting operators, giving access to regionalised branded on-screen graphics, physical and virtual trackside signage and digital integration across F1’s digital and social platforms.
