Chinese Betting Firm M88 Partner With Italian Side AC Milan
Author:
Muhammad Gregory
M88 Mansion has secured a major sponsorship agreement with Italian footballing giants AC Milan to provide a merchandise/branding project moving forward. The Chinese online betting industry has grown exponentially over the last decade despite the governments illegalisation of iGaming activities since the early 2000s. A number of betting firms have been working to install partnership agreements with sporting organisations across Europe, AC Milan are the latest recruit of the ever-growing branding trend. An arrangement as delicate as this one will require an additional amount of time to fine tune all the major and minor details of the partnership moving forward.
M88 Mansion are one of China’s top online betting providers, with a wide variety of casino games to choose from. They have seen major success in Europe and North America after launching in 2012.
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M88 Mansion have been looking to expand into the European market for some time and the multi-million-dollar deal with AC Milan looks to have secured their spot at the table. With numerous incentives including branding and marketing benefits included, the Chinese betting firm have done a wonderful job of securing a significant contract like this one with a top European establishment. It’s currently unclear how long this will last but the rumours from industry experts is that the deal will last for a preliminary two-year time span with the option for renewal based on key performance indicators.
Since the announcement there has been a significant increase in media attention, particularly from Italian news corporations who have expressed mix views concerning the clubs partnership with a Chinese online casino platform. The reaction from European pundits is almost always the same as they are often displeased with the lack of transparency between the two organizations and the public. Of course, AC Milan’s fans are the biggest stakeholders involved in this partnership and the need for individual feedback and attention is paramount to the success of this branding deal.
China has a massive football following unbeknownst to the rest of the world. They have a fairly unpopular domestic league with the national team has continuously failed to impress in tournaments. But in the country’s mainland, there is a massive demand for high level football including the English, German, Spanish and Italian leagues. According to research data conducted by Sport Bible, China’s favourite Italian team is AC Milan, perhaps a key reason why M88 Mansion were so keen to negotiate with them rather than another big European football club.
This agreement will help to push the Italian game to Chinese spectators who might not have shown an interest before. Through the reverse angle, M88 will be able to promote the online gambling platform to European customers to a much higher degree. While they do have a significant player base in Europe, M88 Mansion have failed to hit the heights of other big online casino firms such as Paddy Power, Bet365 or W88, another Chinese company who recently partnered with English Premier League newcomers, Fulham FC.
Europe’s Affinity For Chinese Online Gambling Sites
While online betting has skyrocketed across the world, Europe has been the hub for international companies to build their legacy. Of course, obvious names such as Bet365 and Betfred come to mind, but there are so many online betting firms from abroad settling down in the central continent of the world. On average, European players spend the most money and spend the most time using these platforms than any other continent, Oceania and North America are also major contributors but do not reach the same level as Europe.
M88 Mansion are one of the best examples of a successful start-up in China developing into multi national company, developing a successful service which is enjoyed by many. There are of course stigmas surrounding the continent and the culture of betting, China is one of the only countries where it remains illegal despite the fact that some of the biggest online casino firms are all born out of Shanghai and Beijing. While the growth in interest continues, many firms are looking to emulate M88 Mansion and secure big branding deals with European institutions to boost consumer trust and market identity.
AC Milan are the latest, but they won’t be the last, new deals like this one are coming out every other week and there will be many big football clubs joining in on the action. The previously mentioned Fulham FC signed a large sponsorship deal with W88 only last month and many other Premier League clubs have working agreements with Chinese betting firms including Southampton, Brentford, and many others. The Chinese betting industry is growing every year and the merge over to Europe will only increase parallel to it.
