Sports Star who are an ambassador for iGaming brands: Sponsorship is vital to the world of sports; from the biggest professional leagues around the world through to smaller, local teams, sponsorship supports the team, and helps the sponsor company reach their business goals.
By using high profile celebrities, brands can raise awareness of their product, bringing it to a new demographic, as well as marketing new products to existing customers. By using sports stars, brands link their products to something healthy, even if the product itself is not necessarily healthy, and heightens the brands reputation on a local and international level through association.
The subsequent increased media exposure has a knock-on effect of increasing sales/revenue. One industry that is particularly keen on using sports stars to endorse its products is iGaming. Several different iGames are currently, or have previously been, endorsed by high profile international sports stars.
Shane Warne
Shane Warne is a big name in cricket, and his reputation extends far beyond the pitch. High profile marriages and affairs, as well as being an international cricketing legend means his reach across different demographics has been huge. Although he retired in 2013, he has had a close association with poker since 2008 when he signed his first contract to represent a poker brand, and since retirement has continued to represent online casinos. Taking things one step further, Warne made inroads into becoming a professional poker player, representing top teams like WSOP, Aussie Millions and WSOPE. Though his poker career did not hold a candle to his cricketing prowess, he made small gains in tournaments across the world, netting small games and placing in the top ten. This, combined with high a profile cricketing career, has made him an attractive prospect for casinos and poker brands.
Andrew Luck
Recently retired quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, Luck has previously won numerous awards, including Offensive Player of the Year twice, Pro Bowl four times and NFL Comeback Player of the Year. With a career curtailed due to injury, Luck has found another route to show his professionalism and dedication. He is the current face of a Canadian casino (making it legal for almost all American gamblers!) so give it a go with 300 free spins) which is well established and the most visited gambling website in the US, not least in part due to some heavy-weight celebrity representation.
Cristiano Ronaldo
With a career spanning almost two decades, Ronaldo is one of the most well known and recognisable international football stars and has represented iGaming companies for several years. His very high profile across the world, including a strong social media presence (438 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as of June 2020, making him the most popular sports start in the world), is serving the products he endorses well, increasing their visibility amongst fans, ad as a consequence, their sales and revenue.
Most brands looking to expand into new demographics look to celebrity endorsements to get their message out, and high-profile sports starts can definitely do this!
