Don't risk gambling with your sponsorship: you might lose a fortune

Posted: 18/03/2009 Professional Australian A-League soccer team, the Newcastle Jets, recently missed out on potential sponsorship revenue of around a quarter of a million Australian dollars. Shortly before the team’s first game in Beijing on 10 March 2009 in the current Asian Football Confederation Champions’ League (“ACL”), the club was instructed by the ACL’s governing body to remove references to its major sponsor (gambling company Centrebet) from the front of the team’s playing strip. Unfortunately for the Newcastle Jets, the ACL competition has strict guidelines that must be adhered to pertaining to the display of sponsors or sponsored logos. In this instance, the ACL does not permit teams to display gambling companies. The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Newcastle Jets’ Chairman, Mr. Con Constantine, as saying, “It's very disappointing that nobody…told us that we couldn't use our major sponsor. I reckon if Centrebet was there on our shirts and we did well in Asia [the sponsorship revenue] could have been worth $200,000 to $300,000. But we lost it.” Don't allow your club, organisation or event to be deprived of lucrative sponsorship revenue due to a lack of awareness of domestic and/or international regulations and requirements. For legal advice on sponsorship and other sport or entertainment industry issues, please contact us.