Opinion

Why Is It Impossible For Roma To Have Gambling Sponsors?

AS Roma in training preparing ahead of their next match.
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To avoid controversy for their participation in gambling, football leagues have publicly endorsed initiatives to promote sustainable and secure gambling. Although most of these websites support responsible gambling and accept punters from all around the world.

Some of them chose to be more specific about their support, limiting their sponsorship to gambling. It has been increasingly brought to light because the association of online betting sites for NZ residents with greater causes invites positive publicity to the team.

How to Identify the Team?

For those unfamiliar with Rome’s history, the Giallorossi’s crest merely depicts a wolf and two children. However, the pair are meant to represent Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome according to Roman mythology. “Roma” and the year of introduction, “1927” are inscribed in the lower portion of the emblem.

Some Background on AS Roma

One of the most popular teams in Italy, Roma has always played in the top flight of Italian football with the exception of the 1951–52 season.

According to a study conducted by the Doxa Institute-L’Espresso in April 2006, Roma is the fifth most popular football club in Italy, behind Juventus, Internazionale, AC Milan, and Napoli, with around 7% of Italian football fans favoring the club. 

The inner-city, particularly Testaccio, has historically been home to the majority of Roma fans in Rome. As we can see in the statistical table, Roma is the team in Serie A that has grown its reputation the most due to its export division.

Italy and Restricted Advertisement 

The Italian advertising and communications authority, Autorità per le Garanzie Nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM), has publicly detailed how it intends to implement the country’s gambling advertising ban. All forms of advertising, sponsorship, and promotional communications with gambling enterprises will be prohibited. 

Commercial communications such as product placement, distribution of branded products, advertorials, and influencer marketing are all prohibited, in addition to traditional forms of advertising. It claims this will help lower gambling addiction rates and increase player protection initiatives, particularly for vulnerable populations like problem gamblers, adolescents, and the elderly.

However, AGCOM has set up several channels for operators to interact with consumers. Retailers will be able to show their branding on signs and storefronts, as well as products on offer in-store, as long as they do not incorporate gambling inducements. Operators can launch campaigns promoting responsible gambling or sharing suggestions about legal gambling goods if they do not feature any branding or logos. 

Campaigns promoting social or humanitarian projects backed by an operator will also be permitted, as long as the operator’s logo is not displayed. It makes it almost impossible for Roma to land Gambling sponsorships, which results in a noticeable drop in the fund collection for the club. 

Although it is essential for football clubs to maintain themselves in regulation maintenance and team health, the team eventually has to cut down on several aspects of expenditure. This puts a question mark on the fate of team maintenance. Not promoting unhealthy habits will encourage the team to gain media attention for their goodwill, which is expected to pave the way to get better deals.

An Alternative Way of Showing Support

Supporting Safer Gambling Week and promoting awareness about responsible gambling: Most football clubs in New Zealand have teamed up for Responsible Gambling Week, an annual campaign conducted in November. 

For an entire week, all casino operators expect to encourage responsible and safe gambling. This is intended to draw people into the concept of gambling securely. Derby County, Stoke City FC, Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough, and Sunderland AFC have all substituted their club emblem with the Safer Gambling Week symbol on their player uniforms.

Conclusion

The country’s gambling sector posted year-on-year declines in revenue over the past two months, with revenue for March down 3.7% to an estimated €140.2m (£121.2m/$156.4m) following declines in the sports betting industry. Football teams desperately need finances for many of their operations, and thus they do not turn down sponsorship offers. 

Sponsorship allows the team to concentrate on training and doing well on the field while taking care of their revenue generation process. As a result, the sponsors and the football clubs are tied in a symbiotic bond from their collaboration. The club will face significant financial shortcomings if Roma loses its association with gambling sponsors.

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MatchDay 30
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