September 17 – European champions Paris Saint-Germain have renewed their sponsorship deal with 1XBet, a betting operator that’s banned in France.
On the eve of the opening of their Champions League defence, with a match against Atalanta at the Parc des Princes, the French club announced that they had extended their deal with 1XBet for three years.
The agreement retains 1XBet as the official betting partner with the brand’s logo displayed on LED boards and 3D carpets during international matches. The deal also includes the production of joint content for Paris Saint-Germain’s social media and digital platforms.
As part of the partnership, 1xBet will involve former PSG players in various activities, providing experiences for supporters and commercial partners.
“We are delighted to extend our partnership with 1xBet, a global brand that shares our ambition for innovation and international growth,” said Richard Heaselgrave, the club’s chief revenue officer, in a statement. “Together, we have already achieved remarkable milestones, and this renewed agreement will allow us to further engage our worldwide fan base, create unique experiences, and continue to build on Paris Saint-Germain’s incredible momentum on and off the pitch.”
The terms of the deal were not released but 1XBET is banned in France. It’s an illegal operator in the sense of the Macolin Convention – ratified by France – which defines illegal sports betting as “any sports betting activity whose type or operator is not allowed under the applicable law of the jurisdiction where the consumer is located.”
Corentin Segalen, the president of the Copenhagen Group, established by the Macolin Convention, has described 1XBet as “the Wagner Group of sports betting.” 1XBet was founded by Roman Semiokhin, Dmitry Kazorin and Sergey Karshkov and the betting operator reportedly has ties to the Kremlin.
Two years ago, 1XBet was declared bankrupt by the Supreme Court in the Netherlands and a series of countries have banned the operator, including Morocco. That’s not stopped PSG from renewing their contract with the controversial operator and deploying Achraf Hakimi, a Moroccan international, as poster boy to promote the brand.
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