Bets, Poker, Soon Keno and Casinos eventually.

They all Want a piece of that shirt!

Suddenly, without warnings, the folly of sports sponsoring has unleashed yet another wave of battles between major brands -this time the online gambling ones- to get a piece of that shirt, that glorious soccer shirt! Back up a sec. Yes, without warnings, while we have been busy all around the globe by tsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear and unclear geopolitical unrest of all kinds, the economical crisis, and so many others; the door was slowly opened to that seemingly inconsequential decision that is letting online gambling operators have the authorization to promote their brands, as many others, on athletes shirts following very profitable deals with their sports teams.

Why on those shirts then you ask? First for all, for you american gamblers out-there, please know that soccer is the #1 sport in the world, no comparison can stand, don't try to say baseball or american football, they do not play in the same league, or better said: soccer has a league of its own (Amount of professional or amateur players, audiences,TV rights etc...). The conclusion then writes itself: sports' enthusiasts are a demographic that is already heavily targeted by online gambling operators, but now the front window of being on tv is opened, and on the shirt of your favorite player of your home team. Coca-Cola & Doritos or BetClic or Winamax & Pokerstars... Same fight.

This but only a confirmation of the fact that online gambling is slowly changing society as it relates to how it perceives the act of playing games for money. The democratization of gambling is arriving to that turning point, moreover when a lot of countries might decide on regulating the market in order to tax it and regulate it... More money for the state, but might be less for political campaigns war-chests... Oh well...

Before going back to your Sunday derby and start to bet on the under or over, please be sure you want to loose money to a company that will then use it to brand the shirt of your favorite celebrity running on the green field backdrop. Food for thoughts....