Since 2015, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship has been sponsored by William Hill. That deal has now ended though and the 2023 championships will be sponsored by Cazoo.
The 2022 world championships ended earlier this month with Peter Wright winning a second title. Over the past 20 years, the event has been sponsored by a gambling company. That includes a previous deal with Ladbrokes. From now on though, it’ll be an online car buying platform.
It’s not a surprise as Cazoo have become one of the largest sponsors of sporting events including the Epsom Derby. They also sponsor the Masters snooker tournament that is currently taking place at the Alexandra Palace in London. That’s the same venue that hosts the PDC World Darts Championships, though fewer people turn up in silly fancy dress for the snooker.
Cazoo Sponsoring Huge Sporting Events
The deal will see Cazoo also sponsor eight PDC Tour events. This will include the Masters, UK Open and Players Championship Finals.
Matt Porter is the PDC Chief Executive and is delighted with the sponsorship deal. “Cazoo’s partnership with the PDC has already seen their brand receive huge worldwide exposure and this new multi-event deal will extend their sponsorship to four of our biggest and most prestigious events,” he said.
The PDC World Championships are the latest major sporting event to not have a gambling company sponsoring it. The Grand National is one of the most famous horse races in the world. However, since 2017, it has been sponsored by Randox Health. In fact, the first day of the Aintree Grand National is an NHS Day.
Their deal with the Grand National runs until 2025. All a bit of a turnaround after the event was previously sponsored by companies including Seagram Distillers, John Smiths and Crabbie’s Ginger Ale.
Wimbledon is one of the top tennis tournaments in the world. The number of official sponsors runs into double figures and includes Slazenger, Robinsons, Stella Artois and Rolex but no bookmakers, despite the fact tennis is such a popular sport to gamble on.
There are still many sporting events that have strong associations with gambling companies. That’s definitely the case in Rugby League. Betfred sponsor the Super League and other competitions in that sport.
Football has plenty of links with gambling companies but it’s a thorny subject. More deals are being signed but the review of the 2005 Gambling Act spells danger ahead. There are many calls for gambling advertising in sport to be stopped, just as was the case for tobacco sponsorship. Could more sports steer away from having gambling companies sponsor their events, for fear of having to just go out and find replacements in the not-too-distant future?
