Imagine that you own an ice hockey team in Finland: when your team
plays in Finland, they wear jerseys with logos of their national sponsors,
but when they play abroad, they may wear different jerseys. According
to Tero Hakola, a sports journalist at Helsingin Sanomat, Jokerit
(a Finnish ice hockey team) has a new sponsor, Betsson. It is not
possible for Jokerit to wear Betsson's logo while playing in Finland,
but it is possible in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia.
Other Finnish ice hockey teams will play in the Champions
Hockey League (CHL): they are also sponsored by Betsson, but
they cannot make their sponsor known in Finland. For the record,
the new sponsor of the Jokerit team is NordicBet and Jari Kurri,
a former ice hockey player, is their Finnish ambassador.
Never mind the company names, because Hakola's article has a point:
the Finnish Lotteries Act bans foreign gambling companies from
marketing their games in Finland. If Jokerit wear Betsson (or
NordicBet) jerseys when they play in Russia, they promote
betting to foreign audiences, as Hakola claims. He thinks that the world
is changing and people's needs change - so who needs a national
gambling monopoly system anyway?
When I googled for sponsors in the Finnish ice hockey field, I discovered
that Helsingin Sanomat used to be one of the sponsors of the Jokerit team.
That was back in 2012 when Finnish ice hockey was known for
violence, alcohol advertisements and foul language. Is Finnish ice hockey's
reputation at stake (again) if a foreign gambling company offers a sponsorship
to Jokerit?
I don't know much about ice hockey, but I know that it is a very
important form of sport in Finland. I don't think that fans of Jokerit
go to ice hockey matches just to see beer and gaming advertisements.
Some families go to see matches together: if alcohol and gambling
are forbidden to children and young people under 18 years, shouldn't
their promotion be banned from the rinks?
Anyway, it is time for social marketing. Perhaps one day we
will see gambling help lines, responsible drinking associations
and clinics who help smokers market their services in major
sports events. It seems too easy to point the finger at the
gambling monopoly system. It is always possible to do what
Romans do, when in Rome, but the marketing ban concerns
the Finnish legal gambling monopoly companies as well.
NordicBet is not the first foreign gambling company
interested in the Finnish gambling market. Some foreign
gambling companies have already side-stepped the Finnish Lotteries
Act: they can promote their sponsorship in music videos or
print their logo on plastic bags or sell their T-shirts to Finnish
tourists. Marketing is everywhere! Those who want to bet on
sports events will do it, no matter if they are freezing in Finland
or firing up in Australia.
NordicBet and Jokerit:
http://betssonflash.com/2014/06/05/nordicbet-announces-a-landmark-sponsorship-with-jokerit/
Operating and marketing gaming activities in Finland (since October 2010):
http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Tiedotteet/2010/09/arpajaislaki.html?lang=en
Blues vs. Jokerit in 2014 (look at the ads in the rink):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adouMJNN3jA
Champions Hockey League:
http://www.championshockeyleague.net/video/the-champions-hockey-league-draw/13/
Centrebet ad with Lauryn Eagle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLfXSluUxuc
plays in Finland, they wear jerseys with logos of their national sponsors,
but when they play abroad, they may wear different jerseys. According
to Tero Hakola, a sports journalist at Helsingin Sanomat, Jokerit
(a Finnish ice hockey team) has a new sponsor, Betsson. It is not
possible for Jokerit to wear Betsson's logo while playing in Finland,
but it is possible in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia.
Other Finnish ice hockey teams will play in the Champions
Hockey League (CHL): they are also sponsored by Betsson, but
they cannot make their sponsor known in Finland. For the record,
the new sponsor of the Jokerit team is NordicBet and Jari Kurri,
a former ice hockey player, is their Finnish ambassador.
Never mind the company names, because Hakola's article has a point:
the Finnish Lotteries Act bans foreign gambling companies from
marketing their games in Finland. If Jokerit wear Betsson (or
NordicBet) jerseys when they play in Russia, they promote
betting to foreign audiences, as Hakola claims. He thinks that the world
is changing and people's needs change - so who needs a national
gambling monopoly system anyway?
When I googled for sponsors in the Finnish ice hockey field, I discovered
that Helsingin Sanomat used to be one of the sponsors of the Jokerit team.
That was back in 2012 when Finnish ice hockey was known for
violence, alcohol advertisements and foul language. Is Finnish ice hockey's
reputation at stake (again) if a foreign gambling company offers a sponsorship
to Jokerit?
I don't know much about ice hockey, but I know that it is a very
important form of sport in Finland. I don't think that fans of Jokerit
go to ice hockey matches just to see beer and gaming advertisements.
Some families go to see matches together: if alcohol and gambling
are forbidden to children and young people under 18 years, shouldn't
their promotion be banned from the rinks?
Anyway, it is time for social marketing. Perhaps one day we
will see gambling help lines, responsible drinking associations
and clinics who help smokers market their services in major
sports events. It seems too easy to point the finger at the
gambling monopoly system. It is always possible to do what
Romans do, when in Rome, but the marketing ban concerns
the Finnish legal gambling monopoly companies as well.
NordicBet is not the first foreign gambling company
interested in the Finnish gambling market. Some foreign
gambling companies have already side-stepped the Finnish Lotteries
Act: they can promote their sponsorship in music videos or
print their logo on plastic bags or sell their T-shirts to Finnish
tourists. Marketing is everywhere! Those who want to bet on
sports events will do it, no matter if they are freezing in Finland
or firing up in Australia.
NordicBet and Jokerit:
http://betssonflash.com/2014/06/05/nordicbet-announces-a-landmark-sponsorship-with-jokerit/
Operating and marketing gaming activities in Finland (since October 2010):
http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Tiedotteet/2010/09/arpajaislaki.html?lang=en
Blues vs. Jokerit in 2014 (look at the ads in the rink):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adouMJNN3jA
Champions Hockey League:
http://www.championshockeyleague.net/video/the-champions-hockey-league-draw/13/
Centrebet ad with Lauryn Eagle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLfXSluUxuc
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