How has the gambling industry helped rugby grow?
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Rugby Union continues to be one of the most popular sports to follow. With top sides such as New Zealand and England battling it out in exciting tournaments like the World Cup, this is no surprise. Rugby’s popularity also becomes evident when you consider how exciting games are to watch, the tough-tackling nature of the sport and the number of well-known players within it to keep track of.
Over time, this has helped rugby grow to become a global sport that has fans in all corners of the world and which rivals competitors like football or cricket. Key to rugby’s growth, though, has also been its links to the gambling industry. While this might not spring to mind when considering how the sport has developed, it is indeed a major factor.
But just how has the gambling sector enabled rugby to flourish?
Online casino games have helped
The iGaming sector itself is a success story of modern times and has grown hugely in recent years to be worth billions. When you see the latest action that online live casino titles deliver, this is no surprise!
Online gambling at internet casinos has also had its part to play in helping rugby grow. This specifically relates to the choice of rugby-themed slot games, which many iGaming platforms have available to enjoy. Online slots themed on this sport have proved an effective way to showcase rugby to more people and get them interested in following it outside of casino play. This has helped the sport’s popularity soar and appeal to a much wider market than before.
Sports betting on rugby crucial too
As well as online casino gambling being important to the sport’s expansion, rugby also has sports betting to thank. Betting on sports is something people have always loved to do worldwide, and they are always looking for action-packed, fast-paced sports to wager on.
Rugby is perfect for this and has strong ties to the gambling industry as a result. Over the years, this has seen lots of people choose to add more excitement to games by placing bets on them. This helps make games more thrilling to watch, and TV viewing figures have soared as a result. In some cases, attendance figures at games have increased due to people who have bet on matches heading along to watch the action.
People who have bet on games are not only far more likely to tune into them but will get more involved with the sport generally. Rugby has used sports betting to grow its popularity and attract people to the game who might not have bothered with it before.
Sponsorship deals from gambling brands
Sponsorship in sport is key and there is no doubt that sponsorship deals are a great source of revenue for rugby in general and the teams within it on a global scale. This sees many of the world’s top companies investing huge amounts in sponsoring sides or certain competitions. Among these are some of the best-known gambling brands on the planet today.
In truth, this is a win-win situation for all! Rugby gets a regular stream of income each year to grow with, while the sponsors get masses of extra publicity and a new market to explore. It is true to say, though, that the sponsorship money that comes into rugby from gambling-based companies has been crucial to the sport’s continued development.
Extra marketing for rugby as a sport
It is not just effective marketing that rugby provides to gambling through sponsorship deals, though. Gambling repays this by giving plenty of extra headlines and online column inches to rugby. This will often see major tournaments being put front and centre on internet sportsbooks, or the gambling industry publicise major upcoming matches (such as the first All-Black Māori game against Ireland) to bet on in TV adverts. By increasing public awareness of rugby through methods like this, gambling as a whole gives it a real marketing boost and helps more people become aware of the sport in general.
Gambling has given rugby a real lift
Rugby is such an exciting, dramatic sport that it doesn’t really need much help to succeed. Over time, though, it is without question that the gambling industry has played its part in bringing the sport to more people across the world. This has seen a firm relationship develop between rugby and gambling, which has positive benefits for both. As time moves on, this relationship should become more established and see gambling help rugby grow even further.
