Tipico remains an Official Partner of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga subsidiary Bundesliga International has renewed its partnership with the sports betting provider early, in place since 2018, up to and including the 2024-25 season.

The cooperation relates to sponsoring solely in the field of sports betting. It allows Tipico, as an Official Partner of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, to continue using the logos of the competitions and the two trophies in its advertising. Tipico, holder of a German sports betting concession, also continues to receive initial negotiating rights enshrined in the DFL’s media contracts, a matching offer right with regard to all special advertising with national partners, and industry exclusivity with regard to relevant bookings. Among other things, Tipico is also integrated into digital Bundesliga platforms via a digital and print package.

“The renewal of the cooperation – especially in these extraordinary times – is a further demonstration of our partners’ confidence in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. After the positive experience in recent years, we are delighted with the early agreement and the accompanying expansion of our cooperation with Tipico,” says Robert Klein, CEO of Bundesliga International.

“We are delighted to continue our successful partnership. As holder of a German sports betting concession and clear market leader in Germany, Tipico – just like the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 – stands for passion, excitement and progress. The DFL is therefore our ideal partner,” says Marlon van der Goes, Chief Commercial Officer of Tipico.

Background information on sports betting in football

In the DFL’s view, the ability to promote sports betting is a key tool for guiding the desire to gamble into orderly and supervised channels. This plays an essential role in the functioning regulation of sports betting, as it prevents the establishment of grey and black markets. Combating gambling addiction, protecting young people, preventing crime and averting risks to the integrity of sporting competition in the context of sports betting can only be successful if permitted and controlled gambling offers are actually visible.

For Tipico, safety and player protection are part of the product promise. The sports betting provider ensures that risky player behaviour is identified early based upon scientific models. On this basis, Tipico makes targeted interventions and thus offers its customers an individual level of protection, allowing them to use its services safely – further information on this is available here.

DFL takes extensive measures to prevent match-fixing. According to the DFL Licensing Regulations, since the 2018-19 season all 36 clubs of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 have been obliged to demonstrate the annual performance of measures to prevent match-fixing in their professional teams. To this end, DFL is providing a new digital service this year: In the 2020-21 season, the training is being held in the form of a webinar, which not only protects players, managers and coaches from infection, but also gives the clubs extra organisational flexibility. Among other things, the webinar provides key information and recommendations for the fight against match-fixing, sets out the obligation to report suspicions, warns of the dangers of addiction and names relevant contacts, such as the ombudsman. For U16 to U23 players at the youth academies, such measures have already been mandatory since the 2014-15 season.

The engagement and measures of the DFL and DFB for the prevention of match-fixing and gambling addiction were brought together in the “Together against match-fixing – don’t fix the game” project back in 2012, with the aim of informing and educating about the dangers emanating from match-fixing and gambling addiction at an early stage and in a preventive capacity. At that time, concrete measures for the early identification and prevention of match-fixing and other irregularities in football were developed and implemented in close cooperation with Transparency International Deutschland e.V. and the Federal Centre for Health Education (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung, BZgA).

In 2018, the project website together-against-match-fixing.com was overhauled. Since then, there has also been an e-learning tool for players from the professional teams and youth academies. In addition, tip-offs can now be submitted to the ombudsman via a special app – as well as the traditional telephone and e-mail channels. Lawyer Dr Carsten Thiel von Herff has performed this role as the independent point of contact for players, managers, coaches, club employees and referees with regard to match-fixing since 2011. He takes tip-offs about possible match-fixing or other irregularities – confidentially and, if requested, anonymously. He also advises on how to manage potential suspicions and hazardous situations.

(DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga)