AFL Gets Criticized For Entering Deal With Crypto Company
• January 20, 2022 12:51 pm • CommentsThe AFL recently announced a five year partnership with Crypto.com stating that the cryptocurrency exchange company will be the official trading platform for the AFL.
Crypto.com is a well known exchange platform that already has partnerships with other sports organizations such as UFC and Formula One.
The company is also planning to run a Super Bowl ad which will expose their services to a much wider audience that is typically not involved in the cryptocurrency space.
In terms of the exact details of this partnership, Crypto.com will get featured as the exclusive naming rights partner of the ‘Crypto.com AFL Score Review’ for all Toyota AFL Premiership Season and Final Series matches.
The AFL made an official statement that it was happy to partner with Crypto.com as it sees it as an important step to embrace new blockchain and crypto technologies as well as to further support it for future growth.
G'day! We're proud to announce our multi-year partnership with @AFL and @AFLWomens. 🇦🇺🦶🏉
✅ Official Crypto Exchange and Trading Platform
✅ Naming Rights Partner: "https://t.co/vCNztATSCO AFL Score Review"
✅Unofficial Fan of the Aussie Meat Pie pic.twitter.com/NfpQc7qLZ2— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) January 17, 2022
However, there are some fans of the sport that were not enthusiastic about the announcement and voiced their concerns over the partnership.
TheGuardian.com reports:
Costello, the Alliance for Gambling Reform’s chief advocate, said in theory there was a “bigger cake” with cryptocurrency than conventional gambling, which was an entirely “zero sum” game.
But both were compromising the AFL’s integrity, he said.
“The sport is meant to be a sport, and all these add ons just because they say they need the money, chip away at the integrity of the sport.
“You are literally corrupting and compromising the sport with all these other alternatives.”
Costello said the AFL’s history with sports betting made him “suspicious” about the new deal.
“The AFL has really immoral form, utterly immoral form on this,” he said.
“AFL clubs have got out of pokies, by and large, but the AFL hasn’t moved an inch on Sportsbet and saturation ads.”
Many other cryptocurrency exchanges are also following the steps of Crypto.com and are looking to secure partnerships or sponsorships with sporting organizations.
The firms see the partnerships as a way for crypto companies to get legitimacy as well as increased awareness for their brand in the growing industry.
Crypto.com had also done market research before deciding to secure this partnership in Australia.
According to the company’s research, more than 53% of crypto investors in Australia are female.
The company also saw that the market reception in Australia to the crypto industry was very receptive and that people from all walks of life was willing to embrace crypto innovation based on the market research.
AdNews.com shares:
“It is very encouraging to see that Australians from all walks of life, irrespective of gender or background, are very keen to adopt cryptocurrencies, and we’re excited about being their go-to platform,” says Crypto.com general manager Asia and Pacific Karl Mohan.
“The AFL has led the way to bring gender diversity to Australian sport and we believe this partnership will resonate well with all footy fans across the country.
“We couldn’t be happier with the timing of this partnership at a moment when more Australians are engaging with cryptocurrency and the Australian Government is taking steps to put necessary regulations in place to protect consumers while fostering innovation.”
This recent partnership is an addition to a long line of other partnerships that Crypto.com already has including the National Women’s Soccer League, the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Philadelphia 76ers, and AEG.
It is expected that many other crypto firms will follow the steps of Crypto.com in the coming year in order to market their services to a wider audience.
https://t.co/Xuxpw53CaO Advert Kicks Off Super Bowl Commercials. #SuperBowl #Crypto #MattDamon https://t.co/5H9qhh5j0l pic.twitter.com/HPpxpTFvKI
— Eslogan Magazine (@esloganmagazine) January 18, 2022
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