NiP and Betway agree ‘high six-figure’ sponsorship deal

30 September 2016

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Betway and Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) announced late last night that they have joined forces.

betway, nip, jersey
NiP players f0rest, GeT_RiGhT and Xizt holding up the new NiP jersey, with Betway featuring prominently on the chest.

This ‘high six figure’ deal makes the British company the second mainstream gambling company to sponsor a team, after Dafabet linked up with Fnatic in autumn 2015. 

This deal sees Betway become the organiser’s headline sponsor. It’ll allow them to gain a prominent spot on the team’s jerseys and enjoy “content usage rights, onsite branding at the NiP gaming house and full player access”. It also includes interviews with Bjorn ‘THREAt’ Pers, coach of NiP, and gear giveaways. It’s worth noting that the ‘full player access’ is something to be cherished by Betway, as it’s a commodity that only a precious few people have access to.

NiP is an esports organisation with some history that first formed back in 2000 in Sweden, and currently has rosters in CS:GO and Overwatch. It has previously had teams in Dota 2 and League of Legends too.

This access will allow Betway to create extensive content to be disseminated through its platform allowing fans to take a sneak peek into the daily lives of their favourite players. With the ‘behind the scenes access to the fabled gaming house’ on offer for Betway, expect a lot of interesting content coming from the bookmaker.

Betway is big on sporting sponsorships; it became the main sponsor of West Ham United in a record deal with the club in 2015, and this is in addition to commercials partnerships in darts, snooker, horse racing and more. 

In the announcement, Hicham Chahine, CEO of Ninjas in Pyjamas said: “We are thrilled with the opportunity to work closely with the leading eSports betting company and are certain the partnership will allow us to continue to grow our legacy to give our millions of fans around the world unforgettable experiences they will remember for a lifetime.”

Anthony Werkman, Director of Marketing and Operations at Betway added: “Betway were very proud to be the first bookmaker to launch a bespoke eSports microsite last year. Since then, we have invested heavily in our team which is full of die-hard fans of the sport.”

Esports Insider says: Fair play to Betway with what appears to be a very sizable sponsorship commitment. Of course it was only a matter of time before the next betting company entered esports, indeed it was discussed at the Betting on Sports conference earlier this month. With this ‘record breaking’ deal sealed on the table, the question is who’ll be the next to enter the space?

Full announcements are available on the websites of Ninjas in Pyjamas and Betway.