The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced its first betting sponsor in seven years through a new agreement with Stake.
The online gambling and sports betting platform has become the ‘Official Betting Partner’ of the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, respectively, the men’s and women’s national teams tournaments. The deal was facilitated by the ITF’s current data partner Sportradar.
In a release, the ITF said Stake will help promote greater fan experiences at both tournaments, and that the deal had been agreed “following due diligence conducted in line with ITF rules for betting sponsorship”.
The sponsorship is the ITF’s first in the betting sector since its agreement with Betway. That was terminated early in 2017, one year into a three-year deal, following concerns over match-fixing at tennis tournaments.
A joint investigation by Buzzfeed and BBC News published ahead of the 2016 Australian Open claimed the sport’s governing bodies had been warned repeatedly about a network of leading players, ranked among the top 50 in the sport, that were suspected of fixing matches but had failed to act on the knowledge.
The story prompted the ITF, together with the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Grand Slam Board to carry out an independent review into anti-corruption procedures in the sport. The review warned of ‘serious integrity problems’, particularly at the sport’s lower levels, where players are more vulnerable to corruption because of the lower prize money.
Following the review, the governing bodies invested heavily in combating corruption and established the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) in 2021, an independent body with a mandate to safeguard tennis’ integrity.
Players are prohibited from wagering on tennis matches and cannot have betting sponsor logos on their kit or apparel, along with alcohol, e-cigarette or tobacco brands.
In an interview with SportBusiness that same year, ITF president David Haggerty said the governing body was reviewing whether it would again partner with bookmakers following the sport’s efforts to tackle match-fixing.
In announcing the Stake deal, the ITF said its rules on betting sponsorship were created in consultation with the ITIA. Under those rules, betting sponsors remains prohibited for the men’s and women’s World Tennis Tour, the lowest rung of the professional tennis pyramid, but are permitted for the top-level Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup tournaments.
Haggerty said: “Protecting tennis integrity is at the centre of all we do and we are pleased to partner with Stake – an organisation with a portfolio of high-profile clients, a stated commitment to responsible business practices and significant reach among global sports fans – having conducted rigorous due diligence in line with ITF rules for betting sponsorship, which were developed in consultation with the International Tennis Integrity Agency.”
Akhil Sarin, Stake’s chief marketing officer, added: “Tennis is a universally popular sport, and these competitions are two of the most passionately followed across the globe. We look forward to some exciting initiatives spread across the tennis calendar and working with the ITF to promote the sport to our worldwide audience.”
Stake has a broad sponsorship portfolio, most prominently putting its name to the Sauber-owned Formula 1 team, ‘Stake F1 Team’. It is also shirt sponsor of Premier League club Everton (and sleeve sponsor through its subsidiary Kick) and a regional betting sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Latin America and Asia.
More recently, Stake become shirt sponsor of Brazilian football club Juventude and extended its agreement with the European Cricket Championship.