Protest by VfB fans against the new main sponsor from the gambling industry: A banner was unfurled before the start of the second half of the DFB Cup game in Reutlingen. Photo: Bauman
The partner from the gaming industry does not cause much enthusiasm among the Stuttgart supporters, who express their displeasure with a banner at the DFB Cup game in Reutlingen.
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The message was hard to miss. The banner stretched a meter long and was unrolled in front of the VfB fan block on the back straight shortly before the start of the second half of the DFB Cup match between VfB Stuttgart and TSG Balingen (4:0). The inscription? “Values & morals of our VfB – a pure gamble?!” No question what was meant: Many in the environment are strangers to the new main sponsor Winamax. A French company from the gambling industry, which VfB recently presented as the new main sponsor after a long search.
For days there has been headwind from numerous fans on social media. Now, for the first competitive game of the new season, the Ultra group Commando Cannstatt also expressed their displeasure. They had provided the banner in Reutlingen’s Kreuzeiche Stadium with their abbreviation “CC97” – and then went into more detail about their criticism of the concluded partnership in a statement.
There is talk of a “heavy blow” to credibility in terms of values and morals, of gambling addiction as a “serious problem for society as a whole”. Those responsible in Stuttgart around CEO Alexander Wehrle and Marketing Director Rouven Kasper had always emphasized in the past that the new partner had to fit the club’s foundation of values.
Many now see a big question mark behind this, after several measures had met with a positive response in the previous months. For example, VfB’s veto on investing in the German Football League or the establishment of a foundation for political education. According to Commando Cannstatt, the new main sponsor does not fit into the “role model function for society as a whole as the largest sports club in the region”.
The contract with Winamax runs until 2026
The club does not want to comment specifically on the banner, but had recently commented on the sponsorship deal in the person of Kasper. The criticism is taken very seriously, according to VfB’s marketing director. In addition to economic parameters, a prerequisite for the conclusion of the contract was “that the partner is a company based and licensed in Europe – and by that we don’t mean Malta, Gibraltar or the like – that fully submits to the legal regulations for the protection of minors and players and committed beyond that.” Therefore, the partnership does not violate the values of the association.
The truth is also that VfB is by no means alone in Germany with a partner from the gambling industry – in the game against Balingen, for example, an advertising banner for the betting provider Bwin, which sponsors the DFB Cup, could be seen directly under the protest banner. However, from now on, the Winamax logo will be emblazoned in a particularly prominent place on the chest of the VfB pros. The partnership was fixed for three years until 2026, which brings in around 8.5 million euros per season for the Stuttgart team. One thing is certain: the topic will keep the club busy for quite a while.