People participate during a Unity Celebration event on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Sunday, June 25, 2023, as part of the lead up to the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer tournament. Australia and New Zealand will co-host the women's World Cup starting on July 20. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
FIFA has its first gambling sponsor for the Women’s World Cup, announcing a deal Monday with the New Zealand state monopoly betting agency TAB.
FIFA said TAB will be promoted in the four New Zealand stadiums at the July 20-Aug. 20 tournament being co-hosted with Australia. The value of the sponsorship was not disclosed.
The deal follows a gambling sponsorship for FIFA at the men’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar, also in the third-tier “supporter” category, to promote the Betano brand in Europe.
The New Zealand betting agency returns commission to sports it takes bets on, and paid NZ$2.4 million ($1.48 million) to the national soccer federation last year.
Soccer bodies are increasingly making deals with the gambling sector even as their own rules bar players, referees and officials from betting on games or having financial interests in betting industry operators.
UEFA signed betting operator bwin to a three-year deal in 2021 for the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger toug
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Jeff Benedict, author of 'The Dynasty,' weighs in on the Kansas City Chiefs being the next big dynasty, who he thinks will win Super Bowl LIX and more. Watch!