Bet365 appoints Carat UK to lead next advertising cycle
Bet365 has appointed Carat UK to handle its UK media planning and buying account, ending a 14-year relationship with independent agency Republic of Media. The appointment concludes a competitive review launched in June and managed by pitch consultancy ID Comms to asses Bet365’s UK media coverage. T…
Bet365 has appointed Carat UK to handle its UK media planning and buying account, ending a 14-year relationship with independent agency Republic of Media. The appointment concludes a competitive review launched in June and managed by pitch consultancy ID Comms to asses Bet365’s UK media coverage. The Dentsu-owned agency takes over an account with estimated yearly UK home market media expenditure of £50m. The handover date and full scope of Carat’s responsibilities have yet to be publicly disclosed. Republic of Media had worked with Bet365 since 2012. Its responsibilities included buying airtime around live sport and negotiating broadcast sponsorships, with Sky confirming the agency’s involvement in Bet365’s sponsorship of pre- and post-match Premier League coverage for the 2025/26 season. The agency change follows a wider revision of Bet365’s advertising positioning conducted with its Newcastle-based creative partner Drummond Central. Launched in August ahead of the Premier League season, “We Know Betting” replaced the previous “Never Ordinary” brand platform. Its opening campaign, “Reasons”, focused on the operator’s heritage as the UK’s most trusted online betting platform. Activity covered broadcast, audio, print, sponsorship, outdoor advertising and owned channels. Republic of Media handled UK media planning and buying for the launch. European football remains a prominent part of Bet365’s sponsorship portfolio. The operator became the UEFA Champions League’s first official sports betting partner in 2024, under an agreement running until the end of the 2026/27 season. The partnership provides exposure across perimeter advertising, media backdrops and UEFA’s digital channels, alongside ticket giveaways for supporters. Hunt for UEFA Champions League package Attention is now turning to UEFA’s next commercial cycle named UC3. A new package is up for sale for UEFA’s premier club competition commercial rights, covering exclusive coverage for the period of 2027-to-2031. The proposed agreement spans the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Futsal Champions League finals. Bet365 as the company reportedly in negotiations of a contract that is believed to be above +£100m in value. Separately, Kaizen Gaming’s Betano secured an official sponsorship of UEFA Euro 2028 in October. That agreement extends a relationship established at Euro 2024 and subsequently expanded through sponsorships of the Europa League and Conference League. The media appointment comes as UK bookmakers prepare for higher betting duties. From 1 April 2027, the remote betting rate will increase from 15% to 25%, on online bets (UK horse racing excluded from the increase). The forthcoming change will add pressure to operators’ marketing and sponsorship budgets. Bet365’s accounts for the year ended 30 March 2025 showed group revenue rising 9% to £4.04bn. However, operating profit fell from £365.7m to £217.4m, of which leadership detailed primarily attributed to Bet365 aggressive expansion into US wagering states. Part of the conglomerate of Dentsu International, Carat UK has led the media planning and buying of top UK ad-spend accounts of Diageo, Mondelez, Mastercard, Vodafone and Santander Bank.