The UFC and social casino Roobet.fun have formed a multi-year partnership to feature and promote Roobet.fun at some UFC major events and digital platforms.
As part of the deal announced on July 31, the social casino will receive prominent branding inside UFC’s Octagon (ring) at both major pay-per-view events and streamed and televised Fight Nights. Roobet.fun will also feature as a presenting partner at UFC’s Embedded video-content series. Additionally, Roobet.fun will be part of UFC’s social media channels’ content, which reaches over 240 million people.
Furthermore, players at Roobet.fun will have a chance to compete for UFC sweepstakes prizes. Awards will include tickets to UFC events, post-fight tours of the Octagon, meet-and-greets with fighters, and UFC’s Performance Institute tours.
Roobet.fun and its sister brand, Roobet.com, are already involved with UFC and mixed martial arts. The casino has sponsored UFC fighters like Charles Oliveira, Alex Pereira, Brandon Moreno, and Marlon “Chito” Vera.
Who’s Roobet.fun?
Roobet.fun is a social casino that is free to play and uses a sweepstakes model where players compete for a chance to win prizes. The social casino uses a leaderboard style, where users play slots, and the highest score winners win prizes. In addition to slots, there are other unique games, like a crash game featuring rapper Snoop Dogg.
Roobet.fun differs from most social casinos, like Chumba and Pulsz. That’s because it does not use different types of coins, and users cannot get their winnings as a gift card or cash. Roobet.fun uses Bitcoin for payouts, which is a gray area in the US. However, according to its website, Roobet.fun is available in all US states except Kentucky, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada.
Furthermore, Roobet.fun is owned by the same owners of the crypto casino Roobet.com. Crypto casinos like Roobet.com are illegal in the US. Roobet stresses that its crypto and social wings operate independently. Nonetheless, building visibility for one naturally draws attention to the other, since they share the same name.
Is Roobet Trying To Establish Itself In The Regulated US Market?
Social casinos’ popularity has been increasing in recent years. That’s why even companies that operate legal online casinos, like Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, and Rush Street Interactive (RSI), have launched social casinos.
Meanwhile, others are looking to establish a presence and credibility. One such case is the social casino Stake.us. While its sister casino, Stake.com, is very famous abroad due to partnerships with rapper Drake, soccer clubs, and Formula 1 teams, it’s illegal in the US. Meanwhile, Stake.us is legal in 49 states.
Like Stake, Roobet.fun could be trying to distinguish itself from its sister site and gain credibility in the US. That could eventually lead to separating itself from the crypto association and ultimately aiming to gain a license for a real money casino or a sportsbook.
Could Roobet Plan to Promote Its Crypto Casino in the US?
A major partnership with an organization like the UFC gives a company a lot of exposure. But it also comes at a high cost. So how is Roobut.fun financing this since, according to its website, relies on sponsors? That leads to the next question, is the deal a way for Roobet.com to promote to players in jurisdictions where it’s not legal?
According to web analytics websites, most of UFC’s website visitors come from jurisdictions where Roobet.com is illegal. One digital marketing services provider, Semrush, estimates that the plurality of visitors come from the US, with about 27.5% of all visitors. At number two was Canada, with about 7%, while UK visitors accounted for almost 6%.
Meanwhile, according to another such company, SimilarWeb, the share of visitors from the US was even higher, about 36%. Once again, Canada ranked second with 7.4%, while the UK was third with 6.2%.
The top three jurisdictions account for about half of the global traffic to UFC.com. Roobet is illegal in all three. Although it doesn’t accept users from those countries, some virtual private network (VPN) services advertise that their products can circumvent such location checks and allow players to use products like Roobet.
US Mainstream Media and VPNs Are Helping Illegal Gambling
In a June 28 article on Bonus, Heather Fletcher talks about how US mainstream media sites promote illegal offshore casinos. From major publications like The New York Times and Fox News to student-run college publications like The Daily Iowan, crypto ads appear on the front pages of Google searches. That takes a considerable portion of players away from legal online casinos.
Aside from searches on the internet, up until recently, streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch were also promoting illegal gambling. While they’ve taken measures and banned streaming from illegal casinos, other new platforms have emerged, like crypto-friendly Kick, owned by Stake.com founders.
Additionally, a “Roobet Casino” web search shows how to play from the US through a VPN and reviews of the best VPNs to use. Even websites that the public should trust, like local TV stations, promote crypto gambling and have VPN guides.
In addition, VPN companies are not shy to promote their service’s usage to play illegally online. While they don’t specify crypto casinos, some promote playing online poker through a VPN, while others imply it. In comparison, legal online casinos require personal data during registrations and use geo-tracking technology to ensure players are within the legal jurisdictions.
Unlike legal US online casinos, crypto casinos allow players to use VPNs. For example, if a player from outside the US tries to access FanDuel Casino, even with a VPN, they won’t be able to log in. Meanwhile, Roobet pretends not to notice and lets players in from anywhere.
Could the Roobet.fun Deal Negatively Impact the UFC?
Could the deal lead to another scandal for the UFC? Last November, the organization received much attention and criticism after news broke that a coach had placed a bet against his player. The coach, James Krause, was considered a rising star and known for his sports betting podcast. Coincidentally Kraus was also a coach of Reboot-sponsored Brandon Moreno, an interim champion at the time.
The scandal broke a month after the UFC banned betting within the industry. Before that, there were no rules, and according to ESPN, insider betting was common.
The Kraus investigation led Canadian provinces Alberta and Ontario to ban UFC betting. Meanwhile, New Jersey regulators told operators not to take bets with fights involving Kraus. Ontario reinstated UFC betting in January after it said the UFC had changed its policy on betting.
So, after all that trouble, is the Roobet partnership a good public relations deal for the UFC? If it’s aiming at the US market, UFC must believe in the legal status and intentions of Roobet.fun.
Or, UFC could be focusing on its global audience. The organization has already signed deals with companies that are illegal or have come under investigation in the US, like Stake.com and TikTok, so it might not be worried about the effects.
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