Crypto companies refrain from advertising in French Grand Prix to comply with legal rules
While sports and crypto partnerships have reigned supreme for years, advertising regulations in France could make cryptocurrency ads more scarce in the country’s top sporting events.
Recent reports have noted that the country’s legal rules around promotions and increased oversight from watchdogs have made it harder for crypto companies to advertise crypto-related products or their platforms. And while these businesses remain banned from promoting the virtual asset sector, it has seen their visibility dry up during the 2022 French Grand Prix weekend.
This is particularly difficult considering that eight out of ten teams have been reported to have some sort of crypto partner, with Williams and Haas being the only exceptions per RacingNews365.
Massive sponsorship of crypto companies
Alfa Romeo, for example, had partnered with the now-bankrupt Vauld and meme-inspired Floki. This is while Red Bull Racing has teamed up with crypto exchange ByBit and the Tezos network. F1 and Aston Martin also have agreements with Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com.
Crypto.com told the media that the platform “decided not to exercise its branding rights for this race.”
Furthermore, it adds, “However, it remains F1’s global partner and we expect that such rights will be exploited in other ways at future races.”
Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing stated: “Our legal team is aware of the situation and we are in communication with our partners.”
McLaren confirmed in a statement to the sports newspaper that the team is aware of cryptocurrency advertising restrictions and has been working closely with partner OKX on the matter.
In addition, AlphaTauri was unable to promote its sponsor Fantom due to the tightening domestic supervision. AlphaTauri told the media: “Knowing about the regulations here in France regarding cryptocurrency, it was decided to avoid advertising on French soil after discussions with our partner.”
Rules for advertising in France
In France, before an asset is made available to the public, virtual asset service providers must register with the securities regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
That said, the regulator bans four promotional activities in the sector, as determined by ORWL Avocats. It includes direct solicitation to subscribe to the asset class, quasi-solicitation by collecting personal data, sponsorship aimed at promoting an ICO or a VASP, and misleading advertisements to protect consumers.
And not to mention that the equity regulator has also raised concerns about the asset class on several occasions in the past.
However, it remains to be seen whether France will miss out on the economic benefits that the crypto sector has to offer, or whether it will take advantage of it while tightening the rules. Especially considering that a previous report from sports analytics firm Nielsen Sports predicted that crypto deals in sports could be worth a lot, snowballing into a $5 billion industry by 2026.
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