Tipico has signed a sponsorship deal with the Maltese men’s national football team, using the partnership to direct visibility toward its Careers portal as it looks to expand its Malta-based workforce following the Banijay Group acquisition.
The operator made its branding debut with the Maltese national team on 26 March, when Malta lost 2-0 to Luxembourg. Tipico’s logo now appears on training tops, sweatshirts, polo shirts and walk-on anthem jackets. All digital activation tied to the deal points to the Tipico Careers portal rather than the product itself, making the arrangement an explicit recruitment exercise rather than a conventional sports sponsorship.
Malta as a Long-Term Base
Tipico has been headquartered in Malta for more than 20 years and currently employs over 450 people on the island. The operator’s connection to Malta predates the wave of iGaming companies that arrived after the MGA licensing framework took shape in the mid-2000s, making it one of the longer-standing operators in a market that has become one of the most densely populated iGaming hubs in the world.
Kajetan Strini-Brown, director of sports brand and marketing acquisition at Tipico, said the national team deal is a natural fit for both reasons.
“The brand Tipico is strongly rooted in professional football and so are our sponsoring activities. Tipico is more than 20 years headquartered in Malta and employs more than 450 people on the island. That’s why we are absolutely delighted to enter this new partnership with the Maltese national team.”
The emphasis on talent recruitment reflects a broader shift in how Tipico is positioning Malta within its operational structure. The island’s combination of English-language fluency, EU membership and established iGaming ecosystem has made it a competitive talent market, with operators and suppliers competing for a finite pool of skilled professionals. For more on Malta’s role in the global iGaming industry, see Malta: How a Tiny Island Built a Billion-Euro Industry.
The Banijay Acquisition Context
The sponsorship announcement comes as Tipico moves through a significant ownership transition. Banijay Group announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Tipico in October 2025. The deal, which is expected to close in mid-2026 subject to merger control and gambling regulatory approvals, will see Banijay take approximately 64.9% of the combined entity, with a minimum target of 72% through call options on shares held by CVC Capital Partners and Tipico management.
Under the new structure, Tipico sits within Banijay Gaming alongside Betclic and Admiral, the Austrian omnichannel operator that Tipico itself acquired from Novomatic. The combined division reported revenue of €3.1bn in 2025 and serves more than seven million active players. Sportsbook accounts for 82% of revenue, with iGaming making up the remaining 18%. For background on the Admiral transaction, see Novomatic Completes Sale of Admiral Austria to Tipico.
Tipico remains the market leader in Germany across both sports betting and online casino. Admiral holds the number two position in Austrian sports betting. Betclic operates in France, Portugal, Poland and Ivory Coast, where it holds leading positions in both verticals.
Banijay’s Growth Targets and Integration Timeline
Banijay Group published a strategic update on 26 March, the same day Tipico’s Malta debut took place, setting a target of approximately €10bn in group revenue by 2029 through organic growth alone. On a proforma basis, the enlarged group would have generated €7.4bn in revenue, €1.6bn in adjusted EBITDA and €1.2bn in adjusted free cash flow in 2025.
Banijay Gaming is forecast to deliver around 10% adjusted EBITDA growth per year between 2025 and 2029, with digital penetration identified as a key operational priority. The division expects to generate approximately €100m in synergies over the medium term from the Tipico integration, split between roughly €70m in opex savings and €30m in capex. Online channels already account for 78% of Banijay Gaming revenue, with management citing further digital growth as a central target for the period.
Integration itself will not begin in earnest until after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. CEO François Riahi confirmed that Tipico is currently focused on product development ahead of the tournament, with integration work to follow. The decision preserves trading momentum through what Banijay expects to be a commercially significant event for its sportsbook operations.
The Malta talent drive sits at the operational level rather than the strategic one, but the timing is deliberate. With Banijay Gaming preparing for a period of sustained growth and a post-World Cup integration process, expanding the Malta headcount now positions Tipico to absorb that workload without scrambling for resource later. The full scope of Banijay’s post-acquisition financial targets is covered in Banijay Sets €10bn Revenue Target for 2029 After Tipico and All3Media Deals.
iGaming professionals based in or open to relocating to Malta can view current openings on the Tipico Malta Careers page.
Source: InterGame Online
