While players love poker for the thrill of competition and camaraderie, the game thrives on something else entirely: sponsorship dollars. Without them, many events, media projects, and community initiatives simply would not exist. I know this firsthand. Cardplayer Lifestyle and my Mixed Game Festival series run on the fuel of partnerships, not participant entry fees. And it works.
Over the past 15+ years that I’ve been part of the poker industry, I have seen how sponsorships can transform poker content and live events from small-scale labors of love into sustainable, value-delivering enterprises. But here is the truth: the overwhelming majority of those sponsorship dollars are still coming from within the poker industry. Operators, training sites, poker gear companies, and media platforms have all been reliable partners. Still, we are missing out on a much bigger pool of potential support from the non-poker world.
If poker is going to grow and thrive, we need to get better at attracting those outside sponsors. But beyond that, those sponsors need to be willing to take a closer look at the unique value proposition our industry offers.
Who’s Already Sponsoring Poker (and Why It Works)
Today, most poker sponsorships come from companies that already live and breathe the game: operators, training sites, and poker adjacent brands. Here’s a list of some of the primary poker companies that I’ve worked with over my years in the industry:
- Operators: PokerStars, WPT, 888poker, PGT, BetMGM Poker, partypoker, GGPoker
- Poker Training Sites: Pokercoaching.com, Run It Once Training, Red Chip Poker
- Poker-Adjacent Brands: Faded Spade (playing cards), RunGoodGear (apparel), PokerGO (streaming), D&B Poker (publishing)
Because these brands quite literally operate within the poker industry, they’re by definition primed to also function as sponsors because they understand the audience and know exactly how to reach it. When I produce Cardplayer Lifestyle’s annual Holiday Gift Guide for Poker Players, for example, we often get a mix of returning and brand-new sponsors. The new ones usually come in with a simple mindset: if you can put our products in front of poker players, we will see results. And they do.
When I started Cardplayer Lifestyle, I decided early on that my business would be built on sponsorships. Instead of hiding my content behind a paywall, I made it free for all to access. My revenue model and, frankly, my business is possible through partnerships. The result is a win-win-win. Sponsors receive meaningful exposure, poker players get 15+ years (and counting) of free content, and I get to make a living doing what I love.
The same logic applies to the Mixed Game Festival. Poker brands know that sponsoring the event gets their products and services in front of highly engaged, loyal players who will remember them long after the cards are shuffled back into the deck. We’ve run nearly a dozen such festivals over the last 3.5 years and have given away over $150,000 in cash, prizes, and merchandise to our players. That figure is representative of sponsor investment, for which I — and by extension all the players who participate in the festival — am supremely grateful.
Congratulations to the @FossilMan!
Winner of the @PokerStars #PlatinumPass for the @PokerLifeMedia #MixedGameFestival
The champ is HERE!
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) October 8, 2021
Sponsors step forward knowing they will reach a highly targeted audience, and they return because the partnership produces results. This approach works for poker brands, and it could work just as well for companies from any sector that have the vision to try it.
Why Many Companies Have Not Sponsored Poker (Yet)
For companies outside poker, hesitation is often due to:
- Legal and jurisdictional concerns in regions with strict gambling regulations
- Lingering stigma from outdated “poker as vice” perceptions
- ROI uncertainty from a lack of case studies and data
These concerns are understandable, but they can be addressed. When the poker industry presents sponsorship opportunities with clear audience data, defined deliverables, and past success stories, more non-poker brands will see the potential upside.
The Value Proposition Poker Offers
Poker audiences are uniquely valuable for advertisers for the following reasons:
- Highly engaged niche audience who actively follow content, events, and personalities
- Demographics with spending power, particularly poker-playing seniors who often tend to have more discretionary income and time to engage with products and services
- Lifestyle overlap with industries like travel, dining, technology, luxury goods, and entertainment
- Venue-driven benefits for casinos and hotels, with additional spending on food, lodging, and other gaming
These traits make poker players attractive not just to poker brands, but to any company looking for a loyal, attentive customer base.
The Untapped Potential: Non-Poker Companies
Brands that advertise during major sporting events or on YouTube pre-rolls — car manufacturers, watchmakers, airlines, energy drink companies, financial services, and more — are not “sports-only” advertisers. They are lifestyle brands aiming to connect with people wherever they are.
Poker players fit that profile perfectly. They are competitive, intelligent, well-traveled, and won’t hesitate to spend money on good products and services. The challenge is that many of these brands do not yet know how to reach poker audiences, and poker organizers have not always shown them the way.
This is where opportunity lies. Tournament organizers, content creators, and poker media can be proactive in approaching non-poker brands with compelling sponsorship packages that outline integration opportunities, audience insights, and long-term partnership potential.
Practical Advice for Attracting Sponsorship Dollars Into Poker
When I court sponsors for my content and our festivals, I know exactly what I want to get out of the deals. Even so, pretty much every conversation I have with sponsors opens with some version “here’s what’s in it for you.” And if I can’t understand well enough what a sponsor would want, I literally ask them: “what are you guys ideally looking to get out of your sponsorship?” and we continue the conversation from there.
Beyond following that sort of template, here’s some more practical advice for attracting sponsors to the industry on the whole:
Know your audience: Gather clear data on they types of poker players you reach. This can include age, location, gender, income level, purchasing habits, and preferred products or services. Being able to present these insights to a potential sponsor shows them exactly who their message will reach and helps them picture their brand connecting with your audience.
Package it clearly: Create a professional sponsorship deck that explains exactly what a partner will receive. Include deliverables such as logo placement, mentions during broadcasts, social media promotion, email newsletter features, and on-site visibility at live events. Make it easy for a company to understand how they will be represented and why the exposure will matter.
Think beyond poker brands: Approach companies in travel, hospitality, beverages, apparel, technology, and other lifestyle categories. Show them the parallels between their products and the lives of poker players. For example, poker players often fly long distances, stay in hotels, wear branded apparel, use electronics, and enjoy premium drinks.
Focus on win-win outcomes: Sponsors want to know that their investment will pay off. Present ways their success is directly tied to the partnership’s performance. Offer post-event or post-campaign reports that highlight reach, impressions, engagement, and player feedback. When sponsors can measure results, they are far more likely to return.
Deliver and overdeliver: Keep every promise you make and look for ways to exceed expectations. This could mean providing extra social media posts, adding unexpected bonus coverage, or giving them prominent exposure they did not specifically request. Overdelivering builds trust and turns first-time sponsors into long-term partners.
A Positive Outlook for Poker Sponsorship
If we in the industry follow the blueprint outlined above, we will be well-positioned to attract more sponsorship dollars over time. The poker audience is bigger than ever, and live events are enjoying a clear attendance boom. The opportunity is ripe for bigger advertisers to get in the game and market their products to poker players.
When more money comes into the game from outside the industry, players are bound to feel the positive trickle-down effects. More prizes, larger prize pools, operators and media outlets making more money and investing further resources — all of these outcomes create a stronger, healthier poker ecosystem for everyone.
