Stake.com & FBC Melgar

Stake has built a global brand through a co-ordinated sports and entertainment sponsorship strategy, including Premier League and UFC partnerships alongside high-profile ambassadors such as Drake and Sergio Aguero.

With the next phase of growth focused on Latin America, Stake wanted to expand its sports portfolio and increase brand presence across the region, through a football partnership strategy that resonated in key markets, namely Peru.

With the majority of team’s in Peru’s domestic league already aligned with a betting partner, the task was to source and secure one of the remaining premium positions in the league.

Playmaker’s local market intelligence revealed that five of the top six teams in Peru had established shirt and betting partners. However, FBC Melgar’s newly available front-of-shirt position created a rare opening.

For Stake, this offered the opportunity to secure prominent branding with a leading Peruvian club while entering the market at a moment when access to comparable rights was highly constrained.

Following the conclusion of Melgar's previous shirt partnership, Playmaker identified the club as the strongest fit and worked closely with Stake to negotiate an optimal rights package.

The partnership centred on an exclusive front-of-shirt branding position, giving Stake a highly visible presence across Melgar's football activities. Importantly, the package extended across both the men's and women's teams, creating broader exposure and a platform for Stake to connect with supporters across the Peruvian football ecosystem.

Stake became the front-of-shirt sponsor of both FBC Melgar's men's and women's teams, establishing the brand as a main commercial partner of one of Peru's leading football clubs.

The partnership gave Stake a prominent platform in South America at a time when the brand was actively pursuing LATAM growth. Melgar's position as a Peruvian title contender provided additional opportunities for Stake to extend its visibility beyond the domestic market. This was accelerated in the first year of the partnership as Melgar qualified and participated in the Copa Sudamericana, South America's leading club competition.

The partnership also created opportunities for Stake to engage directly with football fans and support grassroots initiatives, allowing the brand to contribute to the development of football at multiple levels across the region.

Stake’s partnership with Melgar demonstrates the value of local market intelligence in identifying sponsorship opportunities ahead of the competition.

With established shirt and betting partnerships limited access to Peru’s other leading teams, Playmaker identified a newly available premium asset at Melgar and secured an exclusive front-of-shirt position for Stake.

The result was a partnership built around the brand’s LATAM growth ambitions, combining high-impact football visibility with opportunities for meaningful engagement with fans and grassroots communities.