Issue N32, 2009
August 19, 2009
William Hill in New Cycling Sponsorship Deal
William Hill, the UK group that only recently announced its intentions to move its sportsbetting operations to the offshore tax haven of Gibraltar, said this week that it has entered into a new and exciting sponsorship deal with one of the biggest cycling races in Europe. The group said that it would become the official sponsor of La Vuelta a Espana, a race that runs the course of nearly 3300 km across Europe. The cycling event is considered one of the three Grand Tours of Europe (besides Giro d’Italia and Tour de France). The route begins in Assen, Holland and ends three weeks later, on September 20th, in Madrid, Spain. The race is a rich part of Spain’s sporting culture and has been a popular event for over sixty years.
“This is a tremendous honor for WilliamHill.com,” said Ricardo Carioni, speaking for William Hill. “We understand and respect the history of La Vuelta and more particularly the passion that it ignites within the cycling community.”
“The coverage of La Vuelta is far reaching and provides for strong brand visibility across multiple TV networks right across Europe for three solid weeks,” he also said. “William Hill is a company with more than 75 years of history as the leading betting company within the UK, but the online business has only evolved in recent years and to be associated with La Vuelta is of tremendous pride to us.”
“We are delighted to have reached an agreement with WilliamHill.com,” said the Commercial Director of La Vuelta a Espana, Pablo Lopez Barajas. “The involvement within sports sponsorship from leading companies in new business sectors, shows what a great sporting environment Spain is enjoying at the moment and particularly the sport of cycling and La Vuelta. WilliamHill.com is one of the most respected brands in its business and we appreciate the trust that they have in our sport, as a means of expanding within Spain.”
Australian Gambling Groups Slam Deviant Affiliate Site
Four of Australia’s leading gambling groups have come out strongly against an affiliate gambling site that used “totally unacceptable” methods to lure unsuspecting problem gamblers to its site that offered online gambling services and brands. Sportsbet, Centrebet, IASbet and Sportingbet have also denied that they are connected in any way with Bookmaker.com.au, an affiliate gambling site that runs ads for these four operators and others. The affiliate site allegedly targeted problem gamblers seeking assistance from Gamblers Anonymous and other such sites, automatically redirecting them to the gambling site.
The Chief Executive Officer of Sportingbet, Michael Sullivan said that his group’s relationship with Bookmaker.com changed immediately when he was informed of their operating tactics. “As soon as we were notified it was changed,” he said.
The New South Wales government is understandably angry over the issue, and the state’s Gaming and Racing Minister, Kevin Greene, strongly condemned Bookmaker.com.au in a statement.
“This is an appalling tactic that appears to be intentionally designed to prey on vulnerable people in our society looking for help,” he said. “Not only do these websites seem to be places offering assistance to those with gambling problems, they immediately redirected people to a website promoting gambling services. This appears to be a disgusting attempt to cash in on the problems of others.”
Greene said that the four gambling groups had been asked to have themselves removed from the website, even thought they may have not been aware that the site had links to their sites.
“Each of these Australian companies are based in the Northern Territory and the websites that link to them clearly contravene advertising standards under the Northern Territory’s Responsible Gambling Code,” he said. “It is clear that the quickest thing that these gambling companies can do is voluntarily remove themselves from the appalling site.”
New X Factor Slot Now Available
A new game based on the popular UK television show, X Factor, has been launched by G2, the online gaming division of GTech Corporation. X Factor: Steps to Stardom, promises to throw all the punches and players will be blown away by this fast paced, high rewarding five reel, 20 pay line slot game. X Factor will feature the theme song of the original televised talent show and include multiple bonus rounds for extra entertainment and winning potential.
Alison Digges, Head Of Bingo for GTech G2 said: “The X Factor game is just one of many exciting new branded games that are being launched by the International Bingo Network over the next few months with local versions of many of the games being launched across our network of bingo sites in seven other European markets.”
Throughout August, players on the International Bingo Network can try their luck at a Top Slotter competition to familiarize themselves with the new game and win some great cash prizes.
Bet on Sports Founder Pleads Guilty
Gary Kaplan, the founder of US gambling giant, Bet on Sports, has pleaded guilty in a US court for running an online sports gambling operation that went against US laws. After being arrested in 2007, Kaplan was kept in custody as a plea bargain was hashed out with the US authorities. It was finally revealed this week that Kaplan has agreed to forfeit $43 million – a sum that has already been transferred from his private Swiss bank account. He will be sentenced in October to anything between 41 and 51 months in prison.
“Today's guilty plea should have a lasting effect because Kaplan was not only the founder of BetOnSports, he was also one of the pioneers of illegal online gambling," said John V. Gillies, from the FBI office in St. Louis where the trial is being held.