Not content with its three-way partnership with Swedish mobile casino operator LeoVegas and fellow UK tabloid The Mirror, The Sun is also looking into expanding its business and dive (again) into the UK online sports betting market.
An EGR report indicates that The Sun is close to striking a deal with BetVictor to launch its own sportsbook with the possibility of a launch anticipated to happen in the next few months.
While no announcement has been made regarding The Sun tying the knot with BetVictor, it’s widely believed that both are in the final stage of discussions before saying their “I do’s”, giving the tabloid a renewed presence in the UK online sportsbetting market.
The Sun’s motives in setting up a fully-managed sportsbook with BetVictor isn’t exactly a new deal for the newspaper. It already has the Gamesys-run Sun Bingo! in its portfolio, which is actually doing quite well in the UK market, thanks to the heavy, and presumably free, promotion the bingo site has through the pages of the newspaper.
A sportsbook was initially in The Sun’s plans as early as 2011, but those plans were shelved after the paper was embroiled in the News International phone hacking scandal. But with the Guardian recently announcing that it was launching an online sportsbook, gowager.co.uk, with FSB Technology, the Sun probably thought now was the right time to get in on the fun, possibly with the idea of not letting the Guardian hog all the headlines.
It remains unclear how this rumored partnership with BetVictor is going to manifest itself once a deal is done. But it’s looking more and more likely that The Sun isn’t going to let The Guardian enjoy all the spoils of its new online sportsbook.
