Manchester United have launched ‘Manchester United Social Poker’ in collaboration with their official global social casino games partner, KamaGames.
Manchester United, the world’s most widely recognized football club, has entered the social casino industry by launching Manchester United Social Poker.
It’s a bold move for a club trying desperately to find the pulse that seems to have deadened since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
In the summer of 2013 I was invited to attend The Road to Old Trafford. A £250 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) event that featured the likes of former Man Utd player Darren Fletcher, and our very own Sam Trickett.
Trickett would go on to win the £10,000 first prize and donate it to Rio Ferdinand’s charity; Darren Fletcher would go on to sign for WBA, and I would leave slightly bemused as to why bwin.party had not entered into an agreement to launch Manchester United Social Poker instead of KamaGames?
It’s all about money, honey.
Premier League football clubs seem to have an ‘Official’ everything. Official toilet paper provider, official tampon provider, and now an official global social casino games partner.
That’s why KamaGames are getting this thing off the ground and not Bwin.
“Manchester United Social Poker… is a new and exciting way for our fans to not only interact with the Club but also with each other. KamaGames is one of the industry’s leading developers in this area and we are pleased to be teaming up with them to offer these products. This is just the first social casino game to be launched as part of the partnership and we are looking forward to introducing fans to many more.” Said Manchester United Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold.
It’s certainly a change of heart. When I was at Old Trafford, back in 2013, they were keen to place a distance between gambling and their professional workforce, despite links with bwin.party.
With news outlets stating that play money roulette and slots will soon follow, to create a more rounded Manchester United Social Casino experience, the obvious lead is to an eventually real money offering.
But that’s not what the club believes is going to happen.
“KamaGames does not operate any paid casino games and is strictly regulated to ensure money cannot be won as a result of playing Manchester United Social Poker. As with all social casino games, the industry set age restriction applies and KamaGames carefully police this to ensure players adhere to these rules.”
Remember Keith Gillespie anyone?
The former Man Utd star who wrote a book called; “How Not to be a Football Millionaire,” chronicling the £7m he claims to have squandered, mainly through gambling.
Whether or not the Man Utd social casino will eventually become a real money offering is nothing but speculation. In the meantime the social casino will be available on Facebook, online and on mobile devices.
Fans of the club will be able to play poker against other fans worldwide. The club will put up prizes such a tickets, memorabilia and trips to the stadium and museum.
It’s just such a shame that winning a prize to watch Man Utd playing football, at this present time, is akin to winning a prize to stare at a wall for 90-minutes.
