Asian-facing online gambling operator TLCBET has signed on as shirt sponsor of English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion.
West Brom were on the hunt for a new shirt sponsor following Intuit Quickbook’s off-season defection to rivals Aston Villa. TLCBET and West Brom have a history, as the parties inked a deal in 2013 that saw TLCBET serve as the club’s official Asian betting partner.
Terms of the one-year deal weren’t disclosed but West Brom was believed to have been seeking an improvement on the £1.5m Quickbooks had been shelling out. Team sales and marketing director Adrian Wright said TLCBET’s “experience and reach in Asia” would assist the club’s “aspirations for global brand recognition.”
TLCBET brand director Mike Chong celebrated his firm’s first ever EPL shirt deal, saying the exposure would amplify the operator’s “ambitions to put the TLCBET brand onto the global stage.” The new kit will be available to West Brom fans as of July 17. This is the second online gambling shirt deal for West Brom, who previously hooked up with Bodog.
TIPICO CONFIRM BAYERN MUNICH DEAL
Over on the continent, Malta-licensed sports betting operator Tipico has confirmed its betting partnership with German footballers Bayern Munich. The four-year deal was initially tipped in March but the parties have only just confirmed putting pen to paper, although the value of the pact wasn’t disclosed.
The deal bolsters Tipico’s Bundesliga presence, joining existing sponsorship tie-ups with FC Hoffenheim and Hamburger SV. Tipico CEO Jan Bolz believes Bayern Munich is “a role model for every football club on the planet, and Tipico as German market leader is the ideal partner” for the club. Bayern Munich director Jörg Wacker said Tipico’s brand “fits perfectly into the circle of our high-profile partners.”
SINGAPORE ONLINE GAMBLING LAW FORCES STOKE CITY JERSEY SWAP
Finally, UK online betting operator Bet365 is temporarily removing its logo from Stoke City FC’s jerseys. The club is due to take part in the two-day 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy tournament this month in Singapore, which recently banned most forms of online gambling and the promotion thereof within the city-state.
The Coates family, which owns both Bet365 and the football club, has made arrangements for the team to wear alternate jerseys during the two-day tournament. The special jerseys will bear the logo of the One Goal charity, which seeks to aid the estimated 200m children across Asia whose malnutrition prevents them from leading a healthy active life.
