World Chess announces Unibet as the official betting partner for the FIDE World Chess Championship Match London 2018.
London, August 7, 2018 — World Chess has appointed Unibet to be the first official betting partner in the history of the FIDE World Chess Championship Match. The 2018 tournament will be held in London from 9th to 28th November and sees defending champion Magnus Carlsen face American challenger Fabiano Caruana. Unibet makes Carlsen the overwhelming favourite at 3/10, with Caruana out at 12/5.
Fans will be able to make quick and easy bets on a range of categories – ranging from outright winner through to a player’s next move. Unibet will also offer fans exclusive promotions on the championship rounds throughout the match.
World Chess and Unibet will produce additional digital content for this year’s tournament in order to reach the 600 million chess enthusiasts around the world. As part of the partnership, Unibet will receive a full suite of exclusive rights, including digital advertising, the use of exclusive photo and video content and the opportunity to take part in a round of the First Move Ceremony.
The 2016 championship took place in New York and saw Carlsen win his third world title. The tournament drew around 6 million viewers from around the world. For the first time in decades, the World Chess crown may return to America in 2018 after Brooklyn-born Caruana won the Candidates Tournament in Berlin and earned the right to fight for the Championship title against Carlsen. In 1975, Bobby Fischer was stripped of the title, and since then an American player has not come close to being crowned world champion..
Ilya Merenzon, the CEO of World Chess, says: “World Chess is proud to announce this exclusive partnership with Unibet. We’re enabling fans to be even closer to the action in this tantalising match. The tournament is the highlight of the chess calendar and millions of people around the world will follow every move.”
Richard Østrøm, Country Manager for Unibet Norway says: “Since Magnus Carlsen became world champion, we have seen a large and growing interest in betting on big chess tournaments. As the leading online bookmaker in Europe, we want to be a part of and contribute to big sporting events, and we are very happy to be the preferred betting partner for World Chess both before and during the World Championship. We believe that this year’s World Championship showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in London will establish chess as a permanent fixture in betting.”
About FIDE
The World Chess Federation or Fédération Internationale des Echecs, (FIDE), is recognized by its members and the International Olympic Committee as the international federation in the domain of chess, the supreme body responsible for the sport of chess and its Championships. FIDE has the sole rights to organize the World Chess Championships and the Chess Olympiads.
About World Chess
World Chess, exclusive official partner of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), is the owner the World Chess brand, the most intellectual brand in the world, as well as commercial rights holder to the World Chess Championship cycle. Rights include media, branding and publicity, giving the organizer full control over brand presence at the venue during all Championship cycle events until 2022.
About Unibet
Unibet provides a platform for sports betting, casino, games and online poker. Unibet has 9.5 million customers in over 100 countries and over 650 employees. Unibet is a member of the EGBA, European Gaming and Betting Association, RGA, Remote Gambling Association in the UK and is audited and certified by eCOGRA in relation to responsible and fair gaming. www.unibet.com
