The new football season may have already started but that isn’t stopping betting companies from snagging last minute sponsorship opportunities.
On Tuesday, Asian-facing, Isle of Man-based betting operator TLCBET announced it had signed on as the official betting and gaming partner of English Premier League side Middlesbrough FC. TLCBET has previously served as shirt sponsor of EPL side West Bromwich Albion.
Terms of the MFC deal weren’t disclosed, but in exchange for an unknown amount of dosh, TLCBET will get lots of branding opportunities via pitchside LED boards, the club’s website and social media channels.
Lee Fryett, MFC’s head of partnerships, said the deal would help boost the team’s “growing reputation in Asia,” while TLCBET brand director Mike Chong expressed confidence in the site’s capacity to promote the Boro brand in Asia.
HILLS PARTNERS WITH CHELSEA, LATELY
UK bookies William Hill have inked a three-year betting partnership with EPL mainstays Chelsea, the third such deal Hills signed over the course of a single week, joining Everton FC and Tottenham Hotspur.
In addition to the standard pitchside and digital media branding opportunities, Hills also gets to host betting services within Stamford Bridge stadium on match days. Chelsea managing director Christian Purslow called Hills “one of the most recognized and trusted brands in the betting industry and it’s great to have another blue chip company on our list of partners.”
WINNERPLAY NOT SO WINNING FOR CORINTHIANS
Not all betting-football marriages run so smoothly. Last week, Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Corinthians announced that it had ended its shirt deal with Winnerplay.net, part of the Winner.com family. The three-year deal, believed to be worth around R20m (US $5m), was only signed in January.
The Sao Paulo-based club’s marketing director told GloboEsporte that the country’s delays in passing online gambling legislation – not to mention last month’s rumors that the country may opt for an online sports betting monopoly instead of offering licenses to international operators – played a role in busting up this once happy couple. In a model of understatement, Gustavo Herbetta said the gambling site had “made a business plan predicting variables that did not occur.”
