Man Utd Sign New Online Gaming and Betting Partner
August 16, 2012
Manchester United's Old Trafford ground (Getty)
(WFI) Manchester United ink a three-year sponsorship deal with British sports betting company Bwin who become the official online gaming and betting partner.
"Man Utd has 569 million followers outside of Europe, providing us with a great opportunity to offer jointly designed and innovative products in countries that do not yet allow real money online sports betting,” said Norbert Teufelberger, joint chief executive of the firm’s parent company Bwin.party.
The agreement gives Bwin the right to run betting kiosks and advertise at Old Trafford.
Bwin, which offers odds on more than 500 leagues in over 100 different countries, replaces Betfair as the club's online gaming and betting partner.
The deal grows Bwin’s investment in football; it already has a shirt sponsorship deal with Real Madrid and also sponsors Bayern Munich.
"As Europe's leading online sports betting operator, football is fundamental to our long-term success, making up approximately half of our total sports betting revenue of 261m euros ($320m) in 2011," Teufelberger said.
The announcement comes a month after United agreed a shirt sponsorship deal with US car brand Chevrolet. It will replace Aon, whose partnership with United began in the 2010/11 season, in the 2014-15 season.
Yesterday, the club said it had agreed a $37.7m deal to sign Arsenal’s Robin van Persie on a four-year contract.
The signing of Netherlands international was a significant piece of business, given that Manchester City had been hoping to sign the 29-year-old.
The announcement came a week after United floated its shares on the New York stock exchange raising $233m.
By INSIDER editor Mark Bisson
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