Friday July 19,2013 : SKYBET IN UK FOOTBALL SPONSORSHIP DEAL
Online gambling operator to support The Football League for five years
British internet gambling operator SkyBet has inked a 5 year sponsorship deal with The Football League. The deal includes renaming the League's flagship competition The Sky Bet Football League, with its three divisions being titled ‘The Sky Bet Championship’, ‘Sky Bet League 1’ and ‘Sky Bet League 2’.
This new agreement is Sky Bet’s first ever off-screen football sponsorship and is aimed at building greater awareness of Sky Bet’s growing range of online and mobile betting services, reports the publication Football Trade Directory.
Sky Bet is currently the UK’s fourth-largest online bookmaker and the fastest-growing. Sky Bet’s mobile app is one of the top rated in the Apple App store and over 1 million UK residents have placed a bet with Sky Bet in the last 12 months, the company reports.
Greg Clarke, chairman of The Football League said: “This agreement takes our long-term partnership with Sky to a new level and provides a genuine boost to clubs ahead of the new season.”
Richard Flint, managing director of Sky Bet, said the agreement represented a ground-breaking partnership for Sky Bet.
“Sponsorship of The Football League helps us engage with millions of football fans spanning all 72 league clubs. It was important for us that we are able to demonstrate our commitment to all Football League clubs and fans nationwide. The strength of our technology supported by a trusted brand that is part of the fabric of football means we’re ideally placed to add to the match-day experience of fans,” he said.
Sky Bet football fans can bet on match results, goal scorers and score predictions and can also access a wide range of in-game betting options. The betting company has also created a variety of Football League special bets to celebrate the new partnership and the 125th anniversary of The Football League.
Sky will additionally use its partnership with The Football League to explore opportunities to offer customers exclusive access to competitions and promotional offers, including access to Football League match tickets.