Shares soar as online gambling venture signs up a third UK football club
The decision by the UK’s The Weather Lottery to launch online gambling services through the brand FCBetz.com was clearly a good bet; shares in the company have soared steeply – by some 173 percent – over the past week.
AIM-listed TWL, which was originally a charity fundraising specialist, has been attracting attention since its recent announcement that it would be taking clients online in a gambling venture, initially signing up Coventry City FC in a multi-year cooperative agreement that includes a full online gaming package and an additional lotto element branded FC Lotto.
Within days, this was followed by a further announcement that a similar deal had been signed with Derby County Football Club, and this has now been followed by a third agreement with Sheffield Wednesday FC.
It appears that more news from TWL can be anticipated; the company has revealed that it is continuing negotiations with several other major football clubs, and it expects to make further announcements of similar contracts with other clubs shortly.
"Derby County meets all the criteria we are looking for in our commercial partners. It has a strong fan base, an illustrious history and its ambitious owners have realistic premiereship prospects”, TWL chairman Lord Razzall commented this week.
The contracts will begin at the start of the new season, which kicks off next month, with The Weather Lottery providing in-play stadia and online gambling to the clubs’ fan bases.
There has so far been no public disclosure on what software the venture plans to use.