William Hill is launching a new TV campaign in the UK, to promote the message of shared passion for sport and gaming among close friends.

Set to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, the feel good TV spots will feature brand ambassadors Sir AP McCoy, Jermaine Jenas, Rio Ferdinand, and Robbie Savage, along with plenty of fans. 

Charlotte Emery, Chief Brand Officer at William Hill, commented: “We are excited about the launch of the new campaign and the master launch of our iconic global brand. William Hill is a brand that is loved and respected across the world, and it was really important for us to unify our global brand under one single identity.”

William Hill has allocated 20% of its advertisement slots for safer gambling messages, with Emery adding: “As a responsible operator, we understand the importance of safer gambling, and we hope the new safer gambling creative will encourage customers to enjoy our products safely.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Assuming the deluded oracles of morality at the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) don’t throw one of their regular hissy fits and end up banning these ads, a slick TV campaign in William Hill’s home market can’t hurt at a time when Caesars Entertainment is courting bids for the brand’s non-US assets. We also predict a surge in Sweet Caroline downloads.

Online bookmaker Betway and professional tennis tournament, the MercedesCup, have announced a three-year exclusive betting partnership. 

Held at Tennis Club Weissenhof in Stuttgart Germany, the open is part of the ATP250 tour series and opens the extended grass-court season. The event hosts some of the world’s greatest tennis players with past winners including Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Roger Federer.

The sponsorship further demonstrates Betway’s commitment to Tennis, with partnerships including the Mutua Madrid Open, Miami Open and Estoril Open already in place. This announcement continues Betway’s commitment to supporting the biggest sporting events around the world.

Anthony Werkman, Betway’s CEO, said: “We are overjoyed to become the Official Betting Partner of the Mercedes Cup tournament. We continue to showcase our support of Tennis around the world and we look forward to being part of such a historic event.”

Edwin Weindorfer, MercedesCup Tournament Director, added: “In challenging times like these, we are very happy to have agreed on a sponsoring deal for the MercedesCup with a worldwide successful company like Betway. As a global player, Betway strategically focuses on tennis. This goes to show that the sport of tennis works very well as a communication platform.

“The MercedesCup takes center stage in Betway’s international orientation – not least due to the comprehensive live TV broadcast offering, digital presence & innovation as well as the social media and fan engagement initiatives of the grass court highlight at the TC Weissenhof.”

Staying with Betway, earlier today we reported the bookmaker had expanded its esports footprint, partnering with Brazil-based organisation FURIA. 

Sports and esports betting provider BETER has teamed up with Asia Pro League, the new Central Asian sports league. 

The partnership will equip the new league’s basketball events with reliable and accurate trading, and create a wide variety of content for global betting operators. 

The participants of the tournament are ten teams of local athletes. One season lasts six weeks, and the very first has already started on 19 April 19. Each season of the League consists of 2 laps, 9 rounds + play-off, and +1 match for the last place, which means 110+ events in total. Games are played on Monday-Friday, and there are 3 matches per day.

Alex Barkar, CEO of BETER, commented: “Asia Pro League is a new tournament organizer in the industry that creates top-tier content. We are thrilled that they’ve invited us to beterize their tournaments. BETER is both a content and data provider for betting operators and a platform for tournament organizers who have already achieved certain business success and are willing to provide the sports betting industry with their content. BETER not only supplies Asia Pro League basketball tournaments with trading solutions, but we also develop an efficient events schedule and implement tech side of incident and data feed transfer.”

BetMakers has joined the battle for Tabcorp’s Wagering and Media business, submitting a AU$4B offer. 

The BetMakers’ bid follows cash offers of AU$3.5B from both British gaminbling giant Entain and US private equity firm Apollo Global Management. US media group, FOX Corporation, is also thought to be interested in acquiring the Tabcorp assets. 

BetMakers’ offer consists of AU$1B in cash, and AU$3b in Betmakers shares, leaving Tabcorp investors owning 65% of BetMakers.

However, BetMakers would be funding the acquisition through debt financing, and the company’s share price sunk significantly after news of the offer broke, with many shareholders clearly less than enthusiastic about the proposal. 

Regarding the offer, BetMakers Strategic Adviser, Matt Tripp, said: “I am excited by the potential opportunity to reinvigorate the Tabcorp Wagering and Media business. There is significant potential for the business to grow in partnership with BetMakers and I hope to get the opportunity to support the Australian racing industry which relies on the success and growth of TAB. Aside from the value that this offer is anticipated to unlock for shareholders in both companies, this is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the Tabcorp Wagering and Media business to maximise its commercial potential on a global scale.”

BetMakers CEO, Todd Buckingham, added: “Building on BetMakers’ success to date, the combined entity would be a compelling investment proposition as one of the most broadly deployed global racing networks in the market. We are uniquely placed to pursue commercial opportunities globally, and in particular, in the United States.”

Turkish TFF First League football club Bursaspor has teamed up with sports and entertainment blockchain provider, Chiliz, to launch a Fan Token on its Socios.com platform.

The $BUR Fan Token is expected to launch in the coming months, and will give owners access to voting rights in polls, VIP rewards, exclusive club and sponsor promotions, AR-enabled features, chat forums, games, and competitions on Socios.com. 

Bursa will be the sixth Turkish football club to launch a Fan Token on Socios.com, joining Galatasaray, Trabzonspor, İstanbul Başakşehir, Göztepe, and Alanyaspor.

Bursaspor Club President, Erkan Kamat, commented: “We set out on a new road with Socios.com in order to demonstrate the cooperation with the supporters of our club on digital platforms, leaving the hard days behind us.

“Our aim is to establish a stronger and more sustainable communication between our fans and our club. In this sense, with the $BUR Fan Token, our fans will have the opportunity to have a say in club decisions and at the same time win valuable awards and privileges.

“With the competition on the field, football has turned into a race to catch up with the innovations of the digital world and to present these innovations to its fans as products and services. We are very pleased with our cooperation with Socios.com in order to be one of the strongest actors of this race, and we invite all our fans to support.”

Sports betting social platform Betsperts has acquired Fantasy Life App, a platform providing breaking news, updates, and advice to fantasy players. 

Following the all stock transaction, the new entity will be renamed Betsperts Media and Technology Group, Inc, and will form what that company says will be the world’s largest social media platform dedicated to sports betting and fantasy sports. 

The acquisition will double the headcount of Betsperts, and Fantasy Life App co-founder and ESPN fantasy sports expert, Matthew Berry, will be staying on with Betsperts as a board member and a significant minority shareholder. 

Betsperts was founded in 2018 by Reid Rooney and Austin Harper, as a platform to allow users to share information, content, and resources to create a more informed and stronger betting community. 

The properties that will form Betsperts Media & Technology Group racked up over 10,000,000 monthly visits during the 2020 football season. 

Reid Rooney, CEO of Betsperts, said: “The future of sports betting is stronger social connectivity between bettors and we are leading the way in building the destinations for communities. The acquisition of Fantasy Life App is a major stepping stone in providing our loyal users with advanced capabilities where they’ll be able to not just interact within the community but utilize Betsperts to grow, fortify and effectively monetize their sports betting following much like how influencers leverage other social media platforms.”

While Matthew Berry added: “Community and the social fabric of gaming has been a huge part of my life and career. I write about it extensively and it’s what led to the creation of the Fantasy Life App for fantasy and DFS players. When I saw what Reid and Austin had built with the Betsperts community I was really impressed. They’ve done for sports betting what we have done for fantasy – used advanced technology to create a robust and highly engaged community.

“The companies are a perfect complement to each other and as gaming in all forms keeps growing in America, I know that bettors and fantasy players alike will continue to look to Betsperts and the Fantasy Life Apps for more ways to interact, educate and entertain themselves.”

Following the closing of the acquisition, Betsperts is actively raising a multi-million dollar Series A funding round. The new capital will be used to fund growth strategies, including recruiting more talent, adding content, and user acquisition, along with technology advancement.