Cardiff City FC Signs Sponsorship with SBOBET

Cardiff City Football Club recently signed a 2-year sponsorship deal with
leading online sports betting site, SBOBET.com, which probably wouldn’t
have made news headlines if it wasn’t for the fact that the club’s initial
online gambling sponsorship fell foul of the UK Gambling Commission.

A few weeks ago Cardiff City FC had just announced that it had signed a
lucrative sponsorship deal with leading Philippine online sports betting
website, 777.com, when the UK Gambling Commission interjected because the
sports betting firm was not included in its ‘White List’ of online gambling
sites.

Although online gambling is licensed and regulated in the United Kingdom, as is
the advertising thereof, unless an online gambling company is included in the
White List – a list comprising a number of UK approved online gambling operators
– they are not allowed to operate or advertise in the country.

The UK Gambling Commission ordered the Welsh football club to end its
association with 777.com, which it did. 777.com only benefited from the
sponsorship for one match before its logo disappeared from Cardiff’s shirts. But
club chairman and CEO, Peter Ridsdale, needed a new sponsor and fast.

Enter SBOBET.com, a UK White List-friendly online sports betting firm, which is
also currently the official sponsor of English Premier League football team,
West Ham United. Ridsdale entered into a 2-year deal with SBOBET, this time with
the complete approval of the UK Gambling Commission.

Said Ridsdale, ‘In these challenging times, it is very pleasing that Cardiff
City FC has secured a sponsorship contract with a partner as significant as
SBOBET. We look forward to working with SBOBET, who are making a big
contribution to enabling Cardiff City to realize our considerable potential.’

Also pleased with the new deal was SBOBET CEO, Bill Mummery, ‘This is a logical
move for us as our core strength lies in football where we offer value, depth of
content and exceptional service to a global audience. As such, I am confident we
will forge a strong relationship with Cardiff City FC.’