Betfair

Sevilla partnership enriches Betfair’s sponsorship portfolio

Betfair has been unveiled as the global betting partner of prestigious Spanish side, Sevilla.

As part of the partnership, which was announced at the spectacular Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium, Betfair will be the sleeve sponsor of the home, away and third strips as well as the main sponsor of all the side’s training kits.

Dom Crosthwaite, International MD at Betfair, commented: “This is a club that is consistently competitive at the top level and will help us achieve our ambition of growing the Betfair brand internationally. We very much look forward to working with the club to offer the incredible fans unique promotions, content and experiences.”

Gabriel Ramos, VP at Sevilla added: “Undoubtedly Betfair is one of the most prestigious companies in the world, and will be our great partners on our journey. This partnership is created to strengthen our current goals and future ones.”

Ramon Loarte, Marketing Director at Sevilla, also spoke well of the agreement: “This partnership announcement has allowed us to make another step in Sevilla FC´s commercial growth. We are pleased to welcome such a famous brand as Betfair to our Club, not only as our Exclusive Global Betting Partner, but also as our Official Sleeve and Training Kit Partner. We look forward to a long partnership together.”

The Spanish club, who ended Manchester United’s Champions League campaign last season, join the likes of Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal in Betfair’s strong sponsorship portfolio.

Problem gambler gets $150,000 refund for unlawful Betfair activity

Betfair failed to ‘reasonably recognise’ the red flags after one of its own customers – identified as Mr M, convinced the company to refund $150,000 which he quickly gambled away from his account.

As reported by ABC News, the betting exchange should have identified “red flag behaviours” that showed the customer had a gambling problem before it agreed to reverse his request to transfer $150,000 out of his Betfair account and into his personal bank account.

Betfair claimed that it could not have reasonably known about Mr M’s problem because there weren’t any “discernible indicators” found in his gambling activity, despite acknowledging that he had previously self-excluded from gambling for six months in 2014.

The Northern Territory Racing Commission heard that Mr M had already lost significant sums of money on 20 February 2018, when he made his initial request to transfer the money. Yet within 23 minutes of this request, he had gambled away the remaining $86,388 that was still in his account.

Four hours later, after topping up his wagering account with $35,000, he was again close to zero after just 47 minutes. In a “desperate mindset”, Mr M then asked Betfair to reverse his earlier withdrawal request so he could top up his wagering account with $150,000.

After initially being told that Betfair “generally can’t cancel” withdrawal requests, Mr M made three more calls to the company and a manager eventually agreed to reverse the withdrawal as a “one-off” – which enabled him to gamble away the £150,000.

It has also emerged that Mr M had tried to reverse a $40,000 withdrawal in January of this year, only to be told he couldn’t do that because of “responsible gambling” reasons.

Changing global dynamics see Paddy Power Betfair & Stars Group discuss giant merger plans

The Sunday Times has this weekend reported that the governances of Paddy Power Betfair (PP😎 and The Stars Group Inc held mutual talks in late 2018, discussing a ground-breaking merger.

The two enterprises, which are competing to dominate global gambling’s new landscape disrupted by the repeal of US PASPA federal laws, multiple changes in European regulatory frameworks and the UK’s enforced FOBTs £2 wagering limit, are reported to have reviewed a potential £9 billion tie-up.

Both organisations have completed transformative 2018s, in which FTSE100 PPB merged its Betfair US division with its newly acquired FanDuel asset, moving to launch a new US-facing subsidiary.

Meanwhile, expanding its profile within an M&A crazed online gambling scene, Toronto TSX-listed The Stars Group Inc would act as the sector’s biggest spender, acquiring Sky Betting & Gaming (Sky Bet) for $4.7 billion, and the new Australian assets of Crownbet and William Hill AUS for a combined $650 million.

In its report, The Sunday Times states that discussions are no-longer taking place between parties and that any potential multi £ billion tie-up would have come under strict regulatory scrutiny assessing competition impacts.

Whilst both companies have neither confirmed or denied The Sunday Times report, the speculated merger discussions can be viewed as further evidence that 2019 will see a continuation of global gambling’s relentless M&A trend.

Next Level! Betfair hails record breaking France 2019

Betfair has revealed that Tuesday night’s England vs USA FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 semi-final clash, has broken all Betfair Exchange wagering records for women’s football.

A busy night on the Betfair Exchange, saw a total £14 million wagered on the match, as Betfair details that the France 2019 tournament has betting on women’s football to the next level.

The thrilling semi-final which saw team USA beat the ‘Lionesses’ 2-1, had easily surpassed the Betfair Exchange £9.1 million in Exchange wagers, set earlier in the tournament between Netherlands v Japan.

Betfair Spokesperson Katie Baylis said: “England may have been knocked out of the World Cup, but the tournament has been a huge success with record-breaking TV audiences and unprecedented interest and that’s also been reflected in the betting with record figures being traded”.

Updating the media, Betfair reveals that it has recorded ten-fold interest in women’s football, as to date France 2019 has generated a total of £220 million wagers bet on the tournament so far, more than double the amount this time four years ago.

Case in point, Betfair points to England’s Euros semi-final in 2017 against the Netherlands saw just £1.6 million in match wagers.

Looking ahead to this Sunday’s France 2019 final between the USA vs the Netherlands, Baylis adds “We’ve already seen £220m wagered with three games still to play which is more than double the amount at this stage of the last World Cup and we expect to have seen £250m bet by the time the trophy is won, making this one of the biggest women’s sport’s tournaments we’ve seen,”

Betfair signs Clive Owen to lead exchange marketing campaign

Betfair has teamed up with actor Clive Owen (star of Children of Men, Closer, Sin City) to launch ‘What are the odds‘, a new integrated campaign to mark the brand’s return to marketing the Betfair Exchange.

The new campaign has been developed by Leo Burnett London as creative lead and will further roll-out a series of educational films across the exchange’s multiple social and digital platforms, laddering up to television, print, radio and tactical outdoor.

The films, due to feature Owen, will work towards offering education to punters on betting, and ‘demystifying’ the ways in which the exchange functions.

Stephen Mault Brand Director at Betfair, said: “Betfair’s heritage lies in the Exchange and we are excited to be launching this fully integrated campaign to promote the product.

“There is a perception that the Exchange can be complicated, and the aim of this campaign is to debunk those myths and demonstrate the unique benefits that the Exchange offers.

“We believe that this new campaign, led by Clive Owen, along with our new education hub, will showcase that the Exchange offers people more ways to bet and more ways to win.”

The campaign reflects the start of a new focus for Betfair on marketing the Exchange, returning to the company’s roots as the world’s first and biggest betting exchange. As part of the campaign, there will also be a new education hub launched for new and existing Betfair customers, to assist them in learning how to bet on the Exchange.

Speaking about the new campaign, Owen added: “It has been an incredibly busy year for me with the launch of the Night of the Iguana and Gemini Man kicking off in October and it’s been great collaborating with Betfair as well. These ads, like the Exchange, are completely different to anything out there and it’s been a cool project to be involved with.”

Chaka Sobhani, Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett London, concluded: “The Betfair Exchange is a much smarter way to bet, but can be tricky to understand. We’re excited to work with Clive Owen to come up with a simple and smart way to explain the Exchange whilst entertaining along the way.”

Betfair Australia to launch exchange on Hong Kong racing

Flutter Entertainment’s Betfair Australia has confirmed that it will be launching a new betting exchange on horse races in Hong Kong, despite not being sanctioned by the Jockey Club.

Set to begin on 1 September, which coincides with the start of the Hong Kong 2019-20 racing season, Betfair Australia is due to offer exchange punters the opportunity to wager bets on meetings from both Sha Tin and Happy Valley.

“Our punters have been asking for hong kong racing for several years and we have been working on it for just as long,” Betfair Australia chief executive Tim Moore-Barton said. “Today I’m really excited to allow punters to legally bet against each other on some of the best horse racing in the world.”

Addressing the launch of the exchange, Moore-Barton has emphasised that the integrity of the exchange will not be compromised. He pointed out that fears of such an occurrence are unnecessary, as Betfair Australia will offer stewards access to detailed information about who is betting on what to help police the sport, differentiating itself from illegal exchanges.

“The level of transparency we have with racing stewards is world-class,” Moore-Barton said.

“[In Australia], the Flemington control room has BetMon – a live alert monitor, a bespoke product Betfair has built, which gives you real-time access to all the transactions. That level of transparency is actually what racing bodies need and want.

“Nearly every racing body in Australia and others globally that have access to the integrity tools we provide say it’s a key part of piecing together the big picture in their fight to keep the sport clean.”

Betfair accelerates LATAM drive by backing CONMEBOL

Betfair has advanced its LATAM profile after confirming that it has become an ‘Official Partner’ of CONMEBOL – the governing body of South American football.

The partnership, which will extend until December 2022, will see the Betfair brand displayed across CONMEBOL’s flagship Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana tournaments, South America’s most prestigious club competitions.

Betfair Brand Director Stephen Mault said: “We are delighted to be the official betting partner of the CONMEBOL Libertadores and CONMEBOL Sudamericana.

“These two prestigious tournaments have provided so many memorable moments in world football throughout the ages and we are very proud to be supporting the action for the next three years. We look forward to seeing how the rest of this year’s tournaments unfold.”

Betfair joins CONMEBOL’s global partner portfolio which includes international brands such as Amstel, Bridgestone, Gatorade, Mastercard, Qatar Airways, Santander, Rexona and Tag Heuer, working in the development of the continent’s club competitions and social initiatives.

Since 2016, the governing body has undertaken a series of structural reforms to modernize its competition structure to boost the global appeal of its exclusive tournaments, whilst strengthening South American football development by increasing revenues and investment.

As part of that strategy, CONMEBOL club competitions have been greatly improved through a new format design and the adoption of standards, designed to increase the quality of the tournaments from competitive, sporting and commercial revenue points.

Thanks to the recently adopted improvements, CONMEBOL tournaments last year achieved record numbers in digital participation, stadium attendance, and sales.

“We are pleased to present Betfair as a partner of the CONMEBOL Libertadores and CONMEBOL Sudamericana,” said Juan Emilio Roa, Commercial Director of CONMEBOL. “With this important partnership, we add another global brand to the international status of South American football.”

Betfair shortens Trump re-election odds following Iowa chaos

A turbulent week of US political drama has seen the Betfair Exchange shorten the odds on Donald Trump maintaining his Presidency, with odds trading at an all-time low of 8/11.

Betfair Politics details that Trump has benefitted from his acquittal by the Senate, which refused to advance impeachment hearings on alleged interference of Ukraine funds by the US 45th President.

Trump gains follow a catastrophic week for the Democratic Party, in which the crucial Iowa Caucus, the legacy bell-weather for the party presidential nominee could not declare a victor on Tuesday morning due to ‘app failures’ registering candidate nominations.

Iowa’s contested outcome would declare Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg Mayor of South Bend Indiana as a joint winner, as a hostile Democratic Party race moves onto its New Hampshire Primary scheduled for 11 February.

The Betfair Exchange currently maintains Bernie Sanders odds cut at 11/2, making him the clear second favourite, however, Iowa results have seen Pete Buttigieg odds continue to shorten to 16/1 having been priced at 39/1 two weeks ago and 999/1 last year.

Betfair Spokesperson, Sam Rosbottom said: “So far over £11,000,000 has been bet on who will be the next President of the United States, with odds on Donald Trump to be re-elected later this year now at the shortest they have been on the Betfair Exchange, he is 8/11 to be voted in for a second term following his speech to Congress.

Rosbottom adds “Despite Trump leading the way, the race to be the Democratic candidate to take him on is heating up and there is now a clear second favourite for the 2020 US Presidential Election, with the punters backing Bernie Sanders’ into 11/2 from 49/1 last year.”

Betfair debuts ‘Racing Post Live’ for Cheltenham 2020

Seeking to deliver the best Cheltenham 2020 insights and engagement for punters, next week the Betfair Exchange will broadcast ‘Racing Post Live’ across all its digital platforms.

Racing Post Live is a new interactive show developed by the rebranded Spotlight Sports Group, covering all major horseracing festivals throughout the calendar year.

Hosted exclusively on the Betfair platforms, the show will see Racing Post and Betfair Exchange experts offer real-time insights, tips and reactions for every day of the Cheltenham Festival (10-13 March).

Gethin Evans, Spotlight Sports Group digital marketing director, described the show as a key 2020 launch to showcase Racing Post’s interactive content capacity.

“We are very excited to work on this innovative video proposition in partnership with the marketing team at Betfair,” he said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for us as digital publishers, for Betfair as a real-time exchange education platform and for the sport of horse racing to get a true digital share of voice across our group, including the Racing Post and MyRacing channels.

“We have a great mix of in-house talent and external guests to provide live insight at major race days and have some fun at the same time.”

Racing Post Live will run throughout the flat and jumps season, covering more than 42 live race days and producing several Betfair Exchange educational videos, a key marketing initiative for the betting exchange in 2020.

Harry Phillips, Betfair head of UK&I brand marketing, backed Racing Post Live as a great tool to inform and educate customers on racing dynamics.

“The opportunity to partner on a pioneering live show across the biggest horse racing festivals is something that will help build awareness and education of the Betfair Exchange product,” he said.

“We are working with the Spotlight Sports Group in-house production team to produce a true made- for-platform watch along for horse racing, which we hope drives further engagement in the sport going forward.”

Betfair secures last minute NRL integrity deal

Betfair Australia has inked an eleventh-hour deal with the National Rugby League (NRL), allowing punters to bet against each other as the season restarts.

The agreement comes despite Betfair’s prediction that its turnover will drop due to its commission being ‘four times more expensive than the AFL’.

Reported by the Sydney Herald, Betfair had previously refused to sign an integrity agreement with the league in protest of increased product fees, having broken off talks with the league in February.

To mitigate the impact of the increased product fees, Betfair has confirmed that it will increase its market base rate from 6% to 10%.

“We applaud the NRL for the incredible work that has gone on during lockdown to secure the NRL’s future and to bring the season back to its fans at the earliest moment possible,” Betfair Australia chief executive Tim Moore-Barton said.

“Unfortunately, their product fee model singles out high volume, low margin operators such as a betting exchange.

“If we kept the commission we charge customers flat on last year we would now be paying over two-thirds of our revenue in product fees – and that’s before other operating costs and taxes (including point of consumption tax) – therefore we have made the difficult decision to increase our commission on NRL to 10%

“The Betfair exchange appeals to customers that want better odds, that want to trade and to winners that can’t get on with fixed odds bookies – and unfortunately when we are forced to increase our commission rates turnover from these customers drops, or stops completely, which is no good for punters, for Betfair or for the NRL.”

The agreement comes as NRL ramps up preparations to resume its 2020 season this weekend, which was suspended due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Betfair US 2020 – Biden takes pole position but punters side with Trump

Fourth of July celebrations could not hide President Donald Trump’s struggles to retain his administration, as Betfair Politics stated that Joe Biden is now 8/11 favourite to win the upcoming US 2020 Presidential Election (3 November).

Tracking a ‘nightmare June’ for Trump, in which his Presidency has been scarred by the social unrest caused by the COVID-19 lockdown and Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality, Trump has seen his national approval rating slump to 41% across all major polls.

Monitoring developments, Betfair Politics stated that Trump’s ‘low polls correlate strongly with odds’ currently traded on its US 2020 market, in which he has become the ‘least likely US President’ to retain the White House priced on current odds of 15/8.

Darren Hughes, spokesman for Betfair Politics commented: “Trump has had a disastrous three-month period since the coronavirus outbreak hit the US, which has seen his odds go from 4/6 (suggesting a 60% chance of re-election) in early March, right out to 15/8 (35%).

“Such has been the detrimental effect of this time, Betfair Exchange suggests there is a 10% chance that he won’t even run for election, which is unheard of for a sitting President”.

Despite widespread criticism of Biden running a lacklustre campaign against Trump, Betfair underlined that the former Vice President has flipped US 2020 trading since May.

To date, Betfair reveals a total of £85 million traded across all US 2020 markets, in which Trump maintains his popularity with punters against the polls with £26 million wagered on him retaining his Presidency against Biden’s £10 million.

Detailing a higher wagering volume across all US 2020 markets, Betfair noted that punters are turning their attention to which ‘Swing States’ will be in play come November polling.

“Biden’s chances of election can be easily juxtaposed against Trump’s – having been as big as 99/1 in February, when Bernie Sanders looked sure of securing the nomination, Biden’s odds have steadily contracted, to a low of just 8/11 (58% chance).

“Biden has had a steady stream of support and endorsements from all sides of the Democratic party, including Barack Obama, and despite a few less-than-impressive media performances, he appears to be firmly in the driving seat to win the election should he be able to maintain this momentum.’’

One of the more surprising events of the Independence Day celebrations came in the form of rapper Kanye West throwing his hat into the ring as he announced his bid to become the next US president.

Having previously teased at the possibility of running for President, the rapper’s odds collapsed from 999/1 to 129/1 over the weekend.

Hughes added: ‘‘His wife may be best known for ‘breaking the internet’, but Kanye West himself shocked the world, and US Presidential betting markets, last night with his announcement that he intended to run for President later this year, sending his odds on Betfair Exchange tumbling from 999/1 to 129/1 overnight, with many states still allowing nominations for independent candidates to be added to the ballot.

‘‘West’s close friendship with President Trump has seemingly done little to deter him, and close friend and ally Elon Musk was on hand to tweet his support early on for the billionaire rapper.

‘‘One man unlikely to be happy with this news is Joe Biden, who has seen his chances go from 8/11 (59%) to 4/5 (55%) overnight on the back of West’s announcement. President Trump, however, has seen his odds contract significantly, from 15/8 (34%), to 8/5 (39%), with punters perhaps feeling his past friendship with West will be in his favour.

‘‘Should West follow through on his announcement, it will be just the latest twist in what has already been a bizarre election cycle- though hopefully not quite as bizarre 949/1 odds on Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson becoming President coming to fruition.’’