| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Founded | United Kingdom (1998) |
| Founder(s) | Mark Blandford |
| Headquarters | Moorgate, City of London  |
| Industry | Gambling, E-Gaming |
| Products | Sports betting Financial betting Poker (Paradise Poker) Casino (Paradise Casino) Games Backgammon |
| Website | www.sportingbet.com www.paradisepoker.com www.sportingbet.com.au |
Sportingbet plc is a British e-gaming operator traded on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) (symbol: SBT.L) founded by Mark Blandford. As of late September 2006, Sportingbet had a market capitalization in excess of UK£ 750m. The company's Group Chief Executive is Andrew McIver.
Sportingbet operates local-focused sportsbooks, virtual games and casino sites, and the online poker cardroom, Paradise Poker. Overall, the company has over 2.5 million registered customers in 200 countries, who place over one million bets (casino, poker, sports and virtual games) per day.
Sportingbet operates several websites. The largest of these are wholly owned and operated by Sportingbet. They also use a system similar to a franchise, in which independent website operators use Sportingbet's centralized software, financial services, grading, and customer service under license. These web sites receive a cut of the profits their customers generate.
Sportingbet acquired Paradise Poker in October 2004. Between then and January 2006, Sportingbet's share price increased more than 375%.
Sportingbet's corporate offices are located in Guernsey. They also have offices and call centres in the Republic of Ireland, Costa Rica, and Australia. The PLC is located in Moorgate, London.
On September 7, 2006 SportingBet reported that its chairman, Peter Dicks, was detained in New York City on a Louisiana warrant while traveling in the United States on business unrelated to online gaming.[1] Louisiana is one of the few states that has a specific law prohibiting gambling online. The arrest came two months after the arrest of David Carruthers, CEO of rival betting company, BetonSports. On 29 September, Dicks was released from US custody and returned to the UK. He has since stepped down as Chairman of Sportingbet Plc.
In March 2007, all Louisiana warrants involving the company were cancelled.[2]
In October 2006, Sportingbet announced Paradise Poker would stop taking deposits from US customers, although most would be allowed to continue to play for another month.[3] Additionally, Sportingbet sold all its US-facing sportsbetting and casino businesses, including Sportsbook.com and Sports.com, to a group of private investors for $1, and an assumption of $13.2 million in debts.[4]
In February 2007, Sportingbet announced it was eliminating its Paradise Poker software and migrating players from there to its Sportingbet Poker platform. Prior to this, the two platforms had approximately the same number of players, but the Sportingbet platform had higher liquidity because that platform was part of a larger network. The brand name of Paradise Poker was retained.[5]
In January 2009, the Bulgarian football club Slavia Sofia announced a 3-year sponsoring deal with Sportingbet. As a result, the logo of the company will appear on the club's shirts for the 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons of the Bulgarian A PFG.
They will sponsor Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons, with their logo appearing on the club's shirts and training kit.[6] They will also sponsor Steaua Bucuresti of Romania for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 season. Their logo will also appear on Steaua Bucuresti II, Steaua's reserve team's shirt, which now plays in Liga II.
Notes
- ^ Adam Goldman (2006-09-26). "Sportingbet PLC Chairman Detained in NYC". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/07/ap/business/mainD8K05EU80.shtml. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ BBC News Online (2007-03-21). "Sportingbet warrants cancelled". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6474795.stm. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ Paradise Poker. "US Gaming Legislation Information". Archived from the original on 2006-10-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20061028003914/http://www.paradisepoker.com/news/us_legislation.html.
- ^ Reuters: Sportingbet exits U.S. by selling out for $1
- ^ Reuters: Sportingbet writes off gaming software in new deal
- ^ wolves.co.uk (2009-03-31). "Major New Sponsor Announcement". http://www.wolves.co.uk/page/News/0,,10307~1607501,00.html.
External links
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