British Bookie Bet365 to Sponsor Stoke City FC

Bet365, one of the biggest online sportsbooks in United Kingdom and worldwide extended its sponsorship of Stoke City FC. The recent agreement is rumored to enter the seven-figure territory and will last at least three years.

Britannia Building Society, the previous shirts sponsor of Stoke has surrendered its GBP 4 million deal following 15 years of successful partnership with the team, however it will still have the rights to the stadium until 2016.

The majority shareholders of Stoke City, the Coates family, reportedly agreed with Bet365, operating under British gambling laws, to place the betting giant’s logo on the players’ shirts for the duration of at least three years. Bet365 is the ninth company to sponsor the team since 1980s.

Denise Coates, daughter of Stoke City chairman Peter Coates and currently joint CEO of Bet365, told United Kingdom gambling news: “It is a perfect fit for us as a Stoke-on-Trent-based company with a global reach and international markets. It also further demonstrates our long-term commitment to the club.”

Chief Executive at Stoke, Tony Scholes also commented: “The club is already hugely indebted to the support from Bet365 and its owners, the Coates family. While Britannia and the Co-operative Group focus more on local and national markets, Bet365, who are the largest private sector employers in the area, operate on a global basis.”

He also added: “This agreement with Bet365 means we have been able to maximize the international element of the club’s exposure. We received a number of offers from potential sponsors, but Bet365 were the highest bidders.”

The club’s spokesperson expressed confidence that the new deal will allow Bet365 to benefit greatly from the global TV exposure of the Premier League, which now enjoys a reach of over 650 million households around the globe.