Blue Square-888 sportsbet deal imminent

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888 AND BLUE SQUARE SPORTSBETTING DEAL IMMINENT

Rumours turn to fact

The much anticipated deal through which Blue Square.com will provide sportsbetting services to online poker and casino giant 888.com is set to come to fruition next week, according to the Reuters news agency, which reports an imminent announcement from Blue Square parent Rank plc on the arrangement.

Blue Square will calculate the odds for the 888.com branded site and as part of the deal 888 will provide Blue Square with its payment processing platform.

"We expect a pan-European launch in Q1 2008 before expanding into other countries as well," one source told Reuters.

Last month 888 chief executive Gigi Levy told Reuters that it would launch its sports betting by the end of the year. He said the UK would be one of the first countries targeted but hinted that Spain could be the front runner (see previous InfoPowa reports).

 

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Partnership confirmed

BLUE SQUARE - 888 DEAL CONFIRMED (Update)

888 will get sports betting expertise from Rank plc subsidiary

Rank plc online sportsbet subsidiary Blue Square and the giant Internet gambling group 888.com have confirmed reports last week that they have teamed up (see previous InfoPowa report)

Blue Square's parent confirmed in a statement that its Blue Square website will provide a sports betting service for London-listed online poker and casino company 888 Holdings plc. Blue Square will manage fixed odds betting and sports content for 888, which will provide its payment processing platform to Blue Square as it takes its own sports betting to new international markets.

888 recently launched an Italian sportsbetting operation at 888.it.

"We will benefit from 888's international experience and liquidity as we extend our reach beyond the UK," Rank said in a statement.

The new service with Blue Square is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2008, a spokesman said: "Our analysis shows that a significant proportion of our players bet on sport events occasionally, and the inclusion of sports betting in our offering is in line with our focus to aid customer acquisition".

Reuters news service reports that online gambling firms that previously offered only poker and casino games have had a harder time over the past year after the United States banned Internet gambling financial transactions, causing sites like 888 and PartyGaming plc to withdraw from the US market and rebuild lost business in other regions.