Betway
The Betway Group (commonly referred to Betway and stylized as betWay) is a global online gambling company with a number of brands including Betway Sportsbook, Betway Casino, Betway Vegas, Betway Bingo and Betway Poker.
Type | Private Company |
---|---|
Industry | Gambling |
Founded | 2006 |
Products | Sports betting Poker Casino Bingo |
Website | betway |
Overview
The flagship brand, "Betway", is an international gambling company that operates across regulated online marketplaces and holds licences in the UK, Malta, Italy, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Mexico, South Africa and Ireland. Most recently, it has also been confirmed that Betway has acquired a license for sportsbook and casino from the Portuguese regulator.
The Betway Group is based in Malta and Guernsey, with support from London, Cape Town and the Isle of Man,[1] and is a member of the European Sports Security Association[2][3] the Independent Betting Adjudication Service,[4] the Remote Gambling Association[5][6] and is accredited by international testing agency eCOGRA.[7]
The Betway Group has a partnership with the Professional Players Federation,[8] which promotes, protects and develops the collective interests of professional sportspeople in the UK.[9] Betway is also a supporter of the Responsible Gambling Trust.[10][11]
Regulatory incidents
A BBC investigation into gambling addiction linked to sports advertising and found that in one case, Betway had encouraged a gambling addict to continue gambling by offering bonuses and free bets, even after direct communication from the addict highlighting their problem.[12] This was described as standard behaviour for all large betting companies.
In March 2020 Betway was fined a record £11.6m for failing customer protection and money laundering checks, allowing one customer to deposit over £8m and lose over £4m in a four-year period.[13]
Sponsorship
Betway has sponsored a number of UK-based sporting events through its flagship sportsbook brand Betway including boxing, darts, football, snooker, tennis, horse racing and eSports.
In 2014, Betway began a three-year sponsorship deal with the Premier League Darts,[14] before later becoming the principal sponsor for Carl Froch v George Groves, staged at Wembley Stadium.[15][16]
In 2014, Betway sponsored its first major UK horse race, the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival,[17] before adding further horse racing sponsorships in early 2015, including the Lincoln Handicap, the Chester Cup, the Great Voltigeur Stakes and the Yorkshire Cup.[18]
In February 2015, Betway became the principal sponsor of West Ham United FC in an initial two and half year deal worth £20m, after former sponsor Alpari filed for insolvency in January 2015.[19]
In 2015, World Snooker confirmed the company would become the sponsor of the UK Championship in a three-year agreement,[20] which was followed closely by Betway signing a deal to sponsor 2015 edition of the largest eSports tournament in the UK, the ESL UK Premiership.[21]
The International Tennis Federation announced in late 2015 that Betway was to be the international sponsor of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup tennis competitions.[22] Great Britain, led by Andy Murray, would go on to win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936.[23]
In September 2016, Betway became the headline sponsor of eSports team Ninjas in Pyjamas.[24]
Further, in 2016, Betway added two more sponsorships to its football portfolio, expanding into the Belgian market with deals with RSC Anderlecht, the Belgian FA and Pro League for the Croky Cup.[25]
In 2017, Betway signed a three-year deal with Aintree Racecourse to become the official betting partner of the Grand National Festival.[26]
Other British horse racing sponsorship deals made in 2017 include the Grade 2 Betway Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick and the Grade 2 Betway Kingwell Hurdle at Warwick.[27]
Betway secured deals to sponsor races on the Flat in 2017. It sponsors the Listed Betway King Charles II Stakes and the Group 3 Betway Criterion Trophy at Newmarket.[28]
Dream Bingo became the headline sponsor for the Inside Soap Awards in August 2015,[29] and Betway Bingo agreed to sponsor the seventeenth civilian series of Big Brother UK's on Channel 5.[30] BetWay is the current official sponsor of Big Brother Naija 2020 airing live.
Brand ambassadors
Betway have signed a number of ambassadors since 2014, including former cricketer and broadcaster Simon Hughes, better known as The Analyst,[31] British National Hunt Racing champion jockey, Richard Johnson,[32] 2015 Flat champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa[33] and former Irish champion jockey Davy Russell.[34]
Previous ambassadors include England rugby World Cup winner Mike Tindall,[35] ex-Irish and Munster rugby player David Wallace,[36] and Sky Sports golf presenter Sarah Stirk.[37]
World Record Jackpot
In October 2015, Betway paid out €17,879,645 ($20,062,600, £13,209,300) to Jon Heywood (UK) for hitting the jackpot on Microgaming's Mega Moolah slot while playing at Betway. This has been verified by Guinness World Record,[38] as the largest ever jackpot payout in an online slot machine.
Other brands
The Dream Bingo brand, operated by the Betway Group, was re-launched in April 2015, supported by a new website, brand and TV campaign.[39] Betway also owns several other bingo and casino websites including its own Betway Casino which offers casino games provided by developer such as Microgaming, NetEnt, Play'n GO and more. The firm also owns Spin Casino, which launched in 2017 and offers similar content to Betway Casino. The Betway Group also owns an additional bingo site known as Bingo On The Box, a brand that has been around since 2008 and allows customers to play on their television.
In June 2015, Betway Bingo was awarded best new online bingo site at the 2015 WhichBingo Awards.[40]
References
- "Contact - Betway". betwaygroup.com.
- "ESSA (Sports Betting Integrity)". www.eu-ssa.org.
- Ted Menmuir. "Betway gains ESSA membership". SBC News.
- "Betway confirms IBAS Registration". casinolifemagazine.com.
- "GambleAware - Gamble Aware". www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk.
- "Members of the RGA". Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
- "eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance - eCOGRA - Home". ecogra.org.
- "PPF – Professional Players Federation". www.ppf.org.uk.
- Ted Menmuir. "Betway forms partnership Professional Players Federation (PPF)". SBC News.
- "GambleAware - Gamble Aware". www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk.
- "Responsible Gambling Trust - Gambling Support - Gambling Problem". responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk.
- "File on 4 - Fair game? The secrets of football betting - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk.
- "Record £11.6m penalty for gambling firm Betway". March 12, 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- "Betway Premier League Darts 2015 to boast record prize money". UK Sports Management.
- "Froch v Groves secures title sponsor". sportspromedia.com.
- "Betway to sponsor Froch-Groves clash". iGaming Business.
- "Betway new sponsor of Champion Chase". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
- "Betway branch out to Flat with backing of four big races - Horse Racing News - Racing Post". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
- Treanor, Jill (2015-01-16). "Swiss currency crisis claims casualties across the world". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- Ted Menmuir. "Betway pots UK Championship snooker title sponsorship". SBC News.
- "Betway to sponsor ESL UK Premiership". iGaming Business.
- https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/11/25/sports/tennis/ap-ten-betting-sponsor.html
- Fl, Piers Newbery BBC Sport at; Expo, ers; Ghent. "Andy Murray wins the Davis Cup for Great Britain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- "Betway sponsors Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) - CSGO Betting Sites". 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- "Betway build in Belgium with Anderlecht and Croky Cup deals". Inside World Football. 2016-09-21. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
- Wright, Chris (2017-02-08). "Betway sign three-year deal to be official Grand National partner". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
- "Betway to sponsor Kingmaker Chase and Kingwell Hurdle". SBC News. 2017-01-17. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
- "Betway commits further to UK racing with 'sponsorship splash on the Flat!'". SBC News. 2017-01-25. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
- "Dream Bingo sponsors TV awards". intergameonline.com.
- "Betway Bingo confirmed as Big Brother 2016 sponsor". bbspy.
- Ted Menmuir. "Cricket expert Simon Hughes partners with Betway for this summer's Ashes". SBC News.
- Ted Menmuir. "Betway signs Richard Johnson as Brand Ambassador for 2015/16 National Hunt season". SBC News.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-03-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Meath Chronicle - Davy Russell's guide for Christmas racing".
- "Betway teams up with Mike Tindall". www.sportindustry.biz.
- Richards, Huw (23 October 2015). "European Rugby Searches for Answers" – via www.nytimes.com.
- "Sky Sports' Sarah Stirk tees off with Betway". 3 April 2015.
- "Largest jackpot payout in an online slot machine game (nominal)". Guinness World Records.
- Ted Menmuir. "James Arnold leads Betway's re-launch of Dream Bingo". SBC News.
- "Award for Betway Bingo". intergameonline.com.