iGaming Business – Online gaming operator 32Red has agreed to become the front-of-shirt sponsor of Scottish League One third-tier side Rangers FC. The deal will run for three years, from 2014-15 until 2016-17. The operator will benefit from branding on the front of players’ home and away jerseys. 32Red will replace cider brand Blackthorn as the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor. In addition, 32Red will also benefit from branding inside the club’s Ibrox Stadium, which has a capacity of 50,987. The operator will also have access to branding opportunities across the club’s various digital and media platforms. Rangers, which will compete in…

Online Casino Archives – The UK’s Gambling Commission’s approach to implementing the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill would mean an end to the sponsorship of Premier League clubs by Asian gambling firms. The Bill requires a gambling operator based outside of Great Britain to obtain a license from the Gambling Commission if the operators “knows that the facilities [for remote gambling] are being used, or are likely to be used in Great Britain.” The main reason that Asian companies sponsor British clubs is in order to advertise to Asian customers where the Premier League is hugely popular, both to watch…

iGaming Business – Bookmaker William Hill is to replace rival Ladbrokes as the naming partner of the World Darts Championship after it agreed an initial two-year deal with event organiser the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament will now be known as the William Hill World Darts Championship under the terms of the seven-figure deal. The 72-player World Darts Championship takes place at the Alexandra Palace in London during the Christmas and New Year period. The tournament is also televised in the UK by pay-television broadcaster BSkyB. The deal marks William Hill’s second move into darts sponsorship after it backed the Grand…

iGaming Business – The English Football Association (FA) national governing body has put forward a new proposal that would ban participants in the county’s top four divisions from betting on any match or competition in the world. The proposal, which would come into effect from the start of the 2014-15 season, would also see a worldwide prohibition on betting on any other football-related matters, such as the transfer of players or appointment of managers. The proposal received a unanimous recommendation from The FA Council yesterday (Wednesday) and The Football Regulatory Authority last month. The English Premier League, English Football League,…

The Campaign for Fairer Gambling has again voiced its criticism of a report by the Association of British Bookmakers that claimed deprived areas in the UK have the lowest number of betting shops. The group accused the ABB of attempted to “mislead” the public by publishing a report carried out by the Local Data Company in which it suggested that betting shops do not target deprived areas. Last month, the Campaign carried out its own research in which it claimed that even when controlling for population density, there are more than twice the number of betting shops in the poorest…

Reuters – GVC  is looking at further acquisitions after turning around the Sportingbet businesses it acquired last year, the online gambling company said on Wednesday. GVC, one of the smaller players in the sector and listed on the AIM stock market, said operating profit more than doubled to 38.3 million euros ($52.8 million) in 2013, boosted by moving Sportingbet into the black. “We are now ready for the next stage in our corporate development and further geographic expansion through organic growth and acquisitions,” Chief Executive Kenneth Alexander said. However, GVC cautioned that any deal would not be at the expense…