Betfair has deepened its relationship with British boxing by inking an agreement to become the official gaming partner of the British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA).
The betting exchange has agreed to sponsor both men and women’s GB Boxing teams, whose members will also contribute to Betfair’s editorial and social media content. Betfair has already filmed a viral video, now available on YouTube, featuring Anthony Joshua (pictured above), Tom Stalker and Luke Campbell, three of the five boxers in the British amateur team who have already qualified for this year’s Olympics in London.
The agreement deepens the relationship that began last November when Betfair first sponsored the GB Amateur Boxing Championships held in East London.
Andy Lulham, Betfair’s head of UK brand marketing, said it was an exciting time to be involved with BABA: “There are a number of promising boxers in its ranks who are more than capable of delivering success in what I’m sure will be a standout year for the sport.”
BABA’s executive chairman Derek Mapp called Betfair’s decision to extend its tie with BABA “a sign of its confidence in both the GB Boxing team and the health of the amateur sport in this country.”
Six of the GB team are ranked in the top five in the world in their weight divisions, with the squad winning three gold, four silver and four bronze medals at last year’s World and European championships.
The agreement follows Betfair’s recent deal with Matchroom Sport to sponsor the last series of the Prizefighter boxing reality series in the UK, which saw Betfair branding across the ring, on the fighters and ring card girls at the fights broadcast on Sky Sports in February.
The online betting and gaming group’s other high-profile commercial partnerships include a betting partnership with Manchester United and a sponsorship of 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner Peter Eastgate. Betfair however dropped its betting partnership with Barcelona last August at the same time it announced the signing of new “brand ambassadors” from the world of sport, including horse trainer Paul Nicholls, ex-England rugby star Will Greenwood, former English cricket captain Michael Vaughan and ext Arsenal and England full-back Lee Dixon.
Betfair was among the UK-facing betting companies that recently issued a “statement of intent” aimed at safeguarding the Olympics against betting-related corruption, the others being Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill. This followed a meeting held in London on 20 March between the bookmakers, Olympic officials, UK regulator the Gambling Commission and representative trade bodies the Remote Gambling Association, the European Gaming and Betting Association, the European Sports Security Association and the Association of British Bookmakers.
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