Those who follow Spanish soccer will see a new sponsor on the shirts of Spanish La Liga Club Sevilla FC, as they agreed to a new two year sponsorship deal with Asian gambling company 12Bet.com. 12Bet.com will be replacing 888.com, who has been Sevilla's main sponsor since the 2006 season.
Seven Percent Revenue Increase
Eventhough they won't be sponsoring the Spanish giants anymore, 888 Holdings Plc did post a revenue increase of seven percent during the second quarter of 2009, reaching revenues of $61 million. This is even more impressive when you consider that just a few months ago they lost a piece of the market in Argentina.
The company, which owns online casino 888.com and internet poker operator PacificPoker.com managed to generate a lot of revenue by re-selling their software engine to other online gambling websites. This helped them get over a slow first quarter and has created plenty of optimism for the rest of the year.
Handling The Recession
The recessio did take its toll on 888.com. While their revenues increased after a slow first quarter, they are still down almost 12% when compared to this point last year. CEO Gigi Levy isn't concerned though. He sees the 2009 first quarter as a low point and expects things to keep picking up as the recession winds down and players start coming back.
Sponsorships
While certain countries and governments are trying to block online gambling and sports betting, it's good to see that the Spanish soccer clubs are teaming up with these gaming operators and splashing their names across their jerseys.
Other Spanish soccer teams that are sponsored by gambling operators include Real Madrid (Bwin), Valencia (Unibet) and Atletico Madrid (Paf).
