[image credit : bwin]
Online gaming company bwin.party is to become the official online gaming and betting partner of Italian Serie A football club Juventus, as part of a new three-year strategic partnership between the two parties.
The deal, which will run from the 2013/14 season until 2015/16, will give bwin an enhanced presence in Italy, Europe’s third largest real-money gaming market.
bwin.party will become a central part of the club’s promotional activities, as well as being integrated into its various digital and social platforms. The company will also work with Juventus on the development of on and offline co-branding activities as well as enjoying stadium branding and access to players for marketing campaigns.
Italian media reports suggested bwin.party had also acquired the naming rights to the team’s home ground, Juventus Stadium, but the club refused to comment on that point.
Norbert Teufelberger, bwin.party Chief Executive Officer, said, “Working with the greatest names in football is all part of our strategy to offer customers a premium gaming experience with great and unique content.”
Giuseppe Marotta, Juventus chief executive, added, “This new partnership is a part of the internationalisation strategy that Juventus started. Being together with other top football teams in Europe makes us very proud and encourages us to continue our work with more and more passion.”
The new deal will further enhance bwin.party’s European sporting portfolio, which also includes partnerships with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Olympique Marseille.
The online bookmaker has confirmed it is hoping to add more teams to this list in the coming weeks as part of an ongoing strategy to focus on social media and social gaming, online and mobile integrations and the exploitation of the company’s content and media rights.
