Setanta enters online gambling market with ChiliGaming 11/01/2010

Jon Parker

SETANTA SPORTS IS to launch an online gambling arm with France’s ChiliGaming.

The broadcaster, which owns sports broadcasting rights in Ireland for events including the English football Premier and Champions leagues, the Europa League, Top14 and Formula 1 and operates channels in Ireland, Australia and Canada, will offer sports betting, poker and casino, becoming the first Irish broadcaster to enter the market.

Setanta Sports co-founder Michael O’Rourke said: “This partnership showcases the potential for a media organisation to target its own audience with its own gaming product. We believe that we can enhance the entertainment experience of our customers with premium sports and gaming products, and are confident that this will allow us to become a key player in the Irish gaming industry.”

The joint-venture will give new Power 50 entrant ChiliGaming access to a pool of more than 600,000 homes. ChiliGaming founder Alexandre Dreyfus said: “In addition to the online betting, we will jointly promote Chilipoker in Ireland and will become the new premium home for Irish poker players,” adding that Chilipoker will also work with Setanta to establish poker events and poker shows.

Setantabet.com will launch on 1 February on the Odds Matrix platform Chili currently operates for its own Chilibet site, but the pay-TV sports broadcaster’s poker site will launch under the Playtech-licensed Chilipoker name.

Setanta’s British arm, Setanta Sports GB, went into administration in June last year after becoming embroiled in controversy when several UK football clubs were put into financial difficulty after the subscription sports channel failed to pay money promised to them for broadcasting rights.

Setanta Sports missed payments to both the English Premier League and the Scottish Premier League (SPL), resulting in both organisations taking their respective broadcasting rights back.

As reported on EGRmagazine.com, in November 2009 ChiliGaming launched its own sportsbook, Chilibet.com, using a sports betting platform supplied by OddsMatrix. In June 2009, eGaming Review also revealed that ChiliGaming is looking for a bingo network and had chosen Parlay Entertainment as its bingo software provider.

Ahead of new gambling regulation in France due to come into effect this year, ChiliGaming last year signed an exclusive agreement with French group Iliad, which operates internet service provider Free, which will this year see the two promote online gambling to Free’s 4.3 million household customers.

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Posted: 11/01/2010