Sky Betting & Gaming
 | |
| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Online gambling and gaming |
| Headquarters | Leeds |
| Products | Sports betting, online poker, online casino, online bingo, odds comparison service, fantasy football and football predictor game |
| Owner | Flutter Entertainment |
Sky Betting & Gaming is a British-based gambling company, owned by Flutter Entertainment, with headquarters in Leeds, West Yorkshire and offices in Sheffield & Solihull. Sky Betting & Gaming consists of five core brands: Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Poker and Sky Bingo.
In 2015, Sky plc sold an 80 per cent stake in the company to CVC Capital Partners for £600 million,[1] with Sky retaining a 20% stake in the company and agreeing to a long-term licence of the Sky brand.[2] In 2018, CVC and Sky (then in the process of being acquired by Comcast) agreed to sell Sky Betting & Gaming to The Stars Group for £3.4 billion, which was then acquired by Flutter Entertainment in 2020.[3] Flutter continues to use the Sky name and logo, which are now owned by Comcast.
Sky Bet
Sky Bet is the sports betting division of Sky Betting & Gaming, with the majority of its operations run from Leeds.
History
Sky Bet's origins lie in BSkyB's acquisition of Sports Internet Group in July 2000[4] which included the small telephone and online sports betting based company Surrey Sports, alongside two other companies: Planet Football and Opta Index. Surrey Sports was rebranded in July 2002 to create Sky Bet. The company grew in December 2006 when established online betting companies totalbet and ukbetting were consolidated into Sky Bet after BSkyB's purchase of 365 Media Group.[5]
Sky Vegas
Sky Vegas is the company's primary online casino division.
Sky Vegas is licensed and regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) (GCB).
Until 12 April 2011, Sky Vegas had a dedicated TV channel of the same name on Sky channel 864 (which was formerly called 'Sky Vegas Live'), when it was rebranded for Sky Bet.
History
'Sky Bet Vegas' was created in March 2003, initially with only 3 fixed odds casino-style games called 'Juicy Jackpot', 'Top Spin' and 'Super Keno'.[6]
Fines and regulatory sanctions
On 9 March 2022 the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) fined Bonne Terre Limited, trading as Sky Betting and Gaming, £1.17m for breaching the Social Responsibility Code of Practice (SRCP 3.5.3(2) and SRCP 5.1.11) and a licensing condition according to section 82(1) of the Gambling Act 2005.[7] The regulator carried out an investigation that found that on 2 November 2021, the operator sent out a promotional email for its Sky Vegas brand to 41,395 players who had self-excluded and 249,159 customers who had opted out of email marketing. The Commission notes that the licensee took immediate remedial reaction and that they had cooperated throughout the investigation.[8][9]
Notes
- ^ "Sky completes sale of Sky Bet to CVC Capital Partners". Sky plc. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018 – via Financial Times.
- ^ "Sky sells majority stake in Sky Bet". BBC News. 4 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ Lee Mottershead (21 April 2018). "Sky Bet snapped up by Canadian betting giant Stars Group in £3.4bn mega deal". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "An introduction to Sky Bet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
- ^ "VNUNet: Sky gambles on 365 Media Group". Archived from the original on 17 February 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
- ^ "Media247: New interactive Sky betting service". Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
- ^ "Sky Betting and Gaming Fined for Self-Exclusion Failings". Casinoreviews.net. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "£1.17m fine for marketing to vulnerable consumers". Gambling Commission. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ "Regulatory sanctions – Bonne Terre Limited – Gambling Commission". Gambling Commission. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
External links
Media related to Sky Betting & Gaming at Wikimedia Commons
