Premier League football club Manchester United and online gambling operator Marathonbet announced on Thursday the launch of the club’s first branded online live casino. The collaboration between the two parties was described as “a world exclusive” not only for United but also for football as a whole.
The real-money live casino roll-out comes as an extension to Marathonbet and Manchester United’s existing partnership. The UK-licensed operator became the club’s official Global Betting Partner last summer.
The new product aims at reaching United’s fan base of more than 659 million individuals from all over the world in a new, exciting way. Fans of the major football club will be able to play Live Roulette and Live Blackjack, among other popular casino games, in an immersive Manchester United-branded environment.
Everyone aged 18 and over will be able to interact with both live dealers and fellow fans and to play a table game of their choice, with the table placed in front of Old Trafford’s backdrop. What is more, gambling customers will be treated with special giveaways, including official merchandise, and other monetary and non-monetary prizes.
The online live casino launch was celebrated at a special event that took place at Old Trafford on Thursday night. Legends Andrew Cole, Gary Pallister, and Jesper Blomqvist were among those invited to support the club’s new initiative.
Commenting on the latest announcement, Manchester United Group Managing Director Richard Arnold said that their commercial partners are an important part of their strategy to engage the club’s huge fan base in diverse ways. The official further noted that Marathonbet has created unique content and will provide fans with excellent experience both online through the newly launched casino and at Old Trafford during matchdays.
Marathonbet Head of Gaming R&D Christian Melin added that it is their main goal to provide Manchester United fans with immersive branded casino environment and with the chance to interact with peers. The official further pointed out that the new live casino project is truly unique within the gambling industry.
This new product is not Manchester United’s first foray into the world of gambling. Last spring, the football club partnered gambling operator bwin.party for the launch of a branded mobile casino app. Later in 2015, social casino games developer KamaGames rolled out three branded social casino titles, with those being Manchester United Social Poker, Manchester United Social Roulette, and Manchester United Social Slots.
