Virgin - Betfair partner up

Virgin Bets, a new betting service from the Virgin Games stable will be at the centre of a marketing push, probably in the autumn, and supporting the action will be the experience of major online betting group Betfair.

Virgin has teamed up with Betfair to give its customers the ability to place bets on the entertainment, football, cricket, golf, greyhounds, motor sport, rugby and tennis sectors. The new Virgin Bets arm joins online poker, bingo, casino and skill gaming sites already operating under the Virgin Games banner.

"Virgin Games is all about fun and entertainment, so novelty betting is a good fit for the brand," Virgin Games CEO Simon Burridge explained. "Although entertainment betting is seen as a sideline by most of the traditional bookies, we believe it is a market with huge potential. Every year, millions of people spend millions of pounds phoning and texting votes into reality TV shows."

UK media report that planning for a substantial marketing campaign is already in hand and is believed to lean heavily toward digital media.