Online betting and gaming company Betway has been signed as the title sponsor of newly introduced franchise-based South African T20 League SA20. The two have signed a multi-year deal.Betway’s sponsorship portfolio includes agreements with Cricket South Africa and Cricket West Indies. Its holding company, Super Group also has a brand ambassador agreement with Kevin Pietersen, who regularly writes a column on its website Betway Insider; its editorial hub.The league hopes to be the biggest cricket league in the world outside of India and aims to inspire a new generation of players and fans. The first ball match will be against MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals at Newlands on January 10.Anthony Werkman, CEO of Betway said: “It’s a great privilege for us to become the title sponsor of the inaugural tournament as we continue to position ourselves as a market leader with our cricket offering on our sportsbook. “With the competition drawing attention from all corners of the world and with the huge excitement building for the launch of the tournament, we are delighted to see the Betway brand continue to showcase its long-standing commitment to the sport with another top-tier sponsorship.”Graeme Smith, Betway SA20 League Commissioner, said, “This is another significant milestone for us as we welcome them to our growing list of invested partners. “They are a global brand with a passionate interest in cricket around the world and we look forward to seeing the Betway SA20 scale new markets and audiences globally.” South Africa’s premier T20 league will kick off on January 10, with 33 matches taking place in six iconic locations in South Africa: Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Gqeberha, Cape Town and Paarl. The Grand Final is set for the Wanderers in Johannesburg on February 11, where the inaugural Betway SA20 champions will be crowned. Some of the world’s best T20 players will be on show including the World Cup-winning stars, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Eoin Morgan and the Proteas’ world class talent. The tournament will be contested by teams linked with famed IPL franchises and has already wrapped up a 10-year broadcast agreement with ViacomSports 18 in India; one of the country’s premium sports networks. The teams involved are: Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
However, in the month of October, the ministry of information and broadcasting issued two advisories, for private television channels and digital news publishers and OTT platforms asking them to refrain from showing advertisements, including surrogate ads, of online betting sites, calling them a significant financial and socio-economic risk for consumers. It will be interesting to see how the partnership pans out as Indian companies own all the franchises in the sports league.
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