Sportingbet hires director of marketing

Offshore gaming company Sportingbet.com has recruited Eurobet chief Kevin Dale to be its first director of marketing, as part of its international expansion plans.

He joins Sportingbet, which is based in the Channel Islands, this week.

Under current UK legislation Sportingbet is not allowed to advertise in this country, but Dale plans to step up its overseas activities, on the back of its recent acquisition of Betmaker.com.

Dale was seconded to Eurobet – the online arm of UK betting chain Coral – from management consultancy Project Techniques. There he was responsible for marketing. Before joining Eurobet, Dale worked in marketing at Ernst & Young and was European operations director at the DA Consulting Group.

Sportingbet managing director Mark Blandford says: “Dale’s international experience will be invaluable as we develop our strategy to become a leading global player.”

Sportingbet was the first UK company to offer tax-free betting over the Internet, when it was launched in October 1998 by Blandford, who was then a bookmaker.

The move was replicated by all the UK’s high-street bookmakers, which have been demanding a reduction in the Government’s betting duty to counter the threat of offshore companies.

Sportingbet, which has a weekly turnover of &£4.5m, has an extensive global network. It has links in South-east Asia, through Singinvests; in Turkey, through Superbahis; and in Costa Rica, through Betmaker.