Stanleybet Donation Aids Italy’s Abruzzo Region

Demonstrating that a responsible private sports betting operator can have a beneficial impact on social causes, a new school has been opened this week in the village of Arsita in Italy's Abruzzo region, the area devastated by a major earthquake earlier this year, following a donation of over €1.3 million by UK sports betting operator Stanleybet International.

The new school will house 90 pupils in thirteen classrooms and will open its doors to students in time for the start of term in 2010. The original primary school was destroyed by the worst earthquake in Italy in thirty years.

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Abruzzo region in April of this year, killing over 300 people with thousands more injured and tens of thousands left homeless.

Stanleybet International, one of Europe's leading cross-border sports betting operators, donated over €1.3 million to help rebuild the school, the highest donation of any foreign company to the region.

"We have very close links in Italy, as well as employing a significant number of Italian nationals within our business," said John Whittaker, Managing Director of Stanleybet International. "After such a tragic event we felt it was incumbent on us to help in any way we could and as a result we decided to fund the rebuilding of the school in Arsita."

The opening of the school was unveiled earlier this week at a launch event in Arsita, attended by Stanleybet General Director David Purvis, delegates from Italy's Civil Defence, the Mayor of Arsita, Italian actress and producer Maria Grazia Cuccinotta and other local dignitaries.

"We are very grateful to Stanleybet for their generous contribution and making the new school a reality - it means that our children will now have a building in which to learn," said Enzo Lucci, Mayor of Arsita.