Asian gaming operator TLC88.com will continue as the official Asian betting and gaming partner of Premiership football club Sunderland AFC after securing a three-year extension to its deal.
The Black Cats’ partnership with the Asian-facing online betting operator will continue until 2017, following a successful two years since the original partnership was agreed in 2012.
Sunderland AFC commercial director Gary Hutchinson said: “We are really pleased to extend a strong partnership and we look forward to exploring new areas of innovation with TLC188 and Sunderland AFC in the future.
“We are continuing to build on our relationships throughout Asia and the club is becoming very popular with a growing worldwide fan base, which we have seen in recent years.”
The club has strong business links across the Asian continent, with a number of activities over the last two years including pre-season trips to South Korea and taking part in the prestigious Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong last year.
Mike Chong, TLC88.com’s Asia Pacific strategy director, added: “We are delighted to extend our very successful partnership with Sunderland AFC for another three years. Excitement for Premier League football teams such as Sunderland AFC has grown fast in Asia since we signed our original contract and with frequent promotions, we expect to grow both TLC188 and Sunderland AFC’s international fanbases.”
Sunderland came close to relegation from the Premiership last season but ended up finishing in 14th place after four consecutive wins in their last five games took them out of trouble.