The Guardian newspaper is teaming up with FSB Technology to offer sports betting services to its readers.
For now, the service offers limited wagering on football, horse racing, tennis and boxing, but is set to expand significantly in the months ahead.
The stalwart UK newspaper is hardly the first publisher to turn to gambling for new revenues. Its rival rags, the Sun and the Mirror have both introduced bingo sites over the last year or so.
According to a report in EGR Magazine, the paper will cross promote its betting products via the well-read Guardian sports page.
Though some newspaper purists probably aren’t happy about the crossover between the sports page and the sports book, the Guardian’s accounts will definitely be celebrating the new revenue stream.
Besides, Game Account Network founder David McDowell, who is working on the project through FSB, told EGR he’s worked to make the transition from sports page to sportsbook as seamless as possible:
We’ve worked really hard to integrate sports betting into the site in a non-obtrusive way and to fit with the great customer experience and content the site already offers.
As of this writing, the Guardian’s sports betting services are only available from desktop browsers, though a mobile version is in the works.