May 08, 2001 05:15am
Playboy.com Launches International Online Sports Wagering Site
Source: Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
by: Company Press Release
(NEW YORK, NY) -- Today Playboy.com, the wholly owned subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises, Inc., launches PlayboySportsBook.com, an international online sports wagering site, at http://PlayboySportsBook.com, uniting two of the world's favorite things: sports and Playboy Bunnies. Playboy is the first major global brand to launch an online gaming site.
PlayboySportsBook.com offers non-stop betting action in a fun, reliable and easy-to-use sports wagering environment. The site also offers comprehensive sports news and video event coverage, sports commentary, scores and stats, and chat.
Worldwide sports enthusiasts can log on to PlayboySportsBook.com to wager on international sports such as soccer, rugby, boxing, snooker, tennis, motor racing, and golf; U.S. sports such as the ongoing NBA Playoffs, football and hockey, plus horse races and greyhound races; and special events like the upcoming British General election to the Playmate of the Year. Visitors can choose from a variety of wagering options, including fixed odds, handicaps, ante-post, match bets and specialty bets. Betting is available in 23 currencies and all bets are tax-free.
Deanna, the Playboy Betting Bunny (and Playboy magazine's Miss May 1998), dressed in the classic Playboy Bunny Costume, serves as the site's hostess. She is featured in video segments highlighting major betting events, as well as welcoming users to the site.
To celebrate its launch, PlayboySportsBook.com has announced two special offers:
PlayboySportsBook.com will match new members' first bets up to 10 pounds sterling (or equivalent in the currency of the bettor's choice).
- The first person from Europe who places the largest authorized bet by May 13, 2001 will win two invitations to Playboy founder Hugh M. Hefner's 75th birthday party in London later this month.
For more information, visit the website at http://PlayboySportsBook.com .
Establishing an account is safe and easy. PlayboySportsBook.com accepts MasterCard and Visa, as well as debit cards and cheques. Unlike some betting and gaming companies, PlayboySportsBook.com does not charge a fee for credit card transactions, allowing consumers to deposit or withdraw funds at any time, completely free of charge. Customer service is available via e-mail, telephone and fax. The site has safeguards to prevent taking bets from the United States and other places where online sports wagering is illegal.
``We're excited to bring Playboy's unique blend of sophistication, excitement and fun to online sports wagering,'' said Christie Hefner, Chairman of Playboy.com. ``Playboy is one of the world's most recognized and respected brands. We've been in business for nearly 50 years and quality and reliability have been our foundation from the start.''
Playboy.com veteran Paul Kallis has been named executive vice president and managing director of Playboy.com Internet Gaming and will oversee the initiative. ``PlayboySportsBook.com is not just for sports enthusiasts,'' said Kallis. ``It's for anyone who wants enter the world of Playboy and have a total entertainment sports wagering experience -- all without worry or concern about collecting their winnings.''
PlayboySportsBook.com launches in English and will add Chinese, Spanish and Italian.
The site is powered by Ladbrokes eGaming Limited, the world's biggest bookmaker, and is licensed in and operated out of Gibraltar.
About Playboy.com
Playboy.com; a wholly owned subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA - news), an international multimedia entertainment company; is the #1 lifestyle and entertainment destination Web site for men. Playboy.com operates Playboy-branded Web sites targeting the entertainment and lifestyle interests of young men, including: Playboy.com ( http://www.playboy.com ), an advertising and e-commerce-supported Web site that offers a range of entertainment, information and e-commerce; Playboy Cyber Club ( http://cyber.playboy.com ), a members-only subscription site featuring premium Playboy content and exclusive online events; the Playboy Store ( http://www.playboystore.com ), which sells Playboy-branded products; and Playboy Auctions ( http://auctions.playboy.com ), which auctions Playboy- branded merchandise and admission to exclusive Playboy events, and allows fans to auction their own Playboy memorabilia and collectibles. Playboy.com also operates SpiceTV.com ( http://www.SpiceTV.com ), a site featuring premium adult entertainment under the Spice brand, and operates PlayboySportsBook.com ( http://www.PlayboySportsBook.com ), an online fixed odds sports wagering site.
This release contains ``forward-looking statements'' as to expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives and future financial performance, and assumptions underlying or concerning the foregoing. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The following are some of the important factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward- looking statements: (1) government actions or initiatives, including (a) attempts to limit or otherwise regulate the sale of adult-oriented materials, including print, video and online materials or businesses such as casino gaming, (b) regulation of the advertisement of tobacco products, or (c) substantive changes in postal regulations or rates, (2) further increases in paper prices, (3) changes in distribution technology and/or unforeseen delays in the implementation of such technology by the cable and satellite industries that might affect the company's plans and assumptions regarding carriage of its program services, (4) increased competition for advertisers from other publications and media or any significant decrease in spending by advertisers generally or with respect to the adult male market, (5) increased competition for transponders and channel space, and any decline in the company's access to, and acceptance by, cable and DTH systems, (6) the effects of the consolidation taking place nationally in the single-copy magazine distribution system, (7) marketing issues facing direct marketing stamp sheet agents, (8) new competition in the adult cable television market, (9) uncertainty of market acceptance of the Internet as a medium for information, entertainment, e-commerce and advertising, an increasingly competitive environment for advertising sales, the impact of competition from other content and merchandise providers, as well as the Company's reliance on third parties for technology and distribution for its online business, and (10) potential adverse effects of unresolved Year 2000 problems including external key suppliers.
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