Punters across the world are getting ready for the most anticipated sports event of the year, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which starts in Russia in less than six weeks. But while some are reviewing the odds and getting informed on the latest news, betting fans in the UK and across the Nordic countries are offered to predict the results of all 64 matches and become instantly rich. The Stars Group now added flavour to World Cup betting with its newly launched Stars £100 Million Challenge which is available across PokerStars, BetStars and PokerStars Casino.
On Wednesday, Canadian gaming and online gambling company The Stars Group announced a new, free-to-enter promotion, called The Stars £100 Million Challenge. As suggested by its name, the promotion offers a prize of £100 million or the equivalent in the local currency to one lucky punter who manages to make the perfect win-lose-draw prediction for the World Cup. This means to successfully predict all 64 matches during the tournament which kicks off June 14 with the match between Russia and Saudi Arabia. If awarded, as such a perfect prediction is no easy task, this would be one of the largest, if not the largest, prizes in the history of online sports betting.
While the Stars Group is challenging both punters and its competitors with one of the most interesting World Cup offers, it has limited it to only several countries. The promotion is available to only PokerStars, BetStars and PokerStars Casino customers in the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. The company has also recruited former cricketer and TV star Freddie Flintoff for the promotion advert, as well as Danish comedian and TV star Casper Christensen and Swedish celebrity chef Per Morberg.
Recently, The Stars Group significantly expanded its presence in the sports betting industry with the acquisition of British-based company Sky Betting and Gaming, owner of brands such as Sky Bet, Oddschecker and fantasy-sports sites. The $4.7 billion deal makes the Canadian giant well-positioned for growth on the global scene where sports betting accounts for 50 per cent of the online gambling market. This was the third sportsbook-based acquisition in 2018 for The Stars Group after it purchased CrownBet and William Hill Australia.
More Benefits for UK and Nordic Punters
For most sports betting fans, it sounds nearly impossible to predict all 64 matches in the Group Stage and the Knockout Stage of the 2018 tournament. So, while it is not clear whether the £100 million prize would even be awarded, many customers of the three online gambling platforms would receive huge prizes for ranking high in the Leader Board. The punter who earns the largest amount of points will be given a first-place prize of $10,000 plus a Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC).
The championship takes place in January 2019 at the Bahamas and the Platinum Pass, which is usually rewarded at different poker tournaments, is worth $30,000. It includes the $25,000 PSPC buy-in, accommodation at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, and around $2,000 for travelling and dining expenses. Clearly, this is the first multi-market, cross-platform offer for The Stars Group, which is aiming at becoming the preferred online sports betting destination this summer during the 2018 World Cup. The tournament runs from June 14 through July 15 and the matches between 32 teams will be played in 11 host cities across Russia.
