Online casino and sportsbook owned by billionaire Vincent Tan bought by Malaysian and British Virgin Islands companies.
Tuesday 24th June 2008
Malaysia’s Berjaya Group has revealed the new owners of AscotSports.com and AscotECasino.com online gambling sites following its decision last month to exit the Internet gambling market.
Berjaya stated that Ascot Sports Philippines Incorporated, the owner of AscotSports.com, has been sold to 9 Technologies, a Malaysian sports technology firm previously known as Extremely Good, while the rights for its AscotECasino.com have been acquired by El Moro Finance Limited, a company registered in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
Although the firm did not disclose any financial details for the acquisitions, it did state that both sites would continue to operate under their current names until September when new branding would be introduced.
Berjaya is controlled by billionaire Vincent Tan who was forced to switch the licensing for the sites to the Isle of Man in 2006 despite paying for a 25-year Malaysian license only three years earlier. This was caused by a change in political leadership in the Asian nation and Tan finally launched AscotSports.com a few months before the FIFA World Cup 2006 with a call centre in The Philippines. The site soon expanded its services and launched four-digit number lottery product online a year later. AscotECasino.com was also launched in 2007 and targeted the Chinese-speaking market in Asia.
Berjaya stated that it had worked with the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission during the sales to ensure that player funds were returned as part of its orderly withdrawal from the industry.
Malaysia’s Berjaya Group has revealed the new owners of AscotSports.com and AscotECasino.com online gambling sites following its decision last month to exit the Internet gambling market.