Those who chose not to attend this year’s Olympics are missing out on a lot according to Rickie Fowler. Rickie has been sending post cards from Rio and posting regularly on social media. He posted about him hanging with Michael Phelps, him holed up with the U.S diving team and him constantly smiling for the cameras around the Olympic Golf course. Rickie sent out suggestions earlier on Tuesday that pointed out that he has been in constant contact with people who missed out on golf’s return to the games after 112-year break. This was during the U.S. team’s conference. Fowler said that he had sent out messages suggesting that he was enjoying the Olympics.

Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson are among the top two Americans who withdrew their names from the Olympic list. They are known in the Official World Gold Ranking. Rickie is surely sending them signals showing them that they missed out on a lot. Rickie arrived earlier last week and was present during the opening ceremony. He has been in Brazil for the longest time when compared to other Americans. Patrick Reed replied to Fowler’s message where he said that been given the opportunity to participate and grow the game is amazing. Roy Mcllroy last month announced he would be skipping the Olympics.

He however said that he was ready to go play for his country whenever he was needed. He is glad that golf is being featured in the Olympics. Mcllroy also added that the reason he got in to golf was majorly to win in the championships. The four American players who will be participating in the week’s events were not comfortable with the golf topic but they passed a message to those participating. Most players decided to skip the Olympics because of fear of the Zika virus. However, those who managed to attend the Rio Olympics have actually had the time of their lives.

Reed was not worried about the virus saying he had been using bug spray all his life in Houston and San Antonio. He also added that he had been wishing to participate in the Olympics since he was a little boy. Kuchar was optimistic that the Olympics held this year would be a great success and that those who missed out on them would live to regret their decisions.

The board of William Hill has accused the Casino operator Rank Group and the online gambling company 888 of undervaluing it. This led the bookmaker to decline a £3.3bn takeover bid from the two companies. Casino operator Rank Group and the online gambling company had made a proposal worth 364p per share. Combining three businesses into one group significantly increases risk according to William Hill. Citi Group and Barclays advised William Hill against accepting the offer. The deal requires an estimated amount of £2.2 billion in refinanced debt in order to complete the deal.

The bookmarker’s chairman, Gareth Davis stated that the merger undervalues William Hill. He also said that the proposal does not reflect the true value of the business. The risks likely to be experienced from the three-way combination include integration risks, risks of materially increase leverage and execution risk. He also stated that the group had a very strong team that would foresee the growth of various digital and international businesses. An 888 spokesman accused the bookmaker for making rude remarks after the group stated that they had recognized merger benefits that would increase the proposal up to 408p a share.

William Hill failed to capitalize on an increasing online betting market and they are currently looking for a new Chief Executive. The online business gets about 35% revenues from the bookmarker and has recently been having problems with the functionality and ease of use regarding the use of the website. There has been upheavals in the gambling industry because of increased tax, growing competition and the lucrative fixed-odds betting terminals which is currently on crackdown. This makes the move by Rank and 888 for William Hill among the most recent.  The joined business between Paddy Power and Betfair merging is a FTSE 100 member.

The major question now remains of whether the consortium parties will merger separately or whether Rank and 888 will make a further plea to merge with William Hill.

Golf has had developmental challenges attributed to various reasons. However, a number of measures that have been introduced have mitigated the encounters. For instance, the inclusion of golf as one of the disciplines in the quadrennial Olympic Games which though is still eliciting mixed reactions.

At a media briefing prior to the British Open, Rory McIlroy, an Irish professional golfer said that he was interested in only playing to win championships and majors but not getting other people into the game. A motive for giving the Olympics a wide berth that has generated an unwarranted debate.

Day six of the competitions marks an important day for golfers as the men will be kicking off the game at the Olympic Golf Course. Though many of the PGA Tour top brass will be missing, there is optimism that new spectators will be able to watch the game. It is expected that this will stimulate the youth especially in places where the Olympics commands a lot of respect.

Henrik Stenson, a Swedish golfer, currently participating in the Rio De Janeiro games, believes that Olympics has already boosted the game and predicts that it will further contribute to its growth. He has observed that some countries have already been endeared to golf to the extent that golf federations and funds have been put up to support this cause. The games being televised all over the globe, provides a perfect opportunity of motivating the upcoming golfers.

Peter Dawson, the president of the International Golf Federation, shares the same view. He has overseen golf federations increase since the recent introduction of the sport in Olympics. Those who lobbied this move say that the major aim was to promote the sport in nations where golf is underdeveloped. It is their expectation that the exposure due to the popularity of Olympics will not only inspire sportsmen in these countries but will spur growth especially in a scenario where one of their own bags an Olympic medal.

The former Norwich Rangers striker by the name Kyle Lafferty has pleaded guilty to accepting a Football Association betting charge. He further received a strict warning and in addition to a £23,000 fine from the FA. Lafferty had placed a bet on a match that caused him to breach the FA rule E8, he did this on February 20, 2016. The bet he placed was on the result, conduct, progress or any other feature or occurrence relating to the football match or competition. The 28-year old striker made only one premier league appearance on the season of 2015-16. He later spent the end of the season on Birmingham City before featuring for Northern Ireland at Euro 2016.

Even though Northern Ireland and Norwich did not play on the said date, it was wrong for Lafferty to place the bet since the E8 rule forbids professional players from betting on matches they are participating in. the rule also forbids players from placing bets on matches they have influence on or even on any other football match taking place anywhere in the world. He has therefore being given until August 5^th to respond to the misconduct charge. He was thereafter charged and fined £23,000.

There was an FA statement release which stated that £23,000 had being placed as a fine on Kyle Lafferty after he pleaded guilty to the offence. He was also given a warning relating to his future conduct. The player fell out of favor with Norwich since he made six appearances and only scored one goal. In the qualifying matches he managed to score for Northern Irish and also participated in the Euro 2016 where he played for his country in the last 16 match. The transfer window is due to close on August 31^st and the striker is expected to move to another club before then.

The TLCBET brand has been having an extremely strong and loyal customer support from China. It is one of the leading Asian betting and gaming operator that has been offering a number of online sports betting and casino games. It is well known for innovation and approving various marketing strategies. The Asian betting operator has then come out and announced that it will be the official betting partner of Middlesbrough for the 2016/17 FC in the Premier League season. The ‘Boro’ betting partnership has been confirmed by the TLCBET marketing. This came before the start of the English Premier League due to start this weekend.

Middlesbrough will be taking on Stoke City. The Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium has a capacity of 34,000 and this will oversee TLCBET promoted through the stadium by the betting partnership. TLCBET has a vision of expanding its profile in the highly competitive UK betting market. This is causing it to receive further match day high brand visibility placements. TLCBET is taking up Middlesbrough betting partnership as its second football sponsorship. They had launched their brand last year in the UK and did this as the official shirt sponsor of West Bromwich Albion. Mick Chong who is TLCBET Brand director was delighted to be partnering with Middlesbrough Football Club.

He also added that he was prepared to embark on a new season as the Premier League approaches. He added that he had confidence that the Boro brand would successfully be promoted in Asia. TLCBET would be put on the global stage and through this they would easily associate with fans from all over the world. He said that he is expecting a very great season.  Lee Fryett who is Head of Partnerships stated that they were happy to be welcoming TLCBET as the official partner of Middlesbrough Football Club. He added that the partnership would enhance their reputation back in China. TLCBET brand will be able to appear on the official club website and social media channels that will be on the pitch-side of LED advertising.

Middlesbrough fans will be able to receive tickets of Hospitality and general admission for the various games at the Riverside as part of the on-going promotions.

Betfair has made its first advertising performance. This comes a short while after having their marketing aligned with Paddy Power which was happened in this year’s first half. The multi-channel campaign “Ready?” has been launched by Betfair jointly with Betfair and Lucky Generals. The new product will cover all communication channels such as TV, social media, radio and newspapers. Luck Generals was picked by Betfair officials as a creative lead agency back in May. Paddy Power managed to register the first corporate savings within the marketing department after the post-merger synergy strategy was put to practice.

“Ready” campaign has already hit top notch. It is recognized as a triumphant attempt between balancing sports and important brand communications. The product does not promote competitive odds or any other sort of bonuses that players can qualify for. During half time in Leicester vs Man United, the “Ready” product was advertised for about 60 seconds. “A champion is someone who’s ready when the gong rings – not just before, not just after – but when it rings. Ready?” this is the voice-over quote being used to advertise the product. This is from the well-known heavy weight boxer Jack Dempsy.

Betfair is well recognized in the betting industry. It has introduced revolutionary products such as Acca Edge and Price Rush as well as imposing changes in the betting industry. The main objective of the campaign is for Betfair to differentiate themselves from Paddy Power and other bookmakers. This is according to Lucky Generals. According to Paul Gambrill the Marketing and Brand Director at Paddy Power Betfair the “Ready” campaign will be an efficient method for capturing anticipation of sports and betting. The campaign is set to be launched in Denmark, Spain, and Italy.