06/06-08   -   Press releases

3BWin Launches Euro 2008 Game

Swedish-owned gaming company Bet and Be Best AB, following its merger with Community Entertainment AB, has launched an exciting new online game to coincide with UEFA EURO 2008. The game is an enhanced version of its already existing social networking concept 3BFriends, which was one of the first community platforms available on the internet, online since 2002.

The game itself is a unique online version off the popular offline phenomenon of the betting pool or office pool if done at work. As with its offline version, no odds are involved and so participants are playing against each other, not ‘the house’ as they do in standard sports betting. The concept itself is very simple – a formed group of players contributes a fixed amount of their choice into a pot, and there is a winnings distribution set by the creator of the group. What 3BFriends has done in effect, is bring pool betting into the 21st century. Nils-Åke Fahlen, CEO of Community Entertainment AB, comments:

"This type of betting is an already large, but not commercialized, sector. For instance, there are lots of people who use Excel for betting with friends today. With our tool you can do this online which means it doesn’t matter where in the world your friends are located. We also take care of the boring, time-consuming parts automatically like updating the results and distributing winnings which means that you as a player can focus on the fun parts: creating bets and inviting and challenging your friends.“

Their new product, launched in time for the start of UEFA EURO 2008, is an exclusive betting coupon that enables players to predict the outcome of each match in the tournament, from the group stages to the final itself. Players then invite their friends or colleagues to join their team and also predict the outcomes. Tracking of the bets and who has taken part is all handled automatically on the website, so no matter how many friends you invite to take part, or how many teams you are a member of, the whole process remains very simple and fun.

Anyone who plays on the Euro 2008 coupon is automatically in with the chance of winning more than just the final pot – 3BFriends will also be giving away cash prizes to those with the best sporting acumen. 500 EUR will go the best overall player on the site and there will also be a community prize of 1000 EUR for the best overall team – to be split amongst its participating members.

“Other gaming companies are catching onto this idea of community betting, mainly in a bid to increase customer loyalty and the look of their site. But we have believed in the idea of the online community for a long time. We don’t offer a community product along with other products; we offer a community itself and any other products we offer are secondary to the community, and for the community. The fact that right now we are the only site that offers this sort of betting for the sports community and in time for the Euro 2008 tournament is a testament this." Nils-Åke added.

The game is available now at www.3bwin.com