People participate during a Unity Celebration event on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Sunday, June 25, 2023, as part of the lead up to the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer tournament. Australia and New Zealand will co-host the women's World Cup starting on July 20. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
FIFA has its first gambling sponsor for the Women’s World Cup, announcing a deal Monday with the New Zealand state monopoly betting agency TAB.
FIFA said TAB will be promoted in the four New Zealand stadiums at the July 20-Aug. 20 tournament being co-hosted with Australia. The value of the sponsorship was not disclosed.
The deal follows a gambling sponsorship for FIFA at the men’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar, also in the third-tier “supporter” category, to promote the Betano brand in Europe.
The New Zealand betting agency returns commission to sports it takes bets on, and paid NZ$2.4 million ($1.48 million) to the national soccer federation last year.
Soccer bodies are increasingly making deals with the gambling sector even as their own rules bar players, referees and officials from betting on games or having financial interests in betting industry operators.
UEFA signed betting operator bwin to a three-year deal in 2021 for the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
