Sports
Real Madrid extends shirt sponsorship deal with Bwin
MUMBAI: Spanish soccer club Real Madrid have extended their shirt sponsorship deal with Austrian online betting group Bwin by three years until 2013.
The nine-times European champions will earn $29.1 million a year from the improved agreement.
Bwin replaced BenQ mobile as Real‘s principal sponsor in 2007, signing a three-year deal that was reported at the time to be worth between 15 and 20 million euros a year.
Real Madrid persident Florentino Pérez says, “International football needs partners like bwin, globally renowned for its experience and its involvement in sports sponsorship. We are very pleased with this collaboration; with this alliance we can strengthen our links with leading international companies.”
In this way, Bwin is underlining its support for top-level football and it is taking this opportunity to launch a very special bet. In creating this unique bet, bwin is banking on Real Madrid winning the Champions League title for the 10th time by 2013. The bet will be open to all bwin users for a period of 48 hours, starting today 28th of September 2009, at 8.00 p.m. In order to participate in the unique bet, users have to back Real Madrid to win the Champions League title again by 2013. 100 of all bwin users who place the bet will then be drawn by lot. The lucky winners will receive odds of 100:1 for a maximum stake of EUR 10.
Football, as the number 1 sport in the world and as a cornerstone of sports bets is the most important of the three areas that make up bwin‘s betting strategy. The second key area is its commitment to the MotoGP championship. Basketball is another of the sports that has bwin‘s support, in the context of its collaboration with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), as bwin has sponsored all European and World championships since 2006.
Sports
After Virat Kohli’s exit, One8 Commune Bengaluru shuts down
Outlet near Chinnaswamy closes amid rent row, compliance issues mount
BENGALURU: The One8 Commune outlet near M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has shut down following a court order, bringing a turbulent chapter for the high-profile dining destination to a close.
The immediate trigger was a legal dispute over unpaid dues. The outlet, operated by Trio Hills Hospitality, had reportedly defaulted on rent payments for nearly six months. Including maintenance charges and revenue share commitments, the outstanding amount is said to have crossed Rs 2 crore. A Bengaluru civil court subsequently directed the closure of the premises until all financial obligations are cleared.
The shutdown comes months after Virat Kohli, whose brand name lent the outlet its identity, had already distanced himself from the Bengaluru franchise. According to reports, concerns around repeated compliance-related issues prompted his team to withdraw the association. The removal of the One8 branding is believed to have impacted footfall, further straining the business.
The outlet had also faced regulatory scrutiny over the years. In 2024, authorities booked the establishment for operating beyond the 1:00 am curfew. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike had issued notices over missing fire safety clearances, while an FIR was filed for violating tobacco regulations by not providing a designated smoking zone under applicable laws.
In response to the closure, the brand maintained that the issue stemmed from building-level compliance responsibilities linked to the property owner rather than operational lapses on its part. It also denied that financial default was the primary reason, reiterating that customer safety remained a priority.
For now, the shutters remain down. While a reopening is theoretically possible if disputes are resolved, the absence of Kohli’s brand association makes a return under the One8 banner increasingly unlikely.
