Real Deal Bet first hit the online streets in 2015 and they were eager to make a positive first impression on UK customers. They attempted to do this by securing the endorsement of boxing legend, Evander Holyfield. This was obviously pre-planned in the early days of the website creation too as it is not just a coincidence that Holyfield himself was nicknamed “The Real Deal” during his fighting days.

As well as his official endorsement the five-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion featured in much of the promotional materials and his name even featured underneath the bookie’s logo on the website. Although the designers were very busy producing content for the site, Holyfield did not take a passive role in boosting the site’s appeal. Prior to the launch of the website in March 2015, Holyfield spoke on behalf of the new bookmaker when he shared his views on the upcoming Super Bowl and also when reflecting upon his boxing career.

Despite placing such attention on a boxing legend, Real Deal Bet did not focus just on boxing bets – far from it. Instead, the site covered a wide range of sports bets accompanied by a substantial number of casino and live casino games. With some of these powered by industry giants like NetEnt, Microgaming and Betsoft, the website had a fair amount to offer. In addition, Real Deal bet also had the benefit of being powered by SB Tech’s award-winning platform which came fully mobile compatible.

Why Did Real Deal Bet Close?

Signed Gloves #Giveaway by me Mr. Holyfield
Winner Announced Sunday 8.21.16
Follow & Retweet to #win !#RealDeal pic.twitter.com/KRUy1Q7hpP

— Evander Holyfield (@holyfield) August 15, 2016

The online bookmaker business is a tough nut to crack given how saturated the market is. Ultimately, some perfectly well-managed and well-funded brands simply prove not to be profitable, or profitable enough, purely due to a lack of customers. Nothing was ever revealed to explain the closure of the site – which happened in March 2018, just three years after their launch – other than it being due to a “management decision”. This very generic explanation does strongly suggest that Real Deal Bet was simply not attracting/retaining enough users.

Perhaps part of the issue was that despite all the Holyfield branding, the website did not really specialise in boxing to any great extent. Sure, you could bet on boxing and they often tweeted about big fights but for a website with such focus on a boxing legend, they were not providing anything more than most. This failure to fully exploit the potential niche may have worked against Real Deal Bet in their fight for survival.

Prior to launch, Holyfield claimed that “Real Deal Bet will be ‘The Real Deal’ of sports betting” which would “knock the competition sideways” as it will be “the sports betting site of champions.” Despite Holyfield’s ability to read enthusiastic phrases from a script though, Real Deal Bet ultimately never convinced most of the UK public.

What Happened to Real Deal Bet Customers?

For the people who were still playing at Real Deal Bet when it closed, of which there were probably not that many, the fallout was not a messy one, thankfully. This is because Real Deal Bet was owned by Blue Star Planet, a Malta-based company who were, at the same time, running a much more successful website, 10Bet. Real Deal Bet players simply had their information and accounts transferred automatically to this site which was offering all the same promotions and odds. With everything completed with the absolute minimum of fuss, Blue Star Planet managed to avoid any negative press.

Since this point, Blue Star Planet have not been tempted to branch out again, instead putting in all their focus into 10Bet. It is a move that has seemingly paid off too because 10Bet has really taken off in the UK in more recent years. Although founded in 2003, it is around 2018 when things really began to accelerate for them. In the summer of this year, they agreed sponsorship deals to become the official betting sponsors of two Championship football clubs, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion. With the extra focus on their main brand, 10Bet was able to surpass the very impressive milestone of one million registered players.