Asian online sports betting giant SBOBET has inked a new sponsorship deal with Irish football club Dundalk FC.

SBOBET recently announced it had signed on as Dundalk FC’s new official betting partner, which will allow the operator plenty of branding opportunities at the League of Ireland club’s Oriel Park stadium, starting with this Friday’s match against Derry City.

Club GM Martin Connolly said the pact with “such a prestigious global brand as SBOBET” would give the team an added boost, not that they really need it. Dundalk are the current reigning champions of the League of Ireland’s premier division and have started the new season on a tear, currently tied with Derry City in the points standings.

Bill Mummery, executive director of SBOBET’s Isle of Man-based parent company Celton Manx, said his firm looked forward to working with the club, which he said had been making “great strides” in raising its digital presence. Mummery said the Dundalk deal, which follows SBOBET’s sponsorship of Wexford Youths Football Club, “illustrates our drive to grow the SBOBET brand in the Republic of Ireland.”