China lottery games and services provider 500.com is partnering with China Mobile to market its sports lottery products on the telecom giant’s Points Mall, an online forum where China Mobile subscribers can redeem loyalty points.
Strategically it’s a significant deal, and an exclusive one, for Shenzhen-based, New York-listed 500.com (NYSE: WBAI), providing the company with another connection to China Mobile’s 770 million subscribers, two-thirds of whom have redeemed rewards on the Points Mall, and extending its reach into all 31 Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
The agreement makes its games available for redemption with loyalty points on the Mall for a period of up to two years, after which the agreement can be renewed. China Mobile will reimburse 500.com for the products purchased in cash.
“We look forward to developing an even deeper relationship with China Mobile as we work to integrate our products into their vast ecosystem,” 500.com Chairman and CEO Man San Law said.
The company already provides lottery purchase and information services to China Mobile users through its Internet, mobile apps, WAP and SMS channels, and in January signed an agreement with China Mobile E-commerce Limited, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based China Mobile, allowing payments to be made for 500.com’s mobile sports lottery products on the telecom’s nationwide network.
500.com is one of two entities that have been approved by the Ministry of Finance to provide online lottery sales services on behalf of the China Sports Lottery Administration Center, the central government monopoly in charge of sport betting.