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Bangladesh Cricket Board is set to serve Shakib al Hasan a show cause notice for his involvement with a brand affiliated to one of the biggest online gambling portals of the world.
Shakib last Tuesday irked many in the cricket fraternity after he announced involvement with Betwinner News, which is a surrogate promotion of online betting and gaming portal Betwinner.
Betwinner holds a valid online gambling license from the government of Curacao and is under parent company 1X Corp N.V.
The company owns many other online betting portals including the most famous one – 1xbet.
BCB president Nazmul Hasan while speaking to the media Thursday following BCB Board of Directors’ meeting at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium informed that Shakib did not take the No Objection Certificate from the board to get involved with Betwinner News.
“He [Shakib] did not take the NOC from the board in the first place because we would have never allowed it. We will never allow if the affiliation is with a betting company, the board is very clear about this. So, it means he did not take the permission from the board. Secondly, we need to know if has signed a contract with them [Betwinner],” said Nazmul.
“We had a discussion on this in the meeting [Thursday]. I have told the board to ask Shakib if he has signed a contract with them and to serve him a show cause notice. The board will not allow this. Board will now allow this if it has any relation with a betting company,” he added.
When queried of possible action the board will take against Shakib, Nazmul said, “Not only the board but even the laws of the land doesn’t allow this [betting or gambling]. So, this is a very serious issue. So rather than being judgmental on his [Shakib] social media posts, I think it is better to speak to him first. We need to understand his intention. Board will take action as per its laws and regulations.”
Shakib took to his social media accounts to announce his partnership with Betwinner News and said, “Dear fans! I am proud to announce my new official partnership with Betwinner News!”
