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The Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather fight is set to eclipse the amount bet on anything else, leading to an epic period in history for bookmakers across a wide swath of the globe.
With more than 80 percent of the backing on McGregor, Ireland’s controversial bookmaker Paddy Power has seen fit to pay out on all the Mayweather wagers early, in the amount of £250,000.
The move, typical of past marketing ploys that have helped Paddy Power boost its prominence, comes at a time when Europe’s biggest bookmaker is coming under fire for an advertisement deemed to have racial undertones.
“We Always Bet on Black” reads the advert.
Showing a picture of boxer Floyd Mayweather in black shorts, it says: ' Always bet on black. We've paid out early on a Mayweather victory. Because we checked only one of them is a boxer.'
Minutes after the advertisement appeared, fans went ballistic on Twitter and the Daily Mail grabbed a few of them.
One posted: 'Who was stupid enough to come up with that tag line?'
Another fumed: 'Someone will probs [sic] get fired for that when you get the incoming ban... it aint the 80's now you know.'
One fan said: 'I have to say, as much as I love Paddy Power, that has racism written all over it.'
While another posted: 'You can't say that in this day and age.'
One tweeter shared: 'Presumably someone thought this was edgy and good for publicity.'
Another wondered: 'Someone from the paddy power media team getting the sack for this one.'
A fan posted: 'Not sure about this tweet. Prob crossed the line a bit.'
One social media user said: 'And in one tweet, you're now completely racist. Love the banter, but you've crossed the line. Delete.'
While one angry man fumed: 'Mr Boombastic Racist f**** and don't come with the 70s ''no blacks no Irish'' or even worse my ''best mate's black''... deleting this betting app.'
- Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com
