Karachi Test live-streamed on betting website

The ongoing Karachi Test between Pakistan and South Africa is being live-streamed on a betting website -- sky247.com.

Sky247.net, which is one of the co-sponsors of the two-match Test series, is also part of the same company which owns sky247.com.

Although the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) contract is with sky247.net, but the website gives the users an option to visit the same company’s betting website as well. During the first day’s play on Tuesday, bets were placed on the match through live-stream. The board’s logo was also visible on the left side of the video.

When the PCB was approached on the matter, Director Media Samiul Hasan Burney said, “Pakistan’s Constitution did not allow companies associated with betting and alcohol products to sponsor cricket events.”

He added that the PCB commercial contracts always include this clause in order to respect Pakistan’s cultural and religious values.

“The PCB will monitor the second day’s play [Wednesday] on the website, which can be accessed in Pakistan without Virtual Private Network (VPN), in order to determine whether legal action should be taken or not.”

He said Sky247.net is a news website run by a Portuguese company, which also sponsors Abu Dhabi T10 League.

It must be noted that matches of PSL 5, last season, were also streamed on a betting website. The matter was resolved after the PCB accepted an apology from one of its partners. Later, the PCB terminated its contract with the company