Church confessional sponsored by UK bookmaker
Worshippers at a UK Roman Catholic Church may have been shocked to see their new confessional box is sponsored by one of the U.K.'s leading bookmakers. The so called "Paddy Power sin bin" at St Etheldreda's Church in Newmarket was opened today by none other than top jockey Frankie Dettori in a blaze of glory.
It is believed that the sponsorship deal came about because of the need to raise funds for the refurbishment of the Church and Paddy Power was more than happy to step forward to assist. For many years the church has been a devout critic of the gambling industry and today's announcement will raise many eyebrows across the UK. The very fact that Newmarket is one of the centres of the UK racing industry has not gone unnoticed by those reading about today's development.
While there will obviously be critics of the sponsorship deal in question there is no doubt that charity in the UK has all but dried up during the recession as companies and individuals look to tighten their purse strings. Now that one of the most controversial of lines has been crossed, i.e. the church and gambling, it seems likely we are now in open season regarding surprising and "different" sponsorship deals.
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