The winner of an innovative competition giving local football fans the chance to win a piece of the world’s largest cryptocurrency has been revealed.
The competition, held by Southampton Football Club, ended during the home game against Crystal Palace last weekend, where Clare Way, 42, from Southampton was crowned the winner of the exciting Bitcoin Hunt.
The first of its kind, the competition called on Saints fans and the local community to take part in an immersive contest to celebrate the club’s ongoing partnership with Sportsbet.io – the leading bitcoin-led provider of sportsbook, casino, and virtual gaming services.
Since its launch in February, hundreds of fans entered the Bitcoin Hunt, which saw them compete across three rounds – searching for QR codes across the city, solving a fiendish blockchain-style puzzle game, and scanning the club’s social media for hidden Bitcoins. The blockchain-style puzzle game proved the most popular, with an average game-time play of almost 5 minutes.
Three lucky winners from each round progressed into the live final, which took place at halftime during the club’s home game against Crystal Palace on Saturday 30th April. One lucky dip winner was chosen at random to make up the ten finalists. Clare was then announced as the final Bitcoin Hunt winner in front of a rapturous home crowd, taking home a Bitcoin, which so far in 2022 has been worth up to £35,000.
Discussing her win, Clare said: “I’ve always been a passionate Saints fan and even more so since I purchased a season ticket for my daughter to come with me to matches. The club means a lot as we are also involved with the Saints Foundation. It’s a real family club!
This is the first competition of its kind I’ve ever entered. We were in the concourse before a game, and I saw the advert for the Bitcoin Hunt. I scanned the QR code but didn’t expect to hear anything back! To win feels amazing – I still can’t believe it. I can finally treat my daughter, Chloe, to her dream holiday to Florida.
I would like to thank everyone involved from Sportsbet.io and Southampton Football Club for the amazing time all the finalists had. From start to finish we felt so welcome by everybody – we all felt like winners. I cannot express what a feeling it was, and to hear the St Mary’s crowd applauding and cheering, is something I will never forget. I would encourage anyone thinking of entering any competition to go for it as you never know what might happen.”
Discussing the competition, Charles Read, Head of Partnership Marketing at Southampton Football Club, said: “We are delighted with the results of our Bitcoin Hunt competition, which was developed in partnership with our main sponsor Sportsbet.ie. We have thoroughly enjoyed working closely with our creative agency Formidable and tech build partners Unit 9, and watching the competition come to life with football fans across the city of Southampton really embracing the concept and getting passionately involved.
“We are proud to say this was the first competition of its kind and the first time a football club has given fans the chance to win a Bitcoin. We hope that the Saints community has enjoyed taking part – and we’d like to say a huge congratulations to our lucky winner, Clare, who took home the much sought-after prize after a tense final at St Mary’s Stadium.
We look forward to continuing to raise the bar with our future competitions, coming up with innovative concepts that involve our fan community, enabling us to thank them for their ongoing support by rewarding them with fantastic prizes.”
Joe McCallum, Director of Sportsbook at Sportsbet.io, added: “The Bitcoin Hunt has proven an innovative way for Sportsbet.io and Southampton Football Club to enhance its partnership. It is a key part of our strategic vision to educate the wider world about cryptocurrencies and eliminate the myths whilst bringing them into our everyday life. We feel the competition has helped everyone understand the world of Bitcoin and Blockchain technology in a safe environment.”
