Online gaming company Sportingbet has signed a sponsorship deal worth almost US$2 million with English soccer club Wolverhampton Wanderers, currently favourites for promotion to the Premier League. The deal, the biggest in the club's history, will run for the next two years.

Since 1984, Wolves has spent just one season in the top division, but the club is still ranked as one of the top six teams in all-time English soccer statistics since the league's inception in 1888. The team is currently top of the Championship, English soccer's second tier, and Sportingbet's deal will prove a shrewd investment if the club is promoted.

As well as becoming the club's official betting partner, Sportingbet will sponsor the club website. "A successful club has to be commercially sound," said Wolverhampton Wanderers chief executive Jez Moxey. "Any investment along the lines of this sponsorship helps our case to buy players, employ players, and invest in our ground."

Soccer betting represents two thirds of Sportingbet's total revenue. 'The deal, commencing in June 2009, is worth over seven figures and represents the biggest sponsorship agreement in Wolves' 132-year history,' confirmed Sportingbet in a statement.

Sportingbet's chief executive, Andy McIver, said: "Football is the bedrock of our business and we look forward to working closely together."