Interest group Swiss Top Sport continues its expansion and is about to sign a sponsoring deal extension, according to NZZ.ch. STS is a "consolidation of the 22 biggest sporting events in Switzerland." The organization, which was founded 12 years ago and had 13 founding members, continued to expand and included members number 21 and 22 in April. STS spokesperson Roman Gasser said, "The more members STS has, the more weight it has in talks with partners like the Federal Office of Sport." In addition to the organization's continued growth, STS is about the sign a sponsorship deal extension with lottery companies Swisslos and Loterie Romande. The parties will sign a three-year extension, in which STS receives CHF1.2M ($1.24M) annually from the lottery companies. In exchange the lottery companies will be allowed to offer bets at any of the 22 sporting events included in STS. Swisslos Dir Roger Fasnacht said, "Our sponsorship guidelines, just like Swiss Top Sports, focus on the idea of solidarity among the big Swiss sporting events" (NZZ.ch, 6/28).
