Deadspin's destiny as a gambling referral site seemingly confirmed
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After G/O Media sold Deadspin earlier this month, the buyer remained anonymous other than a basic website originating in Malta.
Internet sleuths and reporters like Tedium’s Ernie Smithdid some digging last week and found connections between new owner Lineup Publishing and a Finnish casino spam blog (splog). Based on that and several other clues, it was presumed that the new owners of the once-iconic domain would use it to help promote some kind of gambling business or casino network.
Freelance journalist Michael Gresko appeared to make a more direct connection earlier this week when he found an XML file hosted on Lineup’s site that included the name “Max Noremo,” which just so happened to be the name of a person who has an extensive background in affiliate marketing and SEO for gambling sites.
That’s when 404 Media’s Jason Koebler picked up the trail and started trying to confirm Noremo’s involvement as well as Lineup Publishing’s plan for Deadspin.
Thursday morning, Lineup Publishing finally released a statement confirming their purchase of the domain and providing some business-speaky plans on their website.
Lineup Publishing is delighted to announce the acquisition of the iconic online sports news and opinion website, Deadspin.com.
Since its inception in 2005, Deadspin has carved out a unique space in the sports journalism world, blending incisive commentary, investigative journalism, and a distinct voice that has engaged millions of readers.
As we look to the future, our focus remains on delivering content that matters, through a platform known for its boldness, integrity, and insight into the world of sports and beyond.
In order to best achieve this, we will be spending the next month moving to our own bespoke platform. All posts, images, and any other form of content will be retained.
We aim to be able to support delivery of this via partnerships within the sports betting industry. We believe that by doing this, we can deliver the top quality content people want to read, without impeding the quality and usability of the site.
They also added more information on what their company does and who runs it, which includes Noremo.
Lineup Publishing is a forward-thinking digital media company dedicated to creating, acquiring, and managing high-quality media brands across a variety of sectors. With a commitment to innovation, Lineup Publishing are looking to deliver engaging stories as well as data-driven insights to a global sports audience.
The two lead investors, Timothy Booker and Max Noremo come from a background of gaming and media.
Koebler started looking into Noremo further and found that he is the co-founder of Digital Superstars LTD, a Malta-based company that drives traffic to online casinos and gambling sites.
Incidentally, he may have also found the origins of Lineup’s desire to purchase Deadspin in the form of an October 2023 query to Lea Goldman, a G/O Media executive.
Koebler reached out to Noremo for comment through his LinkedIn profile and has yet to receive a response. However, Koebler did note that Noremo had recently scrubbed that profile. He also appears to have scrubbed his social media profiles following the publication of the article.
Per his LinkedIn profile, Timothy Booker is the COO of Lineup Publishing. He was previously CTO of Cashmagnet Ltd, a “digital marketing agency specializing in lead generation for the iGaming industry.”
So where does all of this leave us? While there are still some gaps and questions regarding the specifics of this arrangement, we can feel confident that Deadspin will likely be reborn once more with a business model focused on driving traffic and leads to online gambling sites. To paraphrase Dennis Green, the domain’s new owners are who we thought they were.
We could imagine worse fates for the domain, but not that many. At a time when Sports Illustrated is being morphed into a monetizable brand for vampires to suck dry and companies buy media outlets only to cut loose the people who made it valuable in the first place, Deadspin’s fate is just one aspect of the soulless corporate greed that is killing off an era of journalism and writing.
