SOURCE: Reuters

(London, England) — British gambling firm Rank (RNK.L: Quote, Profile , Research) will announce on Monday that its fast growing Blue Square website will provide sports betting for online poker and casino giant 888.com (888.L: Quote, Profile , Research), industry sources told Reuters on Friday.

Blue Square will calculate the odds for the 888.com branded site and as part of the deal 888 will provide Blue Square with its payment processing platform.

"We expect a pan-European launch in Q1 2008 before also going to other countries as well," one source told Reuters.

Last month 888 chief executive Gigi Levy told Reuters that it would launch its sports betting by the end of the year.

He said the UK would be one of the first countries targeted but hinted that Spain could be the front runner.