Former international soccer star David Ginola has been signed to lead a new marketing campaign for PokerStars.

It is the first ‘ambassador’ signing to the PokerStars Sports brand, launched earlier this year.

Tom Warren, marketing director at PokerStars, said: ‘David’s charisma and charm made him the perfect choice when looking for an ambassador to command this role and bring passion and flair to our plans in France.’

The new campaign, La Grosse Cote (‘The Big Odds’, in English), encourages sports fans in France to take advantage of boosted odds on football matches.

Mr Warren added: ‘La Grosse Cote is appointment viewing. It’s all about stand-out offers on the matches our community are most interested in, and we can’t think of anyone better to bring these offers to life.

‘We look forward to working closely with him on more ways to truly engage our community.’

Ginola said: ‘Becoming a PokerStars ambassador is a huge honour.

‘I am very happy to take on this exhilarating role and to be able to share an exciting common adventure with the PokerStars community.

‘It’s going to be great to announce La Grosse Cote. Boosting match odds is a great way to ignite the game of sports betting.’

Ginola is a French former international football player who has also worked as an actor, model and football pundit.

His playing career included spells at Tottenham, Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa.