Boss Media announced a deal with Sportingbet.com plc today that will provide Sportingbet with an online casino in Cantonese and Mandarin in time for the World Cup.
Ulrika Persson, investor relations manager for Boss, said the upcoming soccer tournament is the reason why Sportingbet, a U.K.-based bookmaker, is concentrating on the Asian market. The World Cup will take place in Korea and Japan starting at the end of May.
Sportingbet, which is the largest Internet sports book in the world with nearly half a million customers, will supply its own payment system for the new casino, so that account holders will be able to use their current account information.
Peter Bertilsson, CEO and president of Boss, said the arrangement should be mutually beneficial.
"I believe that Sportingbet has a very large potential to attract customers to Boss Media's gaming platform, with its exceptional database of players already online," he said. "We can in return add significant value to Sportingbet's online business with our state-of-the-art Internet casino with realistic graphics and certified software."
Persson said this is the first partnership between Boss and Sportingbet because the Swedish company has not offered sports book software. That could change in the near future though; Person said Boss has plans to partner with a company to develop online bookmaking software.
She said the group expects higher profits to come out of the deal with Sportingbet because Asia is an expanding market for Internet gambling.