Betbull Gets Ready to Open in Italy
Europe focused betting exchange Betbull announced on Jan. 3 that it had been awarded four Italian betting licenses following the country's recent tender process. The licenses were granted for the cities of Milano and Como covering retail units, which will be dedicated to sports betting outlets. The outlets will be 'shop in shop' operations where a Betbull horse betting service will be offered as an additional product to the core business.
Ladbrokes Ready to Take on Spanish Market
U.K. bookmaker Ladbrokes announced on Jan. 8 that it had entered a joint venture with Barcelona-based Cirsa Slot Corp. to develop a sports betting business in Spain. The partners plan to apply for the new betting licenses in Madrid, where a decree was passed in December regulating betting shops, kiosks and remote betting via telephone and Internet. The joint venture said it would also seek licenses in other areas of Spain considering regulation. The Spanish gambling market was worth around $37.7 billion in 2006, Ladbrokes said. Cirsa Slot accounts for 9 percent of the Spanish slot machine market, servicing over 15,000 food and beverage outlets with gaming areas and 90 arcades.
Blue Square Sponsors Greyhound Racing
The Daily Mail on Jan. 10 reported that the Greyhound Racing Association inked a three-year sponsorship deal of its Greyhound Derby with online bookmaker Blue Square. The bookmaker's title sponsorship rights of the Derby take effect in June 2007, including year-round branding rights at Wimbledon Stadium, which hosts the race.
Score Two for GB Group
Two online bookmakers have signed agreements with identity management solutions provider GB Group (GBG) to use its Web-based electronic identity verification service. London-listed Betbrokers on Jan. 10 announced an agreement with GBG in order to remain compliant with the United Kingdom's "know your customer" guidelines as well as the Financial Service Authority's money laundering rules, while Stockholm-listed Unibet announced on Jan. 24 that it had signed a three-year, six-digit deal with GBG.
Betfair Supports Tennis Australia
Racingandsports.com on Jan. 14 reported that Internet betting exchange Betfair had announced an agreement with Tennis Australia, which sees the sport receive a share of the revenue generated by Betfair via betting activity on the Australian Open. The announcement comes on the heels of similar arrangements with the AFL, the PGA Tour of Australasia and Cricket Australia. The Coalition of Major Professional Sports (COMPS), of which Tennis Australia is a member, lobbied last year for a cut of the revenues generated by their respective sports. Betfair was one of a few companies that backed COMPS's position.
Fantasy Golf Channel
The Golf Channel on Jan. 16 announced its partnership with online fantasy sports contests provider Fanball to operate fantasy golf games on the Golf Channel's dot-com site. Fanball is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian online casual games provider FUN Technologies.
Ladbrokes Acquires Sponsio
Ladbrokes on Jan. 22 announced its acquisition of Scandinavia-focused Sponsio for £36 million ($71.5 million), with an additional £4 million ($7.9 million) due contingent on future performance. Scandinavia represents Ladbrokes' next largest market after the United Kingdom.
Turkish Officials Suspend Sports Betting
Turkey's top administrative court suspended a sports-betting contract awarded to Inteltek, a joint venture between Athens-based gaming company Intralot and Turkish mobile company Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS,Bloomberg reported on Jan. 22. Inteltek has been ordered to stop operations within one month, but the decision can be appealed, Intralot told the news source in an e-mail. Shares in Intralot, which owns 45 percent of the joint venture, fell 14 percent to 24.36 euros upon news of the decision. The case reportedly stems from a complaint filed by Lottomatica SpA's Gtech, which lost out to Inteltek for a Turkish sports-betting contract in 2003. Gtech is seeking to prove that the process that led to the contract's bestowal was flawed, in hopes the government will hold another tender process in which it would participate.