Bwin's Bodner: Gioco Digitale buy about speed, liquidity
Bwin's acquisition of Italian poker site Gioco Digitale will enable Bwin to enter the Italian market quickly with high levels of liquidity, Bwin co-chief executive Manfred Bodner has told EGRmagazine.com.
Bwin’s acquisition of Italian poker site Gioco Digitale will enable Bwin to enter the Italian market quickly with high levels of liquidity, Bwin co-chief executive Manfred Bodner has told EGRmagazine.com.
Commenting on Bwin’s buyout of Gioco Digitale today, Bodner (pictured) said: “There are 60 to 70 people in Gioco Digitale and we would have had to build a team with that many people to be able to compete with the biggest poker sites in Italy. The time to market would have been too slow, the market penetration had to happen fast.”
Bodner said a similar deal was unlikely to be replicated in France, where operators will be able to offer their products next year.
“We would be unlikely to replicate this in other markets such as France as the industry there is more established than when we first entered Italy,” Bodner said. “The next six to 18 months will be very important for the Italian market and the industry there as bingo and casino games are introduced as part of new regulation. We need to have liquidity to offer all those products and attract players.”