Betsson preps Kroon sportsbook for Dutch market
New sports betting brand from Betsson-owned Kroon casino brand is expected to launch in time for new football season
Betsson is preparing to launch a new sportsbook under its Netherlands-facing Kroon casino brand, eGaming Review can reveal.
The new product will be launched prior to the start of the new football season in August and will sit on the Kroon online casino site Betsson acquired last year.
The move comes despite delays in Dutch online gambling regulation with licences now not expected to be handed out before 2016 at the earliest.
However CEO Ulrik Bengtsson told eGR the company will remain the right side of the regulator with a low-key launch and no direct marketing to Dutch residents.
“The plan was to have our [sportsbook] ready when the regulation comes but it’s hard to tie development to the regulatory process so we have to move on,” Bengtsson said.
“We are being compliant and we do not violate any laws when it comes to marketing in Holland and we don’t intend to do so with the new sportsbook either,” he added.
Betsson acquired Oranje and Kroon, the leading casino operator in the Netherlands, for around 130m in February last year.
The Kroon casino site has been migrated onto Betsson’s proprietary technology platform which facilitates the addition of a sports betting product.
Betsson already has a sportsbook offering in the Netherlands via its other brands including Betsson.com, however Bengtsson said customers prefer to have “everything under one roof”.
“Currently best thinking is that it will be under the Kroon casino brand, so perhaps Kroonbet or Kroonsportsbook,” the CEO said.
“It will be based on our in-house sportsbook product used for other brands, but slightly adjusted for the Dutch market,” he added.
Meanwhile Betsson has also announced it has been awarded a licence by the UK gambling regulator and will continue to focus on its Mr Smith and Betsafe brands in the market.
“It is natural for Betsson, as one of the leading online gaming companies in Europe, to operate under a local license on the UK market. We encourage that other European countries that are currently re-regulating will look closer at, and get inspired by the UK model,” Magnus Silfverberg, CEO & President of Betsson AB, said.