Betsson eyes new regulated market push
Efforts in Italy yet to prove lucrative but operator has eye on UK and Dutch licences and remains bullish about China
Betsson is focussed on expansion in Italy, but will pursue UK and Dutch licences in the future and remains bullish about opportunities in China according to its CEO Magnus Silfverberg.
The Swedish operator revealed last week that 85% of its B2C revenues originate from Nordic markets, and Silfverberg told eGaming Review the company will look beyond that region for future growth and remains bullish about its Chinese operations.
“I think there are lots of opportunities out there, and we are definitely working and growing in our markets as well,” Silfverberg said. “[The UK] and the Dutch one are markets we are looking into. We have quite a small business in the UK already, but we will definitely look into it,” he added.
Betsson entered the Italian market last July, but Silfverberg has since admitted that gaining a foothold there has been tougher than first thought. While the operator has demonstrated growth, it continues to struggle against local Italian brands and it has now shifting its marketing strategy from TV to digital streams.
“At the beginning we did quite a massive TV campaign to set down the brand, now we’ve shifted the focus towards more online marketing where we want to make sure that we can acquire customers at a lower cost than they actually provide to customer value,” Silfverberg said.
Betsson is less confident of gaining a foothold in the Chinese market, with uncertainty still surrounding the issue of egaming licences.
The company stated it was hopeful of receiving a Chinese licence within 18 months last October, but there has been no regulatory movement this year. Silfverberg admitted that Betsson has no timetable for China opening its online market.
He does however remain bullish of Betsson’s prospects in the Asian country, citing its potential to become a key element of the business moving forward.
“The partnership we have where we provide technology solutions to the Chinese partner, if they succeed in becoming one of the biggest lottery and betting brands in China in the future “ which is their ambition “ then it will become a very big part of our business for sure,” he added.