Betsson hopeful of China licence within 18 months
Operator will also invest in Italian slots launch for its StarCasino brand.
Betsson is positioning itself to become one of the first recipients of a Chinese egaming licence, chief executive Magnus Silfverberg revealed in an analyst call this morning.
The operator entered the market in February 2011 through a joint venture with an undisclosed local partner, and while it derives minimal revenues from the jurisdiction it is hoping to ensure it is first in line if and when the licensing process opens in the next 12-18 months, as indicated by Chinese authorities.
Silfverberg said: “Currently there are almost no revenues from China and we do not expect significant revenues over the next year, but in the longer term it is a very interesting opportunity for us.
“We have been told that licences will be coming out in the next year or year-and-a-half, and we are positioning ourselves to get one of those, and doing what we think are the right measures in combination with our partner,” he added.
A number of other operators have made moves in China in recent months, most notably BetVictor, which launched its VC+ sports betting and casino brand last month and intends to launch an Asian-facing mobile offering in the near future.
Meanwhile Betsson is readying itself for what Silfverberg describes as “a major launch campaign” in Italy, where it hopes the newly formed StarCasino brand will be among the first wave of online slots licensees in the first week of December.
“This is a pure casino site and we feel we are very well-positioned [for a licence],” the CEO explained, noting that Italy is now one of four markets in which Betsson is licensed, along with Malta, Denmark and Estonia.
The company was awarded a dot.it licence in February, before agreeing a deal with Intralot in July which sees the Greek business provide the technology for the StarCasino.it pure casino brand.