Poll results: B2B deals the best route into Russia

A B2B deal is the best route into the Russian sportsbook market, according to an overwhelming majority of respondents to this week’s poll.

Almost 87% of voters agreed that GVC’s route into the market via local partnerships was a savvy strategy to pursue.

The operator struck a B2B licensing deal with a major Russian media company Rambler&Co and local operator Digital Betting, which holds one of the few online betting licences in Russia.

The deal will see GVC provide the bwin brand, platform and services, while Rambler and Digital provide the licence and oversee the marketing.

The ability to advertise sportsbook to Russian customers may see other foreign operators follow the same route as GVC, with Russian authorities also cracking down on grey operators through IP and payments blocking.

Of course, some operators are still making an excellent business from the Russian .com market and may not want to share their revenues with local partners for a more straightforward regulatory ride.

But that option seems to be an unpopular one, with just around 13% of voters agreeing that B2B partnerships were not the way to go.