Ladbrokes has signed a deal with the Cirsa Corporation to develop a sports betting business in Spain. Cirsa subsidiary Cirsa Slot has negotiated the deal which will now apply for new betting licences that are currently on offer in Madrid as a result of a new law passed at the end of last year.
The legislation is designed to regulate betting in shops, kiosks, bars, arcades and bingo halls, as well as remote betting , for the first time. It also makes provision for betting in those areas of Spain that have not regulated it before. Christopher Bell Chief Executive of Ladbrokes plc said of the deal, “This represents another major step forward in our international aspirations. In December we opened our first shops in Italy and successfully tendered for new licences. Now we have formed a JV with a market leader in Spain that gives us access to a network of thousands of potential site operators. As soon as regulation allows we are confident that the combination of Ladbrokes' vast experience and expertise in betting and the local knowledge and operational capability of Cirsa will build a strong business in Spain.” Pablo Alcalá, Director of Cirsa Slot commented; “Sports betting is set to become an increasingly mainstream activity in Spain and we believe that this joint venture builds on the strengths of both companies Ladbrokes with over 100 years experience in betting and Cirsa with its massive presence in the Spanish market.” Cirsa Slot currently accounts for almost ten per cent of the Spanish slot machine market, servicing over 15,000 food and beverage outlets with gaming areas and 90 arcades. CIRSA Corporation operates casinos, arcades and bingo halls throughout Spain. The Spanish gambling market is currently valued at around E29bn. This joint venture follows the news that William Hill has signed a deal with Codere, a Spanish gaming company that operates 76 bingo halls across Spain and more than 30,000 slot machines in bars and amusement arcades. Meanwhile, Betbull plc signed a five year joint venture agreement with Grupo Orenes one of the top Spanish leisure and gaming groups, to jointly pursue licensed retail betting opportunities in Spain. Betfred also entered the market and recently signed an agreement with Ekasa, a Basque company, to build and operate new betting shops, to be called Reta - Spanish for “dare”. Initially, most of the betting is expected to be on football matches, especially the premier La Liga. Horse racing exists, but it is far less popular.
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- 30 September - 02 October, 2008
BEGE 2008 - Bulgaria
