Operator looks beyond Europe
Bet365 has been looking at global expansion for some time now after being established as?one of the leaders in online sports betting in Europe. The depth of the company’s offerings is impressive, catering to even the most obscure markets.
Bet365 is looking to follow the example of a number of other European sports betting operators by getting into the North American market. The federal ban on sports betting in the US ended in May 2018. Since then, many states have made the activity legal and dozens more are expected to follow suit in the near future.
There is a lot of opportunity for operators in this burgeoning sector. Bet365 is partnering with the Hard Rock Atlantic City Hotel, which opened on June 27, 2018. Now Bet365 is ready to launch in the Mexico market.
Details of this Mexico launch
The Bet365.mx domain is now live, allowing sports bettors in Mexico to place bets on their favorite sports and markets.
The platform was approved by the Direccion General de Juegos y Sorteos (DGJS), a department in the Ministry of the Interior that regulates the country’s betting and online gaming sectors.
Bet365 will be working alongside Ganador Azteca, a local company and a subsidiary of TV Azteca on this project.? TV Azteca is a massive media group that owns some of the most popular television networks in Mexico. This partnership got a 25-year license agreement from the Ministry of the Interior in 2018.?
Previously, TV Azteca was looking to create their own subsidiary that would work with many different operators. However, the ministry made a change to the agreement which means that there can be only a single partner on this project and chose Bet365 as this sole operator.
Gambling in Mexico
As the Mexico economy has been improving recently, more people have disposable income. The country has the second largest market for gambling in Latin America. Revenues of about $10bn (￡7.9bn) are generated annually by the sector, which is behind only Argentina in Latin America.
In 1947, legislation was passed allowing independent facilities to offer gambling, which opened the doors for domestic and international investors. The new casinos were licensed and pay valuable tax revenues to the state.
Gambling laws?have not been an update?to cater to the online gambling sector. International online gambling operators are acceptable if they partner up with local companies. The popularity of online gambling in Mexico is still low, but there is a lot of upward potential going forward.
Latin America’s gambling market
International gambling companies are giving Latin America a lot of attention. This is a largely untapped market that could hold a lot of potential for operators that get there early.
Bet365 is already looking at the Argentinean market. The company is negotiating with Pasteko, a gambling operator in Argentina. Buenos Aires is legalizing online gambling, allowing offshore companies to apply for licenses. The situation is similar to that in Mexico, where international operators need to team up with a local operator.
Other big markets for gambling in Latin America currently are Chile and Colombia. There are 33 countries with a total population of over 600 million people on the continent, which obviously represents a large potential market.
Tourism and travel have been exploding in the area, increasing by an average of 5.1% each year since 2010. Therefore, gambling tourism is a very real option.?According to an industry report, the combination of illegal and legal gambling activities in the nine largest countries in this region brings in annual revenues of about $150bn (￡118bn).
While there are still some legislative restrictions in place in Latin America, governments will eventually realize the massive benefits their countries can receive by expanding gambling laws.