Betclic Everest hopeful of Spanish and German licences
Operator hopes to see a return to positive EBITDA by the end of the financial year.
Betclic Everest chief executive Ignacio Martos has outlined his hopes for the operator’s return to positive EBITDA before the end of its financial year, while detailing plans to pursue licences in of Spain and Germany.
Speaking at a press conference in France, the CEO (pictured) “ who replaced Nicolas Béraud last year “ said: “The future is in regulated markets… we will focus on continental Europe.”
The company’s bet-at-home subsidiary is one of 12 companies to have been awarded an operating licence in the German Land of Schleswig-Holstein, but Betclic Everest is confident of being among the candidates to obtain approval both for that brand and for the Betclic brand when the proposed 20 sports betting licences are issued in the EU member state.
Schleswig-Holstein’s ruling party has already announced its intention to abandon its short-lived egaming legislation and fall in line with the remainder of the country, ultimately rendering the existing egaming licences in the jurisdiction obsolete.
iGaming France reports Martos as saying: “The last few months have been all about finding the right balance between technical investments and operating in an efficient manner. We have managed to do that and will be strengthening our brands in all regulated markets.”
In an interview with eGaming Review in June, Martos pledged to turn the company’s fortunes around after a difficult 2011 and re-enter the now-regulated Spanish market, confirming the operator will apply for a Spanish egaming licence next year.
After buying out GigaMedia’s 33.33% stake in Everest Gaming in July, Betclic Everest announced an agreement with Playtech which will see it move the Betclic and Everest brands to the iPoker network in dot.fr and dot.com markets.
If this is extended to dot.es, Betclic Everest will join Betfair and Mediaset Espa̱a Рwhich last week signed their own respective agreements with the software provider Рin strengthening a network which currently comprises the Spanish-facing poker offerings of bet365, William Hill and Poker770.
On top of new regulated markets, the operator also remains confident of reviving its performance in a French market in which many other companies have struggled.
Yesterday’s conference saw Betclic France managing director Marc Guigo make reference to the company’s 40% market share for Euro 2012 football betting, 37.2% for Olympics betting (where more than 19m was wagered in France overall) and 50% for Tour de France betting.
The sports betting market in France has continued to perform well despite the struggles of poker operators in the country. In the recently published second-quarter figures from regulator ARJEL, the vertical saw amounts staked rise by 28% year-on-year and gross gaming revenue rise by 39% compared to the corresponding period in 2011.