Sportech signs India sports JV with Playwin

UK POOLS OWNER SPORTECH has launched in India, the world’s second most populous country, via a joint venture with Indian gaming brand Playwin to create a multi-platform sports gaming business.

Sportech is the owner of the New Football Pools, which are operated online, via Ladbrokes betting shops, UK newsagents, and a network of home visitor collectors, as well as in the Daily Mirror newspaper after a deal between Sportech and Daily Mirror publisher Trinity Mirror this month and on the websites of The Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Metro newspapers since last year.

Playwin is owned by Pan India Network, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate the Essel Group, and runs the online lottery franchises for the Indian states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Sikkim, as well as offering games online and through its network of 12,000 gaming terminals.

Sportech chief executive Ian Penrose said: “India has a huge population with a long history of being committed sports fans, and Playwin is ideal as a partner as it is already India’s premier gaming operator, and enjoys significant brand strength. This gives Sportech a great partner and platform from which to launch sports-based gaming products into a growing and lucrative marketplace.”

India’s population number almost 1.2 billion people, second only in size to China.

The joint venture is expected to be launched in the Spring, and will feature a suite of prediction and fantasy games initially centred around the India’s most popular sports of cricket, football and Formula One.

The offering will be promoted across Essel’s key media assets, including Indian TV network Zee TV and Indian cable and DTH operators WWIL and DishTV.

Sportech and Playwin will each invest an initial £2m for their 50% stake in the venture to fund its start up costs. The investment, already anticipated in the Sportech’s budget, will be phased over the next three years.