GVC chief primes business for B2B drive
Kenny Alexander tells eGR that the operator has the infrastructure in place to build on the East Pioneer deal with further agreements.
GVC is well-placed to continue its expansion into B2B after the new arm of the AIM-listed operator began 2012 strongly, chief executive Kenny Alexander revealed to eGaming Review.
The B2B arm was set up with November’s agreement to provide trading and back office support services to East Pioneer Corporation, the company which purchased Sportingbet’s Turkish-facing Superbahis business the same month, and generated 56.1k in daily revenues according to GVC’s first-quarter trading update.
Alexander (pictured) said: “We’re able now to look at other B2B deals now that we’ve got the infrastructure and the people and the platforms set up, we may well do other deals in the coming years.
However he added that “We’re not looking at anything in particular at the moment – if certain deals come along we could execute them, but we’re not talking actively to anyone.”
The CEO also commented on the disposal of the GVC’s Italian-facing Betaland business to the unrelated Maltese company “New GVC Ltd”, explaining that it will be completed once approval is granted by regulators in the European Union Country.
“The decision was made that Betaland, though it generated a lot of NGR, its revenues had come down and we felt that the prospects for that business in terms of cash generation were fairly limited in the coming years,” explained Alexander.
“Therefore we decided to exit the market and focus our attention on growth parts of the business such as Brazil, and cash-generating parts of the business namely Germany and our B2B business,” he added.
He cited the continued growth of Betboo, the B2C brand focusing on the South American and particularly the Brazilian market, saying: “I think we’re in good shape, Brazil an exciting market and we’re probably one of the market leaders and one of the top three brands, and our aim is very much to remain in the top three over the next four years and get as close to being the number one brand as we can.”
Meanwhile the operator seems primed to apply for a licence in the German territory of Schleswig-Holstein, where some 86 operators have expressed an interest in securing the relevant regulatory approval when the time comes.
The CasinoClub brand, driven largely by VIP customers, was described by Alexander as “resilient” and “A very profitable business,” having contributed to a 6% year-on-year increase in B2C revenues according to the operator’s results for the 2011 financial year.
“We are very keen to get proper regulation in Germany offering all products with a sensible level of taxation, and if there’s any opportunity to get a licence [where both those things are possible] then we’re going to go for it,” said the CEO.