NetEnt looks to Spain for growth
B2B supplier to apply for Spanish licence while focus sharpens on North American opportunities and deal with Rational Group
NetEnt chief executive Per Eriksson says the casino games and system supplier is preparing to enter the Spanish market as it seeks to take advantage of slots regulation in the country.
Speaking to eGaming Review, Eriksson said the company was looking into securing a local to the Spanish regulator following the announcement slots would finally be made available to licensed sites within the next few months.
“We are currently looking into the application process for Spain as slots will be included at the end of the year, which is great for us as we don’t have any traffic coming from Spain right now,” Eriksson said.
NetEnt currently has deals in place with a number of leading Spain-facing operators such as bwin.party and 888, however, Eriksson said he also expected to agree additional partnerships on entering the market.
“There will be new operators as well but through current clients is the easiest and most convenient way to first enter,” he said.
Following its Q2 results, which showed both profits and revenues had grown by roughly a third, the supplier announced its intention to enter the US and Eriksson told eGR it had started preparations for a New Jersey permit.
“We have started the [licensing] process and we expect to be finished first-half of next year and launch in H2 2015 “ it is a long process and there are a lot of things to do,” Eriksson said.
“[Entering New Jersey with current partners] could be a good solution “ it is easier when you have existing relationships but we are also having discussions with more or less every operator there at present because our content is quite advanced,” he added.
One of those current partners include PokerStars’ parent company Rational Group and as PokerStars’ finalises plans to expand into casino, Eriksson said the poker giant would “absolutely be a big opportunity” for NetEnt both in the US and Europe.
Eriksson said the supplier was also looking at opportunities in Canada through state lotteries via its exclusive partnership with GTECH, which was signed late last year.