BETSSON EXITS OPERATIONAL SCENE IN TURKEY
Posted on 12.24.10 By Lenny S : Malta company buys Swedish operator's regional database for GBP1.6 million
Realm Entertainment, a Malta-based company, has signed a GBP1.6 million deal with Swedish online gambling firm Betsson which secures the Betsson Turkish database, along with a five year business-to-business deal providing a complete online gambling operation.
Realm has applied for a Malta (LGA) online gambling licence to operate the enterprise, which will be offered in Turkish and several European languages and is to feature poker, casino and sports betting services.
The agreement sees Betsson bow out of the difficult Turkish market as an operator, although it will remain, in the words of a senior company executive, ‘active on the technical side of things' in supporting its client.
The agreement represents the first client to sign up for the new platform developed by Betsson b2b subsidiary Business Solutions.
Commenting that the agreement with Realm laid the foundations for expanded business with other clients, Pontus Lindwall, Betsson CEO said: "Once we get this up and running it will be a good showcase for other markets.”
The combative Swedish operator has had a busy week, again facing the wrath of the Swedish Gaming Board by re-opening its Shoppsen betting shop in the latest episode of an ongoing argument with the authorities. Located in Stockhol, the shop has opened and closed twice since 2008, with the company claiming that its recalcitrance is simply “a statement in the debate about free movement in the European Union.”
Lindwall said this week that his company is licensed within the EU in Malta, and it was therefore obvious that the services it offered were regulated and legal “It is obvious that the gaming we offer from Malta is legal, making it legal for any Swedish person to take part.
"But the courts say that it’s illegal for us to inform them about this,” he protested. “Since it is legal to offer gaming services to Betsson's customers, we will continue fighting for the Swedish consumer’s right to a free choice of games.”
