Playtech Sports Expands to Mexico
Playtech Sports has already placed self-service betting terminals in many countries including Austria, Germany, Greece, and Spain. They’re now expanding further into the gambling market in Mexico with a brand new deal. It provides the company with a very lucrative market to tap into which has only just started in terms of legalized gambling activities. However, Playtech sees the opportunities that are there as the country experiences continued growth in this market.
The original gambling laws that were created back in 1947 prohibited individuals in Mexico from participating in gambling. There were illegal activities involving gambling that persisted which ranged from cockfighting to horse races. The gambling laws were eventually changed in 2004, allowing individuals to participate in gambling legally. It only extends to real-world casinos at the moment but it opened up a floodgate of investor money coming into the country.
That will include Playtech Sports as they recently signed a deal with the local operator Corporación Caliente. This will allow self-service betting terminals, also referred to as “SSBTs,” to be used all around Mexico. As of mid-to-late July, there had already been SSBTs introduced at a dozen different Corporación Caliente casinos. It’s expected that the deal will feature a good number of Mexican casinos introducing the devices in their establishments in the future.
Playtech BGT Sports CEO Armin Sageder was pleased with the new deal based on the previous success they’ve seen with Caliente. Sageder said they “continue to experience significant growth” thanks to their partnership with Caliente. Sageder also mentioned that Mexico is an important territory for Playtech to be involved with due to it being “fast-growing” and a “regulated market.”
Playtech and Caliente have worked together since 2014. In that arrangement, Playtech was providing systems for Caliente’s casinos. Under the new agreement, sports betting services will be added to what’s available at the casinos thanks to SSBTs.
Victor De La Fuente who is the Business Development Director at Caliente called it “an exciting moment,” for his company. He added that it’s a great addition to their strategy to “improve customer engagement” inside the Caliente casinos.
Playtech Sports has now been in existence since 1999 and is considered one of the leaders when it comes to providing online gambling software. The company is also traded publicly via the London Stock Exchange. With Mexico now added to their territories, it’s likely that Playtech will attempt to gain more global exposure by going into other areas of Europe and Latin America.
