TA L K I N G P O I N T S F E A T U R E
ITALY IS A VERY COMPETITIVE MARKET. ALL THREE OF THE LARGE ITALIAN FIRMS DO A GREAT JOB; BWIN.PARTY ARE THERE, EUROBET ARE THERE SO IT’S COMPETITIVE. BUT WE THINK THE EXCHANGE GI V E S U S TH E R IG H T TO P LAY S O T HAT ’S HOW WE’RE APPROACHING IT
Breon Corcoran, Betfair
Italian ?rms do a great job; bwin.party are there, Eurobet are there so it’s competitive. But we think the exchange gives us the right to play so that’s how we’re approaching it.”
THE AMERICAN PIE
quarter results, such markets accounted for 75% of group revenues, compared to 67% in Q3. Betfair withdrew from Germany, Greece and Cyprus in the last 12 months, but a Greek re-entry could be in the offing after the ?rm applied for a licence to run online gambling operations in the country in an effort to break OPAP’s controversial monopoly. Elsewhere, the dot.country focus lies largely in Italy and Spain, two countries where movement towards a regulated exchange market is picking up pace after slow starts. Of Italy, where exchange regulations were ?nally published in the National Gazette this year, Corcoran says: “It’s taken a long time to get this far, but I hope we will be live this time next year, if not a bit earlier. “Spain has moved more quickly and while I look forward to competing in both markets, I think Italy will be ?rst,” he adds, suggesting Italy’s headstart will mean it beats the dot.es market to the punch. “It’s national liquidity, so we have to take some time to think through that, there’s some technology work and some integration and certi?cation work with the regulators, but there’s a focused team and we’re making progress,” he says. “Italy is a very competitive market. All three of the large
One other interesting move is into the US market, which began in January 2009 with the acquisition of TVG, a television channel and licensed advance deposit wagering (ADW) service. TVG became EBITDA-positive in FY 2013 for the ?rst time since the acquisition and Corcoran sees some growth potential in the business. “We’re going to run the business more efficiently, which I think is already evident, and I think we will be able to grow revenues or even accelerate revenue growth,” Corcoran says. “We are now the exclusive provider of ADW services in NJ and will be for the next four-and-three-quarter years – that’s started well, and there will be other places like that where there will be the opportunity to compete. “The overall industry is in decline there but I think TVG is in a good place. We have the broadcast capability of the TV channel and we’re expecting that business to d V?fW"w&VFW"F???w22vV???( ??RFG2?( ?v^( ?fR&VV?76?6?FVBv?F?6??fW'6F???2&?WB?W?6??vR??6?f?&???B?W?6??vR???Wr?W'6W???Bv^( ?&R?VW??r?W?R????G2?b7GVfb?'WBgV?F?V?F??v?N( ?2???'F?B?2F?BF?REdrw&?W?2??&R&???F&?RF???B?2&VV??BvRW?V7BF?BF?6??F??VR?( ?v?B??W2F?R??fW2???Wr?W'6W?WfV???&R??FW&W7F??r?2F?R&V6V?B?Ww2&WFf?"??&R'F?W&??rv?F???R?bF?Rv&FV?7FF^( ?2"??B?&6VB66???2?G'V???????Vv??rfV?GW&R?VB?bF?R?&?WB?V???r?FW"F??2?V"?D??T??P?#???dT?$U ?6?&6?&?w&VW2F??VfRFG??vW"f?"&WFf? ??# ?TuU5@???2f?'7BF?24T??bF?R???F???7FVBf?&??#0?r??dT?$U ?&WFf?"v?F?G&w2?G2W?6??vR?ffW&??rg&??vW&??????dT?$U ??V?G&VG2?b&VGV?F?6?W2?FR7&?72?V?FW6??B7W7F??W"6W'f?6R7Ff`??RdT%%T%??Tv??r&Wf?Wr6??f?&?2?V?G&VG2?bgW'F?W"&VGV?F?6?W0??"$???&WFf?"7V?&W26V?V7FVB76WG2?b&?VR7V&R&WBf?" *3V??R$???5d26?F?'F?W'2???V?6W2( ?V&?7FvRF?>( ?F?F?R&WFf?"&?fFP??#b??dT?$U ?F?R?W&F?"6??f?&?2?G2W??Bg&??F?Rw&VV?Vv??r?&?W@??#???dT?$U ??W?vW'6?&W?6W27FW?V???&?26??Vbf???6???ff?6W ??2DT4T?$U ?6?&6?&?&W6?Vff?W2??26??'&??v??r??V??f??F??R??????4V??v?B?B?&??G???B???&WFf?"?B5d2V?BF?67W76???2gFW"F?R&V?V7F????bf???&?Bg&??F?R&?fFRWV?G?w&?W ??2?T??Tv??r&Wf?Wr?V&?2?b&WFf?.( ?2?Wr?W'6W?FV?v?F?G'V?????3 ??wwr?Vw&?v???R?6???