Chapter 1 – Introduction
Government-run entities
Some countries and provinces/territories have their own government-run gaming sites which are a
way of hanging onto some of the revenue lost to other operators whether legally or legally.
Some governments run these sites as a monopoly such as in Norway, Sweden and Finland meaning it
is illegal for citizens of certain markets to gamble on other sites. Danske Spil in Denmark used to have
a monopoly over the Danish market until laws were changed at the start of 2012.
Danske Spil
Media/entertainment brands
Betting and gaming have long been recognised as big opportunities for media companies as
additional products that they can offer their customers (and a way to acquire new customers).
For example in the UK and Ireland, betting and gaming fit right alongside broadcaster BSkyB’s
sports content, both online and onscreen, and is linked with BSkyB’s expertise in technology and its
reputation for innovation.
Sky Bet's aim was not to position itself as the betting partner to Sky Sports for fear of accusations of
bias and corporate-social responsibility issues. Nonetheless the association with the Sky brand
helped. If customers watching Sky Sports or reading skysports.com fancied a bet, they would have a
more integrated experience betting with Sky Bet than with other operators. The brand also enabled
the operator to gain credibility and trust faster than it would have as an independent operator.
In December 2014, BSkyB opted to offload 80% of Sky Bet to private equity group CVC Capital Partners
in a deal worth up to £800m. Under the agreement, Sky was to receive cash of £600m on completion
and further deferred and contingent considerations up to the value of £120m.
At the time of the deal Sky Bet generated the vast majority of its revenues from the UK and
managing director Richard Flint told iGaming Business that the agreement would mean it would
explore international opportunities in countries where Sky had a TV presence such as Italy and
Germany, should regulation enable it for the latter.
Media brands face many challenges and complexities when choosing to launch a digital gaming site.
These include:
Balancing promotion of own operation versus taking advertising from competitors.
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20 Digital Sports Betting