One of the largest UK online gambling operators, GVC Holdings, revealed that its flagship betting brand Bwin is making preparations to launch a web-based betting platform in Russia. In order for the launch to be carried out, the company has joined forces with the local businessman Alexander Mamut.
The upcoming release was officially confirmed by the GVC Holdings’ spokesman Jay Dossetter, as well as by the Chief Executive Officer of Digital Betting Dmitry Sergeyev. It is exactly the latter who is to take the position of CEO at Bwin Russia.
According to local media reports, the Russian billionaire Mamut was aimed at launching a sports betting platform under the Bwin brand in collaboration with GVC Holdings. The new sports betting website is planned to be officially rolled out in a few months along with a new mobile betting application.
If the online betting platform release is carried out, this would mark the first legal entry of a major international bookmaker into the relatively new Russian sports betting market. The release is to be also initiated at a time when the Russian Government has imposed a series of severe measures to restrict global gambling websites. As a result of the crackdown, more than 100 domains related to GVC Holdings’ Bwin were blacklisted in the country as part of the measures undertaken by local competent authorities.
The Russian launch of the Bwin.ru website and the mobile betting application would be carried out in collaboration with Digital Betting LLC, a Mamut-controlled bookmaker which operates in the country, and Rambler & Co, an online technology firm specialising in providing online and mobile advertising services that also operates under the umbrella of Mamut’s A&NN Investments.
After the launch, the new Russian Bwin platform will probably feature a large number of promotions thanks to the media outlets of Rambler & Co.
Despite the fact that a spokesperson of the company has already confirmed the partnership, GVC Holdings needs to still work on its Russian market expansion strategy. Currently, the local domain of the Bwin sports betting platform features a registration page only in order to simply inform Russian customers when it will officially start to accept wagers.
On the other hand, Digital Betting does not have retail presence in Russia to date. It received an operating license in the country in 2016, but the brand’s operations has not been officially released until now. It has been seeking to partner a reputable and recognisable sports betting brand such as GVC’s Bwin in order to boost its popularity across the emerging Russin sports betting market.
According to media reports, the Russian investor Alexander Mamut is to spend on the project up to €10 million on an annual basis, and will get a portion of the generated profits in return. The project would probably reach a break-even point in three years.
- Author
Olivia Cole
