Ladbrokes renews OpenBet in UK as Playtech makes inroads in Spain
4th September 2013 9:49 am GMT
Ladbrokes has renewed its UK sportsbook contract with OpenBet while signing a deal with the supplier’s chief rival Playtech in Spain.
Playtech will supply its Geneity sportsbook to Ladbrokes’ Sportium joint venture with Cirsa.
Until now Sportium has been a 600-shop retail operation but the joint venture is being extended online and Playtech has won the contract to supply it with a converged land and online sportsbook.
Ladbrokes and Cirsa had operated their own websites in Spain with OpenBet providing a sportsbook to Ladbrokes. Cirsa just operated a Microgaming-powered casino site. The plan is to bring the two sites together under the Sportium brand, powered by Playtech/Geneity.
In the UK, Ladbrokes has signed a new agreement, which will see OpenBet continue to provide the technology behind Ladbrokes’ online sportsbook and to provide it with games content until 2016.
OpenBet's Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Thompson-Hill, commented: “Over the next three years, we are sure that Ladbrokes’ sportsbook and games products will go from strength to strength, rightfully cementing its place in the online gaming space.”
Ladbrokes is in the midst of overhauling its entire online gaming operation after several years falling behind the rest of the market.
Ladbrokes CEO Richard Glynn said: “We are pleased to extend our long-standing relationship with OpenBet with this agreement, which offers revenue opportunities to both parties and enhances all of Ladbrokes' existing (and future) product and technology partnerships. Ladbrokes has been working with OpenBet since 1998 and this agreement will mean OpenBet will support us in continually enhancing both our sportsbook and games products.”
A company spokesperson declined to comment on the Playtech deal. Ladbrokes launched a Playtech Vegas tab in July to sit alongside its Microgaming casino platform and its OpenBet games tab. The bookmaker also sits on the Microgaming Poker Network.
Sources at Ladbrokes have suggested the plan is to migrate most of the gaming operations to Playtech over the next 12 months. The Sportium move suggests Playtech is also making inroads elsewhere.
Playtech declined to comment.
