Gaming Innovation Group Takes Sportnco to Portugal, Spain in New Deals

Posted on: July 1, 2022, 10:44h. 

Last updated on: July 1, 2022, 02:01h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Gaming Innovation Group (GIG) is making the most out of its purchase of sports betting platform provider Sportnco. The B2B iGaming tech company is adding two new partnerships to its growing list, delivering Sportnco to new providers in Portugal and Spain.

Gaming Innovation Group
A drone photo of Gaming Innovation Group’s headquarters. The iGaming B2B company is expanding its network into Portugal and Spain. (Image: Gaming Innovation Group)

GIG completed its Sportnco acquisition this past April at a cost of $56.7 million. Since then, it has sought ways to launch the brand in key markets that would offer substantial returns.

It has now signed a partnership agreement with Caravel Entertainment Limited, best known for its Moosh brand in Portugal, according to a company announcement from today. The agreement means that Caravel will switch from its current technology to GIG for moosh.pt, a sport and casino brand.

The new partnership in Portugal will provide immediate revenue opportunities for Caravel. It will initially be in place for three years but carries the possibility to add additional periods in the end.

The new partnership makes three such deals GIG has in the Portuguese market. It follows an expansion of the market, which grew by 32% last year and isn’t slowing down.

A Regular Fixture in Portugal

Caravel received licenses to operate online sports betting and games of chance in Portugal in 2019. With them, it joined the ranks of 888, The Stars Group, and Betclic Everest Group to become the 12th operator to obtain licenses.

Portugal’s gaming regulator released updated figures for the gaming sector in early June. It reported that, in the last quarter of 2021, online casino wagers increased 17.8% year-on-year to €2.10 billion (US$2.18 billion). Meanwhile, online sports betting increased 26.9% to €377.3 million (US392.39 million).

The quarter saw 77.3% of all online sports bets targeting soccer matches. Basketball was second with 11.5%, and tennis next at 6.6%. The rest of the online bets were spread across other sports.

Land-based gambling is up as well. In the same quarter, revenue increased by 61.3% to €58.1 million (US$60.4 million) compared to the same period in 2020.

GIG Lands in Spain

GiG has also reached an agreement to partner with a new Spanish partner. However, for now, it is keeping the name of the partner a secret. The initial term of the signed agreement is three years. After that, an extension can be granted for another year.

The new partner has an established business in Spain’s gambling industry. However, its operations are mostly land-based. It’s moving into the online space by the end of this year, at which time GIG’s involvement may become evident.

This is GiG’s 13th Spanish client. H2 Gambling Capital reportedly recently that the Spanish online casino market is expanding. It generated €407 million (US$423.44 million) in gross gaming revenue in 2021, which is 13% more than a year earlier.

However, the market slowed down slightly since then. Sports betting dropped in the first quarter, losing 40.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Stakes improved by 10.6%, reaching €3.06 billion (US$3.22 billion), and revenue for the segment was €65.2 million (US$68.6 million).