Poll results: Sky Bet primed for successful European expansion
Over half of respondents to this week's eGR poll believe the Alderney-licensed firm will carve out significant market share in Italy
Sky Betting and Gaming is in a strong position to succeed as a pan-European operator when the Leeds-based firm finally launches in Italy, according to a majority of respondents to this week’s eGaming Review poll.
Broadcasting giant and Sky Bet parent company BskyB last week announced deals to acquire 21st Century Fox’s 100% interest in Sky Italia and 57.4% stake in Sky Deutschland for approximately £5.3m, increasing the likelihood of Sky Bet launching in both the Italian and German online gambling markets.
Sky Bet managing director Richard Flint told eGR that although immediate plans remained the same after receiving its Italian licence two years ago, the BSkyB deals would “certainly help” speed up a launch in these markets.
“The fact that we are now one entity will certainly help our Italian launch and will help move things along in Germany as well,” Flint said.
With this in mind, this week we asked eGR readers whether Sky Bet could ever succeed as a pan-European operator?
According to over half of respondents (54%), Sky Bet is on course to gain significant market share when the company finally launches in the Italian market, while 17% said it will gain market share but will fail to challenge the operators already established in the market.
However, 29% of eGR readers believe Sky Bet will fail to replicate its success in the UK and Ireland where nearly 100% of its revenues are believed to be derived from.
The news of the BSkyB deals preceded the announcement of another strong year for Sky Bet after the Alderney-licensed operator recorded a 19% year-on-year increase in full-year revenues to £183m as its investment in mobile led to a 29% increase in users from the channel.