SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Colbet is preparing to launch its live casino offering in the Colombian gaming market, but anticipates that sports betting will remain the dominant vertical across its wider operations.
Speaking to local news outlet La Republica, Santiago Melo, the General Director of the operator, anticipated that the sports betting vertical will continue to contribute around 80 per cent of total group-wide revenue.
Highlighting this year’s FIFA World Cup as a major compliment to Colbet’s sports wagering operations, Melo also identified football, tennis and basketball as popular betting markets, saying: “Football is still the most popular sport, it’s led by passion and it’s what’s going to help us once the Liga Colombiana returns to activity.”
However, he also predicted that the live casino product will increase its claim to 20% thanks to the new launch, with the preraptions taking place since Colombian national regulator Coljuegos gave approval in 2020.
The company is also hopefully that by expanding its gaming offering – one of the main objectives of its growth strategy – it has increased its number of games from 25, something the Director considered unattractive for the market, to 400 in the last few months.
Additionally, Colbet is moving forward with its rebranding as Betsson, after the Nasdaq Stockholm-listed international betting and gaming group acquired a 70% stake in the Colombian company in July 2020.
Following the acquisition, Betsson migrated the firm’s operations to its own platform with the aim to “provide the local market with a betting house and casino with cutting-edge technology and a wide range of payment solutions”.
“According to Coljuegos’ numbers, casinos’ growth levels are above 100%, which is why it’s very important for us to compete in the market,” Melo remarked.
“On the other hand, last year was a transition year. We recruited a new commercial team, changed platforms, and we have one last step to completely renew by the first quarter of the year, we will change our name from Colbet to Betsson, so that it becomes part of the international structure of the company.”
Colbet anticipates that the rebrand will enhance its popularity with Colombian bettors, in line with its goal to become one of the top three operators in the country. Since launching as Colombia’s fourth licence holder in 2017, Colbet has become the eighth most popular betting brand in the country.
