British bookmaker William Hill is now live in Colombia’s regulated online gambling market, following the recent acquisition of a majority stake in local operator Alfabet S.A.S.
The major company launched earlier this week the WilliamHill.co site to make Colombia the ninth regulated market it is active in.
News about the legacy bookmaker’s plans to enter the Colombian digital gambling space first emerged in late 2020 when it announced that it would purchase a majority stake in Alfabet.
The Colombian company holds a license for the provision of Internet-based gambling services from the local gambling regulator, Coljuegos. It entered the Colombian space in 2018, or just shortly after its reorganization.
Alfabet has been running the BetAlfa.co brand since obtaining the necessary regulatory approval three years ago. William Hill has been able to enter the Colombian market just a few months after the acquisition of the majority Alfabet stake by rebranding BetAlfa.co as WilliamHill.co.
The newly launched brand is set to support the British operator’s strategy to deliver growth through international expansion. As mentioned above, this recent launch marks the ninth market where William Hill is available to local online gamblers.
In addition, Colombia has become the first Latin American market where the major company is active in as it eyes expansion in that lucrative region.
A Very Competitive Product and Safe Player Experience
Commenting on entering Colombia, William Hill CEO Ulrik Bengtsson said that they are thrilled to see their new .co site launched within such a short timeframe and that this launch includes the full integration of Alfabet’s team into their international business hub in Malta.
The executive further noted that they are delighted to have the Colombian firm’s team join their international team and are excited by the “opportunity to deliver a very competitive product and safe player experience under the William Hill brand in Colombia.”
It should be noted that just a day after reports about the British gambling powerhouse’s acquisition of an Alfabet stake, it also announced that online sports betting solutions provider BtoBet would power its Colombian debut.
BtoBet, which Aspire Global acquired in September 2020 in a €20 million deal, boasts a strong presence in Colombia and its wagering technology is utilized by many locally licensed operators. Under the terms of its partnership with William Hill, the provider provided its operator partner with access to its player account management (PAM) solution and platform as well as with its innovative sportsbook solution.
William Hill’s Colombian operation will be among the operator’s non-US assets that its new owner – Caesars Entertainment – would sell. The US casino operator purchased the bookmaker last month and is looking to offload its non-core UK and international operations to better focus on growing its US business.
Source: William Hill opens for business in Colombia, Cision, May 25, 2021