During this year’s SBC Summit Barcelona, Sporting Group’s Head of Business Development, William Morris, spoke openly on the betting firm’s ambitions to expand into the US market.
Speaking to SBC’s Content Director, Ted Menmuir, Morris admitted that “everyone has eyes on the US”, whilst he also eyed a potential expansion into Australia in the not-so-distant future.
He stated: “Everyone has eyes on the US – a market which is continuing to mature. We’re looking at how we approach those markets as there’s some very good groundwork done there already.
“Looking further afield, our CEO Andy Wright and myself have some time planned in Australia where we’re doing quite a bit of business already. But again, this is a market where we believe there is a capacity to do much more.”
Sporting Group also underwent a major merger with Française des Jeux (FDJ), along with appointing Wright as its CEO just last year as the company looks to evolve.
“There’s obviously been some supplier consolidation as well. We’re a part of that with the merger of FDJ Gaming Solutions and Sporting Solutions,” commented Morris.
“More of that is probably on the horizon as we see bigger suppliers dealing with bigger operators. We have to remember though that there are opportunities available for everybody.”
Morris also spoke on the opportunities that still lie domestically in the UK and Ireland, as well as the rest of Europe.
“Despite the various regulatory headwinds we’re seeing in different parts of the world, there’s opportunities available on a domestic level, with our UK and Ireland customer base, but also within the wider market too,” said Morris.
“There is an opportunity across continental Europe; I think there’s business to be done in Spain, despite the regulatory headwinds that we’re seeing there. We’re doing quite a bit in Italy at the moment, but we feel there is capacity to do more.”
As well as discussing the changes happening within the current betting landscape, Morris also spoke of his own experiences within the industry and what impact regulatory developments have taken place over the last several years.