Bethard in talks over US B2B opportunity

Bethard Group is in talks with an unnamed US entity that could lead to the company’s Together Gaming B2B service securing a foothold in the market.

The group’s founder and director, Erik Skarp, told iGamingBusiness.com that the Swedish company currently has no plans to enter the US market with its consumer-facing website, Bethard.com, before the end of next year.

That is in spite of Bethard having signed up Zlatan Ibrahimović as a brand ambassador in March, with the Swedish football legend having a contract to play at LA Galaxy in North America’s increasingly high-profile Major League Soccer until the end of the 2019 season.

However, Skarp revealed that Together Gaming, which was established three years ago as part of the group, could be poised to break into the US.

“We are currently in discussions with an American player for a potential partnership for the US market where we would provide our platform and expand our B2B business, which today is operated under Together Gaming,” Skarp said.

The group, which already had licences to operate Bethard.com in Malta and the UK, added to its portfolio by securing a licence in Denmark last week.

The company confirmed that it is “actively seeking licences in several other markets and expects to have a licensed presence in most key European markets by 2020”.

Bethard has filed a licence application in Sweden ahead of re-regulation coming into force in the company’s home country on New Year’s Day 2019, while a state licence in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein is also in the pipeline.

“Our internal goal is to take at least two to three new licences per year,” Skarp added.

Bethard plans to start welcoming Danish players to its website “within weeks”, although a specific launch date has not been disclosed.