Poland’s Ekstraklasa launches betting rights tender

Polish top-tier club football competition Ekstraklasa has launched a tender offering sportstbook operators the opportunity to broadcast live coverage of its matches for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

The Ekstraklasa will carry out the rights sale in association with Polish national pay-television broadcaster NC Plus, which has held rights to the competition since 1995.

This will mark the first time that the Ekstraklasa will allow operators to broadcast its matches via their websites. Bookmakers that hold a licence in Poland will be able to submit bids, with the league aiming to complete the process and sign contracts with chosen partners by April 30.

The initial package of rights will include the option for bookmakers to purchase 296 Ekstraklasa matches on an exclusive basis, while the second batch will allow up to four licensed betting companies to bid for non-exclusive rights. Bookmakers that acquire rights will pay the league 0.3% of the total turnover of bets on Ekstraklasa matches.

“After the initial investigation of this market, there is significant interest in our rights from bookmakers,” Ekstraklasa president Marcin Animucki said. “This is not surprising, because showing Ekstraklasa games is a great way for them to promote, build an advantage on the market and develop business in our country.

“We want to strengthen our cooperation with the bookmaking industry, because it creates opportunities for mutual development.”

While this initial tender only covers domestic rights, a fresh tender will be launched following the conclusion of the 2018-19 season for international broadcast rights. The league’s international betting rights are currently held by the IMG agency. Ekstraklasa also plans to launch a tender for betting partners, with operators able to bid for rights to have their branding shown on TV coverage of league matches and on its digital assets.

There are currently 14 operators with online sports betting licences in Poland, after Totalizator Sportowy’s racing division Traf Zakłady Wzajemne secured a permit in December. Other licensees include Cherry, Fortuna and Betclic Everest.

In 2017, the most recent figures available, Polish sports betting turnover more than doubled to PLZ3.4bn (£674.7m/€790.2m/$893.9m), as detailed in the iGamingBusiness.com's Market Monitor for February.

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