Sportium enters Andalusian betting market with latest deal

Sportium has entered into a partnership with the Apuesta Hípica y Deportiva Iberia (AHDI), the company that operates Seville's Gran Hipódromo de Andalucía racetrack.

The agreement will establish Sportium as the exclusive betting service provider to AHDI, which also manages pari-mutual betting at the track.

To faciliate the agreement, Sportium, the joint venture between Ladbrokes and CIRSA, will now become the first Spanish operator approved to take legal bets on horse racing events in the Andalusia region.

Racing is considered to be one of the most popular sports for betting in the Spanish market, despite being some way behind the most popular trio of football, tennis and basketball.

“The agreement demonstrate Sportium’s commitment to the equestrian world and turf, and means a significant increase in our offering, something in which we are leaders in the Spanish market,” Sportium chief executive Alberto Eljarrat said.

“We are going to put at the service of Apuesta Mutua Andaluza [the municipal company that owns the track], the Gran Hipódromo de Andalucía and AHDI, our technology and our ability to distribute the external mutual bet, through our network of points of sale, in the whole community.”

The new deal comes after Sportium last month also agreed a deal to become the first partner of French operator PMU in Spain. Through the deal the operator will be able to commingle with PMU's French horse racing pools, further expanding its coverage of racing. Sportium also covers racing in the UK, US and South Africa, as well as France and Spain.