Bwin.ru to launch mid-November

GVC Holdings’ online sports betting brand Bwin is pushing ahead with a mid-November launch in Russia, paving the way for other foreign brands to enter the market.

The platform, a partnership between GVC and Russian billionaire investor Alexander Mamut, has already gone live for preliminary registrations and is giving away a shared bonus pot of RUB100m (£1.31m/€1.47m) to all new sign-ups.

Mamut owns the company holding the licence, Digital Betting LLC, as well as online technology firm Rambler & Co.

Bwin is the first foreign operator to be handed a licence since the jurisdiction began regulating sports betting two years ago.

A spokesman for the new venture described it as a “highly competitive market” with around 10 major Russian bookmakers already operating, including Liga Stavok, Fonbet, and 1xstavka.

“Our entry into the Russian market is thought to be a pioneering movement – we are the first foreign brand to operate in the market ever – and will pave the way for the entrance of other major betting sites. We understand many players still bet offline due to there being plenty of betting shops. We did a lot of research to prepare for the launch and are ready to meet the expectations of those who believed and continue to believe in us.” – added the spokesman.

Mamut is reported to have pledged up to €10m ($11.2m/£8.6m) per year over the next three years to develop the Bwin.ru brand.

On top of providing a cash injection, Mamut’s news aggregation site Rambler & Co and online gambling affiliate Championat will be the primary drivers of traffic to the site, confirmed the spokesman.

The spokesman added that Rambler & Co alone had around 42 million active monthly users.