Sportech gears up to obtain betting license in Connecticut

The UK-based gambling and entertainment company Sportech is focusing to obtain sports betting license in the US state of Connecticut. The state is expected to legalise sports betting after the recent changes in betting legislation in the country. The company is pinning its hopes of reversing the mediocre first half performance through a strong start in the USA.

For the record, the company recorded a loss for the first six months. Its pretax loss of GBP602,000 compared with a GBP320,000 pretax loss recorded a year prior. Revenue dipped to GBP31.6 million from GBP33.5 million a year ago.

First half operating loss totalled GBP655,000, compared with an operating profit of GBP708,000.

The widened loss and revenue drop was attributed to absence of gains for currency movements. In the first half of 2017, the company recorded GBP2.3 million gains from exchange rate movements.

The company said it is working “proactively” with constituencies in Connecticut to secure the right to conduct sports betting and become a licensed operator in the state.

“The May 2018 US Supreme Court decision that effectively permitted US states to enact legislation to license and regulate sports betting was very exciting for Sportech,” Chief Executive Officer Andrew Gaughan said.

He added: “In Connecticut, we believe that we will have a strong direct-to-consumer sports betting offering for our brick-and-mortar and web mobile betting services. We also believe that we are very well positioned to offer a competitive integrated sports and race betting solution in other US states.”

Looking ahead, Sportech said it expects further improvements in its Venues unit after adding food and beverages. Meanwhile, one-time sales revenues are expected to be “lower” as the Racing & Digital market in the US shifts from one-time sales contracts to long-term service-based contracts.

Source: 5star.media