Almost two years ago, Carousel Group, then an iGaming startup, announced the entry of two new sites to help it gain a foothold in the market. Sportsbetting.com and racebook.com were introduced to the gambling industry and were to be backed by a license by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) to serve customers in Europe and Latin America. The company announced via a blog post on its website a few days ago that it has secured a B2C license from the MGA, which is expected to allow for greater growth, especially in the US sports gambling market.
The sportsbetting.com website made its way into Colorado this past September, perfectly timed to take advantage of the state’s new gambling rules just approved earlier this month. That entry was made possible by a license by the Colorado Division of Gaming, and its presence in the state, as well as the new MGA license, are expected to give Carousel better chances for continued expansion in the US and Canada. The company already has its eyes on four other states in the US and, with more than half of the states expected to have legalized sports gambling within three years, that number could potentially climb.
Daniel Graetzer, Carousel’s CEO, says, “We’re thrilled about our U.S. expansion and we look forward to bringing SportsBetting.com to more markets. As our brands become household names in the gaming space, we will make a positive and everlasting impression on the global gaming community.”
Canada has the potential to give the company a serious boost, provided certain laws are changed. In Ontario, the online gaming space is now controlled by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation; however, the provincial government doesn’t want to keep that monopoly in place. It is planning on opening the online gambling market to private entities, as long as the measure is approved, and allow the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to start doling out licenses to operators.
Graetzer, who also said the MGA license will give the company a “tax-efficient structure” for expanding into other European markets, adds, “Receiving our license from the MGA is a major achievement for our company and a catalyst for our future goals. After two years of product development and building our team of more than 100 employees, SportsBetting.com is now live in the U.S. and we could not be more excited to compete. We have built a proprietary and hyper-personalized sportsbook that gives bettors the content they want, timely betting information and market-leading pricing and limits.”
