Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners.
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GVC Holdings' flagship betting brand Bwin has gone live in Russia, and made history at the same time.
What did GVC Holdings do?
The activation of Bwin in Russia is the first entry of a western bookmaker into Russia's licensed online betting market. The brand is a joint venture of GVC Holdings, Russian-licensed bookmaker Digital Betting LLC and online technology firm Rambler & Co.
It was a long time coming.
The launch came over five months after the joint venture plans were first announced. The company originally targeted a September launch.
The company has set a lofty goal.
With the help of Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut, Bwin.ru wants to capture 10% of Russia's online betting market within three years. Mamut also promised to spend up to €10m per year in promoting Bwin's Russian site.
But that doesn't mean other western bookmakers can follow suit.
Russia remains to be a ring-fenced betting-only market. In June, the Roskomnadzor telecom watchdog had blacklisted 118 Bwin-related domains. As of Tuesday, that number had risen to 126.
Takeaway
The easing of entry of western bookmakers in Russia's online gambling market remains to be seen as the government continues its crackdown on illegal operators.
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