At the ENADA Spring show in Rimini, Italy, a mostly land-based-gaming orientated event, among the handful of online gaming providers exhibiting was BetConstruct.
Under the leadership of CEO Suren Khachatryan, the company, which was founded in 2003, now powers over 1,500 betting shops worldwide and has more than 40 partners in Europe, Asia and Africa.
As a service provide for both online and land-based gaming companies, BetConstruct offers a platform for sportsbook operation in both fields.
This includes in-play betting on a minimum of 14,000 games per month, around 70 per cent of which are soccer. There are also numerous markets within those games and the company also offers casino games, skill games, such as poker and backgammon, and a live dealer studio.
The purpose of attending the Italian show in March, Khachatryan explained, was to test the water before entering what many are sure will be a lucrative marketplace.
“This is the first time we have exhibited in Italy and it is an opportunity to learn about the market and to understand what the requirements are in terms of the commercial side and the regulatory perspective as well,” he told iNTERGAMINGi.
Although the vast majority of attendees at the event were Italian, it nonetheless attracted visitors from other international markets, he said, making it a strong show for this region.
Khachatryan and his team were meeting with a host of operators and advisors during ENADA to determine how the company can ensure its platform complies with Italy’s regulations. Once that process is completed, he said, the company will begin targeting the Italian marketplace.
Among those showing interest in BetConstruct’s platform were land-based casino and slot operators – Italy has only a handful of fully-fledged casinos, but its AWP and video lottery terminal sectors make it one of the largest gaming machine markets in Europe.
BetConstruct’s development and support services are based in Armenia, where it has around 500 employees, but it also has offices in London and Malta, between which it plans to oversee its move into the Italian market.
“If you look at the EU and its 27 states, Italy is obviously a big market, not only because of the size of the population but also because of the character of the people,” said Khachatryan.
“They seem to like playing and there is a big football culture in this country, which means that people understand the sport and will often bet with the teams that they cheer for. It makes sense that we would like to share in this market as well.”
