In a deal with Greek lottery monopoly, OPAP, Playtech has added an 8,500 square meter (~91,493 sq ft) live dealer casino in Riga, Latvia to its existing live studios in Belguim, Philippines, Romania, and Spain. According to reports, the studio has been built atop the stone walls of Riga’s Old Town or Vecrīga.
OPAP has also partnered with Playtech’s BGT Sports division, Novomatic Lottery Solutions, and Genius Sports Group.
The three new partnerships are part of a €100m ($108 million) investment plan over the next few years, OPAP said.
“Leveraging the latest digital and technology capabilities is one of OPAP’s stated strategic priorities within our 2020 vision,” OPAP Chief Executive Damian Cope said in a Wednesday announcement. “Our board of directors has also approved a significant investment in people, systems, solutions and infrastructure,” Cope added.
In an announcement on the London Stock Exchange yesterday Playtech (LEI code: 21380068TTB6Z9ZEU548) announced that under the agreement, Playtech BGT Sports will supply software and services for a combination of full-sized self-service betting terminals, as well as the recently launched compact terminals, with the initial roll-out of machines starting this year followed by the rollout of an over-the-counter sports-betting solution in 2018. BGT Sports will provide a fully-managed service to OPAP including trading and over 25,000 in-play markets.
Dr. Armin Sageder, Chief Executive Officer of Playtech BGT Sports, said: “The agreement with OPAP is a milestone for Playtech BGT Sports and we are proud to be supplying such an important lottery supplier with our solutions. There are multiple opportunities to further develop our relationship as OPAP looks to enhance its digital retail offering and we believe today’s agreement marks the start of a long and successful relationship.”
The new live dealer studio is expected to serve most of Playtech’s European live casino needs.
Playtech was founded in 1999 and has over 5,000 employees in 13 countries with more than 130 gaming licenses globally. Their business intelligence-driven gambling software offering includes casino, live casino, bingo, poker and sports betting.