Playtech Signs Mexican SSBT Deal with Corporacion Caliente

Playtech BGT Sports (PBS) signed a deal this week with Corporacion Caliente, so Playtech soon will be expanded into Mexico’s gaming sector. Playtech will install self-service betting terminals (SSBT) in Corporacion Caliente establishments throughout Mexico.

SSBTs are a growing part of the Mexican gambling industry. The gaming machines look a lot like electronic roulette machines, but they do not have electronic table games. Instead, SSBTs allow for a wide range of sports betting options.

This is not the first time Corporacion Caliente and Playtech have teamed up. In 2014, Playtech lent casino systems to the subsidiary of Codere, which itself is a Spanish gaming company.

In the past couple of years, Grupo Codere has signed several corporate deals to place SSBT gaming machines in Corporacion Caliente sites in Mexico.

Corporacion Caliente Expansion

Codere signed a similar deal with Sweden’s Net Entertainment last year for gaming machine support. Gaming analysts expect the deals with Playtech and NetEnt to be the first signs of a massive expansion of SSBTs in Corporacion Caliente’s gaming venues.

Victor De La Fuente, who serves as the business development director for Corporacion Caliente, said to reporters, “This is an exciting moment for Corporación Caliente as we further develop the experience we offer those who visit our casinos…We are continually looking for ways to improve customer engagement and this represents the latest development as part of this strategy.”

Playtech-Coporacion Caliente Deal

Armin Sageder, the CEO of Playtech BGT Sports, agreed with De La Fuente. Sageder said that the expansion of the deal between PBS and Corporacion Caliente means the two companies have “gone from strength to strength” — meaning their business continues to grow.

Sageder said of the Mexican gambling market, “The extension of our relationship into retail reflects the success we have achieved to date and the opportunities we both see lying ahead. Mexico is a fast-growing and regulated market and a strategically important territory for Playtech.”

Mexico’s Gaming Industry

Because Mexico’s economy is dwarfed by that of its neighbor to the north, the United States, outside observers might get the idea Mexico’s economy is not that large. In fact, Mexico’s nominal GDP is 15th in the world, barely behind countries like Spain and Australia.

The Mexican gaming sector therefore has a ton of room to grow. Mexico has casino-resorts on both coastlines, with tourist destinations like Cancun and Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean and Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and Acapulco on the Pacific Coast.

What Are Self-Service Betting Terminals (SSBTs)?

Self-service betting terminals or SSBTs contain a wide range of sports betting options. Mexican sports bettors can walk into a betting shop and make wagers on a variety of favorite sports, including futbol (Association football), baseball, and boxing.

Mexicans enjoy a variety of sports, including games not widely associated with Mexico: Rugby Union, American football, polo, and racquetball. Given the seasonal nature of sports betting, SSBTs give bettors a range of money-line bets, prop bets, and live/in-play bets.

About Playtech

Playtech was one of the first online gambling software development companies. Founded in 1999 by Estonia-born Teddy Sagi, Playtech quickly expanded in the international online gambling industry.

Playtech supplies software to some of the biggest names in land-based and online gambling, including William Hill, Ladbrokes, and Bet365. These days, Teddy Sagi is a minority shareholder (and billionaire), while Mor Weizer is the CEO of Playtech.

About Grupo Codere

Grupo Codere is a Spanish multinational corporation founded in 1980 by the Martinex Sampredo family and the Franco brothers in Madrid. Codere owns casinos, racetracks, betting shops, bingo halls, and gaming terminals in 8 different countries: Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Panama, and Mexico.

Codere was listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange on October 19, 2007. The Codere Group has 13,339 exployees worldwide. The Franco brothers also are owners of Recreativos Franco, one of the largest manufacturers of gaming machines in Spain.