Betsson
Encyclopedia
Betsson Malta Ltd. is an online gambling
company that offers online poker
, online casino
, scratch cards, exchange betting and sports betting
. The company is headquartered in Malta
and owned by the OMX
listed public company Betsson AB.
. Expansion was brisk, with sites for Finland
and Germany
added together with an online casino
. In 2004, Betsson grew to include Norway
and the Czech Republic
and in July 2004, Betsson Poker
was launched in collaboration with partner Ongame.
In March 2005, Betsson reached the 100,000 registered customers milestone. The company grew further by launching sites in Turkey
, Iceland
and Denmark
. In April 2005, Betsson became a fully owned subsidiary company of Cherry Företagen AB, quoted on the Swedish stock exchange. The same year marked the launch of the sports betting
and mobile poker
products, a Java applet making it possible to play poker on their mobile phone against the same players and in the same network as on the site.
By January 2006, Betsson, including the company’s online casinos had reached more than 400,000 registered customers and the decision was made to move the main headquarters from London to Malta
.. Betsson launched their fifth main product, Scratch Card Trio, and Turkish Poker in 2006. The Betsson site was chosen as the best sports and betting website by the magazine Internetworld
.
In March 2007 Betsson launched online bingo
on the Swedish market and live betting in the Sportsbook
. A few months later in May 2007, Betsson opened sites in France
, followed by Greece
, Italy
and Spain
. A popular customer loyalty programme called Betsson Points was also launched.
Financial betting
with floating odds was launched in October 2007 under the brand name Betsson Trader. Online games followed in December 2007 further expanding the product portfolio to 9 products.
The geographic expansion continued in 2008 and in January Betsson entered South America, launching its first South American site in Peru
while launching new sites in Serbia
and the Netherlands
. Betsson reached the 1,000,000 registered clients milestone in 2008.
Betsson branched out to a bricks and mortar presence in May 2008, when it opened a betting shop in Stockholm, challenging the Swedish state gambling monopoly claiming support from the laws of the European Union.
On August 19, 2011 Betsson announced a three-year partnership with Premier League giants Arsenal
providing both online and in-stadia betting services for Arsenal fans.
Online gambling
Online gambling, also known as Internet gambling and iGambling, is a general term for gambling using the Internet.-Online poker:Online poker tables commonly offer Texas hold 'em, Omaha, Seven-card stud, razz, HORSE and other game types in both tournament and ring game structures...
company that offers online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
, online casino
Online casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet....
, scratch cards, exchange betting and sports betting
Sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome.-United States of America:Aside from simple wagers such as betting a friend that one's favorite baseball team will win its division or buying a football "square" for the Super Bowl, sports betting is...
. The company is headquartered in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and owned by the OMX
OMX
OMX AB is a Swedish-Finnish financial services company, formed in 2003 through a merger between OM AB and HEX plc and is now a part of the NASDAQ OMX Group since February 2008.It has two divisions, OMX Exchanges, which operates eight stock exchanges mainly in the Nordic and Baltic...
listed public company Betsson AB.
History
Betsson was founded by Fredrik Sidfalk, Henrik Bergquist and Anders Holmgren, in the beginning of 2001, and obtained an official bookmaker license in London in April 2002. The Betsson site was launched in May 2002 in English and Swedish. One month later, Betsson began offering live betting on its betting exchangeBetting exchange
A betting exchange is an entity which provides "trading" facilities for retail or bookmaker customers to buy and sell contracts. Contracts are structured as binary options. Some betting exchanges may also offer CFD products...
. Expansion was brisk, with sites for Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
added together with an online casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
. In 2004, Betsson grew to include Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and in July 2004, Betsson Poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
was launched in collaboration with partner Ongame.
In March 2005, Betsson reached the 100,000 registered customers milestone. The company grew further by launching sites in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. In April 2005, Betsson became a fully owned subsidiary company of Cherry Företagen AB, quoted on the Swedish stock exchange. The same year marked the launch of the sports betting
Sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome.-United States of America:Aside from simple wagers such as betting a friend that one's favorite baseball team will win its division or buying a football "square" for the Super Bowl, sports betting is...
and mobile poker
Mobile gambling
Mobile gambling refers to playing games of chance or skill for money by using a remote device such as a tablet computer, smartphone or a mobile phone with a wireless internet connection...
products, a Java applet making it possible to play poker on their mobile phone against the same players and in the same network as on the site.
By January 2006, Betsson, including the company’s online casinos had reached more than 400,000 registered customers and the decision was made to move the main headquarters from London to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.. Betsson launched their fifth main product, Scratch Card Trio, and Turkish Poker in 2006. The Betsson site was chosen as the best sports and betting website by the magazine Internetworld
Internetworld
Internetworld is a Swedish magazine that focuses on the Internet and business surrounding it. It is published by IDG. Internetworld has since 1997 annually ranked Sweden's 100 best websites, this list is the most respected website ranking in Sweden....
.
In March 2007 Betsson launched online bingo
Online bingo
Online bingo is the game of bingo played on the Internet. It is estimated that the global gross gaming yield of bingo was US$500 million in 2006, and it is forecasted to grow to $1,000 million by 2010....
on the Swedish market and live betting in the Sportsbook
Sportsbook
In the United States a sportsbook or a race and sports book is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing, boxing, and mixed martial arts. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of...
. A few months later in May 2007, Betsson opened sites in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, followed by Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. A popular customer loyalty programme called Betsson Points was also launched.
Financial betting
Financial betting
Financial betting refers to the wagering on the price development of a financial instrument at some later date relative to the current price or level of the instrument, against odds offered by a bookmaker...
with floating odds was launched in October 2007 under the brand name Betsson Trader. Online games followed in December 2007 further expanding the product portfolio to 9 products.
The geographic expansion continued in 2008 and in January Betsson entered South America, launching its first South American site in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
while launching new sites in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Betsson reached the 1,000,000 registered clients milestone in 2008.
Betsson branched out to a bricks and mortar presence in May 2008, when it opened a betting shop in Stockholm, challenging the Swedish state gambling monopoly claiming support from the laws of the European Union.
On August 19, 2011 Betsson announced a three-year partnership with Premier League giants Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
providing both online and in-stadia betting services for Arsenal fans.