Ladbrokes To Help With Chinese Sports Lottery
The world’s largest bookmaker Ladbrokes announced that it will be acting as a consultant with the Chinese government. They will be involved primarily at this point with China’s very first sports lottery betting pool. These pools allow betting on single soccer matches and are available through mainland shops that have opened up in the Beijing Province. New betting shops are opening daily in the Beijing area, which economically speaking is relatively successful, with a population of over 15 million people.
Members of Ladbrokes senior management team have been in China for months now helping with sales, marketing and daily operations. They have also been very involved with structuring the various betting options (i.e. total goals and correct score). The main component of the Chinese betting venture is the China Sports Lottery, which is a 14-match soccer accumulator that thus far has been extremely popular.
This is not the first business arrangement between Ladbrokes and China. In the past lottery officials have been brought to the UK for training programs. This is also a smart move by both nations. In the UK the government has played a strong role in establishing a stable betting industry. Due to this commitment to regulation, UK companies are the perfect fit to act as consultants in China. Therefore in theory China is learning from the best.
Ladbrokes has also made it clear that it has international aspirations, so in that sense this makes financial sense. China has the potential to become on of the world’s biggest betting markets and this consultation agreement, no matter how small has the potential to lead to much bigger things.
Without a doubt, this agreement is a good sign for sports bettors in China and the gaming community in general. However, China’s potential is something that all sectors of business have been investing in heavily. Often dollar signs cloud sound judgement when it comes to this sleeping economic giant. Many companies encounter problems with government officials, regulations and undelivered promises. Ladbrokes should be wary and hopefully government organizations can keep their hands clean. If the legitimacy the UK government has implemented on this industry is extended to China, this partnership could prove to be a tremendous force in the gaming world.
Article by Angela Ford