1st Aug 2006 07:04
William Hill PLC01 August 2006 William Hill PLC (UK) and Codere S.A. (Spain) to set up sports betting JV. The UK bookmaker William Hill and the Spanish gaming group Codere have todayannounced the signing of a memorandum of understanding. The parties plan tocreate a joint venture to become a leader in sports betting in Spain, onceregulation is passed to license sports betting providers based in that country. Spain is one of the largest gambling markets in Europe, but to date licenceshave not been available to private companies to operate sports bettingbusinesses inside the country. Growth of the number of Internet operatorstargeting the country is evidence that there is strong demand for theseservices, and this has led the regional governments within Spain to move towardsregulating the market. Several of Spain's regions are now developing legislationto regulate sports betting and introduce a licensing regime, allowing theestablishment of land-based businesses. It is widely anticipated that the firstof these regions will license sports betting in the next few months. The proposed joint venture would bring together William Hill's bookmakingexpertise and Codere's leadership position in gaming businesses within Spain,creating a powerful proposition for the Spanish market. Commenting on the proposals, David Harding, Chief Executive of William Hill,said: "We are very excited about this opportunity. The combination of William Hill'sbookmaking expertise and Codere's leadership position in gaming in theSpanish-speaking world creates a very strong team to take advantage of sportsbetting regulation in Spain. We hope that as our joint business in Spain grows,Codere's presence in other parts of the world will present the partnership withfurther opportunities." Jose Antonio Martinez Sampedro, Codere's Chief Executive, commented: "Sports betting has been in Spain since the arrival of the Internet. We welcomethe Autonomous regions' moves to regulate it, allowing for the development of amarket where customers can enjoy sports betting safely." Notes to Editors: About William Hill PLC 'Founded in 1934, William Hill PLC is one of the UK's largest bookmakers. Thecompany operates over 2000 betting shops throughout the UK and Ireland. It isthe UK's largest operator of telephone betting services, and is one of theleading Internet operators globally. http://www.williamhillplc.co.uk/ About Codere S.A. Codere is a Spanish company dedicated to the private gaming sector in Europe andLatin America. With more than 25 years experience, it operates over 40,000 slotmachines, 96 bingo halls, 42 sports betting outlets, 2 racetracks and 6 Casinosin Spain, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Uruguay. http://www.codere.com/ Enquiries: Codere S.A.Lily Arteaga Tel: +34 91 440 2819 William HillBrunswick Group Tel: +44 20 7404 5959 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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