SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
With the Danish gambling market continuing momentum after its re-regulation, brands such as LeoVegas’ nye expekt are taking advantage of this expanding space. To boost its visibility, the company entered into a sponsorship agreement with Denmark’s top football league, 3F Superliga, last month.
The potential of the market is apparent. Spillemyndigheden, the Danish Gambling Authority, recently reported that the country’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first half of 2023 came to kr3.4bn (around £396m) – an increase of 5.17% compared to the same period in 2022.
Jacob Schytte, Country Manager of LeoVegas in Denmark, discussed this recent collaboration in terms of its significance in the sportsbook’s expansion plans, as well as the relaunch of the company in the country after a 10-year absence.
What prompted LeoVegas’ decision to relaunch expekt in the country?
Taking nye expekt to Denmark felt like a very natural next step for us: relaunching in the Swedish market was such a great success story – we’re so pleased with how well the brand has been welcomed back by customers! It made absolute sense therefore to relaunch in the Danish market too, where expekt used to be a big player before the re-regulation.
We are confident that we still have some brand presence left with the more mature betting audience that we can leverage in Denmark, and we’re keen to expand our footprint in the Nordics even further.
Can you explain how nye expekt’s engagement with the Danish Superliga will contribute to the brand’s market leadership ambitions?
This will be huge exposure for nye expekt, both on TV and pitchside. The league is such an important part of Danish sports culture and we’re really excited about being part of it.
Our brand presence in the form of a 3D carpet on the pitch plus the TV exposure as a betting partner during the half-time breaks will all make a significant contribution to increasing brand awareness. Also, we wish to send a strong signal to the players that we want this, that we are serious about our commitment and want to be part of the game.
The Danish relaunch followed a successful run in Sweden. What parallels and synergies do you see between the respective markets?
Gambling and sports betting are popular in both markets: both Danish and Swedish customers seem to be truly passionate about casino and sportsbook products, and interact with our products in a similar way. We have proven that launching a new sports betting brand in a highly competitive, regulated market is actually doable and, again, we have been in Denmark before so the situation is similar to our experience in Sweden.
How does nye expekt’s Danish football partnership complement LeoVegas’ deals with Manchester City, Inter Milan and Blackpool?
The Superliga partnership is local and more specific to the Danish market, and it’s also the first time we’ve sponsored a league rather than a team, giving us exposure across all teams who play in the league and a more ‘unbiased’ presence.
The Danes are obviously really interested in the Premier League too – possibly betting more on this league than the Superliga, so with our Manchester City FC partnership we are covering the two main leagues that are of interest to our Danish customers.
Our partnerships with teams like Manchester City FC and Inter Milan FC are more global in their outlook and therefore reach a broader, more diverse audience through local and international exposure.
With safer gambling and player protection under the spotlight in many markets, how will LeoVegas balance these partnerships with responsible gambling commitments?
We always take player protection seriously – it’s a foundational block of everything we do. There are strict guidelines that we follow from the regulations in the markets we are present in, and we work constantly to ensure that we offer the very best but also safest and fully compliant gaming experience to our customers in all the markets where we are present.
Are you at all concerned about the future viability of such arrangements due to increasing clampdowns on advertising and sponsorship across Europe?
It’s true that regulations are becoming more restrictive in some markets, and Denmark seems to be one of those. We will have to see how things pan out in the future, and will adapt accordingly if/ when things change.
