Colt Lightning

What is Colt Lightning?

According to Jennyfer Escobar, Stake’s Peru country manager, Peru is one of the most competitive in Latin America. “In the early stages, competition was largely driven by marketing investment, including advertising, sponsorships etc,” Escobar tells iGB. “Today, product quality, platform performance and the overall user experience are becoming much stronger differentiators.

“Players are more informed, have higher expectations and will switch brands if those expectations aren’t met.”

While Stake entered Peru in 2024, Betsson has been in the market since 2008, forming part of the market’s evolution both pre- and post-regulation. Andrea Rossi serves as the company’s commercial director in both Southern Europe and LatAm.

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Land-based gambling can attract international investment. Cirsa expanded its Marrakech presence last November. Private online betting has no equivalent licensing route.

Cirsa’s own IPO prospectus is blunt about it: “Online gaming only exists for betting, which is operated by a state agency,” it says of Morocco, adding that online casino games “are not allowed”.

The same divide exists in Tunisia and Egypt. Governments there have focused on prohibition and enforcement rather than opening online markets to private operators.

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The acquisition follows another recent French omnichannel agreement that saw Tipico and Betclic owner Banijay Entertainment’s gaming arm acquire JOA’s network of 33 regional casinos across France. 

Banijay did not disclose any financial details, except that the acquisition would be supported by funds managed by Blackstone and Kings Park Capital.

Merkur represents the gaming and leisure division of the Gauselmann Group, a historic German family-owned enterprise specialising in gaming machines, software and casino operations across Europe.