eGaming Update 11/23/99
07:41 AM EST
RE: Top Sports SA
Hello everybody,
I am very excited about our new partnership opportunity with Top Sport SA. Together our two companies plan to operate Top Sports existing 12 land based sportsbooks in the D.R. (These sportsbooks accept wagers at the physical locations in the D.R., not the USA.) They can be envisioned as "Sports Bars/off-track betting facilities, with satellite TV showing all the games etc...", where Dominican Republic peoples bet on all kinds of sports legally. Each sportsbook has computer terminals, both automated and employee operated, that print out betting tickets to walk-in wagerers.) Horse racing, lottery, and sports can be bet legally at al of these locations. As many of you know baseball is a big favorite in the D.R. with Sammy Sosa being native to the D.R. All American sports are bet heavily in the D.R.
New Laws in the D.R. favor corporate ownership of all sportsbooks vs. individual ownership.(The government in the D.R. has forced all the little individually owned betting shops out of business. This allows companies like Top Sports SA to buy up the licenses that the new laws shut down.) Top Sports SA and eConnect plan to take over up to 50 more of these sportsbooks, in addition to the 12 Top Sports SA existing sportsbooks, by next January. The current 12 sportsbooks are doing close to $2 million US a year. eConnect signed the letter to be a 50% owner of this business.
The new partnership will also expand to add an online sportsbook and casino to be run out of the Top Sports SA offices in the D.R. eConnect and Top Sports SA will share the revenues of the online venture on a 50% split also. The online sportsbook will not accept wagers from the USA over the Internet until Internet Gaming Laws in the USA are made more clear (i.e. Kyl Bill).
"We believe that there is still a giant sports betting market outside the USA to make an online venture, excluding the USA, very profitable." said Paul Egan, President of Top Sports SA
Top sports have allied with us for a few reasons.
1.) They like our Internet payment technology and have connections with many gaming companies around the world to implement it.
2.) eConnect has servers and expertise to run an online sportsbook out of their Dominican offices. We did state that no sports wagers would be taken from the US until laws are clear here. (If you remember my posts several weeks ago "eConnect has not abandoned Internet sports gaming. We simply are looking for a better opportunity, legaly, to get involved in sports gaming again." Since all the sports bets in the physical sportsbooks will take place in physical licensed locations in the D.R. and the Internet sportsbook will not accept U.S. wagers, eConnect will not be violating any US gaming laws.)
3.) Top Sports wishes to expand under the new D.R. laws to acquire more sportsbook locations, I mentioned this in the second paragraph from the top. They need an American company like eConnect to help solidify their position with the D.R. government to justify their expansion under the new D.R. laws. By Top Sports taking us on as partners the D.R. government will have to treat them as a corporation worthy of expanding sportsbook operations.
A huge Irish sports bookmaking company over $200 million US a year (a land based operation going online this year in Ireland) who is a strategic alliance with Top Sports SA has already agreed to use eConnect Internet cash Payment technology for there business. They wish to use eConnect payment devices in their customers' homes for opening and replenishing sports accounts. A contract with them will be announced but could not be at the time of this P.R.
More to come on the new deal later....
-Michael Ramer
eConnect |
