Latest News
“It is going to be a slow process – but great things take time”: Exclusive interview with R Franco Digital on the return of sports betting in Spain


After notching up a series of high profile deals with the likes of Dafabet and BetConstruct, we sat down with R Franco Digital’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mario Benito to talk Spain’s return to sports betting and his outlook for the market as the lockdown is lifted.
R Franco Digital has certainly signed a couple of notable deals recently, can you give us the lowdown?
It has been a busy few weeks as we get back on track in Spain! All in all, we’ve already signed agreements with several of the Spanish market’s leading tier one operators and will be announcing additional partnerships in further markets in the very near future.
Key to this has been our industry-leading portfolio of supporting products; including our IRIS Platform, as well as our Wallet, online games and renowned IRIS Power Vault – developed in tandem with the Spanish regulator, the DGOJ.
In terms of what we’ll be doing, R Franco Digital will be providing three major international operators with these tools to enter the Spanish market – as well as signing a succession of aggregator partnerships to further boost the reach of our fantastic collection of games.
We’re also expecting plenty of developments on the LatAm front (which is our second home), as well receiving our MGA Critical Gaming Supply licence in the very near future.
Is this a vote of confidence for the Spanish market returning to normal? What’s happening on the ground there?
There’s no question that the entire industry has felt the impact – with Spain (as you may have seen from the headlines) being no different. Given the need for entertainment under lockdown, there has been a considerable uptick in iGaming, despite the Spanish government’s two-month suspension on promotional activity.
Since the resumption of Europe’s most popular sporting tournaments, the sports betting vertical is gradually returning to full strength, although this process will not be complete until the new season. Given our home market is both dynamic and resilient, we are confident that the commercial landscape in Spain will return to its pre-COVID trajectory soon enough.
Having said that, land-based will likely take longer to re-emerge to full strength given it has received the brunt of the impact from COVID. To persevere, operators who have not already done began to diversify through digital channels. We set up R Franco Digital a decade ago with this role in mind – and it’s certainly proved instrumental for our local partners during this time.
What do you forecast for the first few week’s betting activity once La Liga has returned?
The resumption of Europe’s top football leagues, particularly La Liga, have seen dormant sports bettors return to the vertical en-masse. However, I do not believe activity will revert to its previous level until the new season begins. The numbers certainly back this up, and from what we’ve seen so far, the total amount wagered in the Spanish market has fallen by 40% compared to the week before La Liga was cancelled.
Plenty has been said around the cross-sell between sportsbook and casino in the past few months – has it rang true in Spain?
It’s been invaluable – and for many operators, turned from a promise to a reality. However, we shouldn’t get too carried away with the hype; we have not seen a whole legion of sports betting fans converted to slots in three short months.
To build a pandemic-proof portfolio, operators (and platform providers) need to take a long, careful look at what disciplines lent themselves well to sports bettors betting behaviours during lockdown (such as live casino) and capitalise on it moving forward.
What other alternative sporting markets have proven popular during the lockdown?
The most successful markets have been Table Tennis, and football leagues in more ‘exotic’ countries such as Belarus, that did not see their sporting calendar hindered by lockdown. Esports and virtuals have also experienced a similar spike activity as sports betting enthusiasts look to get in on alternative entertainment, although these disciplines are likely to attract a more niche type of player, especially in the case of esports, which has become a bastion of the millennial demographic.
And finally – how fast do you see retail betting returning in Spain?
It is going to be a slow process – but great things take time. The decision to re-open now falls under the mandate of Spain’s regional authorities, and it will be at their discretion. We can see this happening in real time – as although the state of emergency has ended, not every region has yet allowed betting shops to reopen. Along with land-based casinos, retail is by far one of the most severely affected sectors of the market, and I anticipate it will be a long road to recovery for many that had to endure three months of closure. Of course, we’ll be there to help.
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: “It is going to be a slow process – but great things take time”: Exclusive interview with R Franco Digital on the return of sports betting in Spain

Latest News
OddsMatrix announces record performance numbers during 2024/25 football season
OddsMatrix, EveryMatrix’s tier-1 turnkey sportsbook platform and odds feed service, has revealed significant year-on-year growth across its football product during the 2024/25 season, headlined by a rise in player prop betting.
Inclusive of all domestic global club football, major continental championships and international competitions, OddsMatrix delivered an average 2024/25 margin of 11.8%, a sharp increase on 2023/24 performance.
Overall turnover grew 28% season-on-season with volume of football bets placed on the platform surging 34% from 241.5 million in 2023/24 to 324.1 million in 2024/25 as the supplier continued to expand its client network and benefit from existing customer growth.
Demonstrating that behaviours are changing within the football betting community, the steepest season-on-season growth came in player prop betting. Dominated by the Shots on Target and Player to be Booked markets, player prop turnover grew 72% compared to 2023/24 with revenues from the betting type increasing 84% among OddsMatrix’s growing, global client base.
Fuelled by OddsMatrix’s recent integration partnership with Kero Sports and further development of its own in-house prop pricing models, player prop betting growth was further pronounced during the Champions League with shots betting accelerating 158% season-on-season while wagering on assists increased 149% during the 2024/25 continental championship.
The OddsMatrix numbers also point to sustained momentum for the well-established Bet Builder product. Firmly established as a sportsbook essential, the product continues to grow, alongside the award-winning sportsbook revealing a 127% season-on-season rise in Bet Builder turnover – driven by deeper in-house pricing integration.
Last week OddsMatrix was crowned sports betting supplier and sportsbook platform supplier of the year at the EGR B2B Awards 2025, alongside EveryMatrix picking up three major honours including top prize Full service platform of the year.
Tor Skeie, CEO, OddsMatrix, said: “It’s been another memorable club football season, with standout moments from PSG, Liverpool and Napoli. At OddsMatrix, we’re proud to have achieved exceptional year-on-year growth across our core football product metrics.
“In the last 12 months, not only have we rolled out a new proprietary horse racing solution, we’ve worked hard to enhance our football product with broader event coverage, increased in-house pricing, extended market uptime, enriched content, faster settlement, and smarter risk management – demonstrating our continued commitment to strengthening the core of our sportsbook offering.
“These enhancements were instrumental in securing turnkey sportsbook partnerships with several ambitious operators during the 2024/25 season and we look forward to building on this momentum with more innovative product developments lined up for the new 2025/26 campaign.”
The post OddsMatrix announces record performance numbers during 2024/25 football season appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
QTech Games quick to integrate fresh-faced content from Kitsune Studios
Emerging-markets leader expands its content offering with new games from emerging studio from Hacksaw’s OpenRGS production line
QTech Games, the leading game aggregator for emerging markets, has continued to build the strong momentum in its pipeline, thanks to its latest deal with rising-star supplier, Kitsune Studios, part of the bold OpenRGS studio initiative from Hacksaw Gaming.
Integrating content from such an innovative and well-credentialed studio, founded on Hacksaw’s heritage and expertise, adds yet more creative muscle to QTech Games’ burgeoning platform, which is taking the widest range of online games to emerging territories with established names, such as Playtech and Aviatrix, sitting alongside the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming providers.
The games made available to its partners via the deal include Kitsune’s foundational title, The Library, and its hotly anticipated latest release, Club Cabana.
Kitsune Studios’ designs are premised on play-now vertical screens for optimized gameplay on the go. And while its gaming suite neatly aligns with any device (smartphone, tablet and desktop) it remains mobile-first, a cornerstone of QTech’s proprietary technical platform, affording games providers and operators one of the fastest integration available. Through this aggregation-leading platform, which has sealed its definitive status as a global gaming one-stop shop, clients enjoy the best performance and customer support available, localised to every region across both developing and more mature markets.
The deal organically broadens Manchester-based Kitsune Studios’ international footprint, unlocking untapped jurisdictions for diversified growth from Asia to Africa and Eastern Europe to Latin America, where Kitsune Studios is looking to make a big impression over the coming 12 months.
Philip Doftvik, QTech Games’ CEO, said: “We’re committed to rolling out high-calibre content that drives revenue for our partners. And this deal with Kitsune Studios both extends our impressive sequential pipeline for 2025, and also demonstrates that our diverse portfolio draws from a deep well of established stars and emerging forces in slots provision. We can’t wait to watch how these games perform across a spread of new markets for Kitsune.”
Phillip Douglas, CEO & Founder of Kitsune Studios, added: “At Kitsune, we’re all about pushing what slot games can be — creating immersive experiences that feel fresh, bold, and full of personality. Partnering with QTech gives us an exciting opportunity to share that vision with new players in emerging markets.
“Their smart tech and distribution reach mean our games will land in front of the right audiences — and that’s huge for a growing studio like ours. We’re excited to see how players respond as we continue telling stories and breaking a few rules along the way.”
The post QTech Games quick to integrate fresh-faced content from Kitsune Studios appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Stats Perform Named Live Streaming Supplier of the Year at EGR B2B Awards 2025
Stats Perform has been named Live Streaming Supplier of the Year at the EGR B2B Awards 2025, in recognition of the strength, innovation, and global scale of its Bet LiveStreams platform for licensed sportsbook apps, websites and retail betting venues.
Bet LiveStreams, first launched as ‘Watch&Bet’ in 2005, now delivers more than 40,000 exclusive low-latency live events each year, across 15 sports. Football, the world’s largest betting sport, accounts for more than 15,000 matches, with rights including LaLiga, CONCACAF, English Football League and top domestic leagues and cups across Europe, South America, and APAC. Other sports include tennis, basketball, volleyball, darts, badminton, rugby and cricket.
Judges noted that Stats Perform’s Bet LiveStreams is unique because of its extensive year-long, round-the-clock coverage and high performance. In 2024, the platform securely delivered billions of live video sessions to hundreds of licensed global sportsbooks such as bet365, Betano, Superbet, Betfair, FanDuel and many more.
They also praised its interactive, built-for-betting features like betslip integration, instant highlights, and in-stream contextual stats (also known as Opta Interactive Overlays) that have made the watching and betting experience more engaging for bettors.
“Our focus with Bet LiveStreams has been to make live streams easy to watch and bettable, whoever is playing,” said Mike Perez, Chief Operating Officer at Stats Perform. “The features give bettors more entertainment from every stream, whether it’s a headline fixture like Tottenham v Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, or a six-goal thriller in South America that might otherwise have been overlooked. We’re delighted our efforts have been recognised with this award.”
The judging panel pointed to three standout recent Bet LiveStreams innovations:
- Opta Interactive Overlays: Live game and player stats and odds available directly in-stream, with bets added to the slip in one click
- Instant Highlights: Key moments can be replayed during the game to help bettors quickly catch up on relevant action, such as the moment their bet won, or see action they missed in other live games, with multi-game playlists across competitions
- Live Match Gallery: Easier discovery of concurrent events, helping bettors follow more matches and sports at the same time
Adoption of these features has been fast and operators have reported a 7x increase in interactions per session, longer watch times and more in-play bets placed.
“This award is a reflection of how far streaming can go when it’s built for betting, not just viewing. We’re excited to continue to integrate our Opta data and AI into the experience to make the future of streaming on sportsbooks more engaging, intuitive and bettable,” added Perez.
The post Stats Perform Named Live Streaming Supplier of the Year at EGR B2B Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Latest News3 months ago
Exclusive Q&A With Bar Konson, Chief Business Development Officer at NuxGame
-
Latest News2 months ago
Week 17/2025 slot games releases
-
Latest News2 months ago
Fortuna Partners with 2025 UEFA Under-21 EURO
-
Latest News3 months ago
Esports World Cup Foundation Confirms Full Game Lineup, Schedule, and Club Championship Rules for EWC 2025
-
Latest News2 months ago
ELA Games Receives Key Nomination at EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards
-
Latest News3 months ago
ACR POKER’S NEXT HIGH STAKES ADVENTURE TAKES PLAYERS TO MONTENEGRO FOR PRESTIGIOUS SUPER HIGH ROLLER SERIES
-
Latest News2 months ago
Bojoko.com Surpasses €100 Million in All-Time Deposits Milestone
-
Latest News2 months ago
LeoVegas Group to Open a New Office in Leeds
You must be logged in to post a comment Login