Ladbrokes signs deal with Canal+

Following the passing of new legislation in  France we did not think it would be too long before we saw activity from the major bookmakers but Ladbrokes have certainly been quick off the mark by announcing a joint venture with French pay TV broadcaster Canal+ to create an online betting service. The joint venture will bring together Ladbrokes expertise in the online casino and betting industry and 12.5 million customers of Canal+ but is of course still subject to approval by the regulators. Legislation passed only last week allows companies to apply for a 5 year license to operate online services for horse racing, poker and other types of sports betting. Only last month Ladbrokes appointed a new Chief Executive in Richard Glynn and the company badly needs to expand its presence in Europe being present only in Spain and Belgium at the moment. Ladbrokes and Canal+ will certainly not have it all their own way as both Bwin and Paddy Power are already present and the French lottery operator Française des Jeux has signed a deal with TF1 the French broadcaster who incidentally has the broadcasting rights for the World Cup. The deal prevents Ladbrokes from operating any other online gaming business for the duration of the agreement and also allows TF1 to get out after the 5 years by selling its 50% share to Ladbrokes. It is hoped to have the company up and running before the World Cup