Aspire Global Abandons Russia, Adds New Ground Through Pariplay-Sportingtech Deal

Aspire Global is the latest online gaming brand to depart the Russian market. However, its Pariplay iGaming content provider and aggregator has scored a new arrangement with Sportingtech.

Aspire Global is joining a group that and other commercial entities like McDonald s and Coca-Cola. It, along with BETER, is waving goodbye to Russia. The country s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in a global economic shakeup that isn t done yet.

Aspire Global, until now, had a contract with Russia s Sports Lotteries LLC to help manage the Russian National Lottery. The agreement began in October 2020.  Aspire Global signed a three-year deal with the lottery operator, and an early exit, without strong mitigating circumstances, is abnormal.

The company didn t specify the Russia-Ukraine war as the reason. However, the timing would certainly seem to indicate that this is the case. Aspire Global simply called the reason for its departure a different business view.  

BETER was less diplomatic. The gaming operator said that it cannot conduct business in a country that is an aggressor nation. It is packing up and is terminating all relationships there.

As Aspire Global puts it, losing Russia won t have an impact on the company s income and earnings for the current fiscal year. It has been busy securing new deals elsewhere, including activations in Denmark and the Netherlands.

Its BtoBet sportsbook will go live in both countries. In addition, BoyleSports invited the company in the Netherlands. Aspire Global will provide several of its options to BoyleSports iGaming and sports betting operations.

Aspire Global is also witnessing its investment in Pariplay pay off. It acquired the online casino software developer and content aggregator three years ago, and it just signed a new deal with Sportingtech.

Pariplay will soon add its Fusion suite to Sportingtech s Quantum gaming platform. Pariplay already has access to content from more than 70 suppliers, with over 2,000 titles at its disposal.

Sportingtech is a comparable B2B gaming provider with a strong presence in Latin America and Africa. Its portfolio covers online casinos, online sports betting, poker, lotteries, and other activity. The company introduced Quantum last year, which now offers more than 9,000 casino games and slots. Sportingtech claims that it handles more than three billion cash transactions every month.

The North American and Latin American online gaming markets are poised for significant growth. LatAm is making more progress. However, the US could catch up soon. Several states are exploring online gaming legislation, with a couple likely to see approvals this year.