Expansion within the Nordic and European online gambling industry is still in close sights for Ladbrokes, who recently announced they have secured a deal to purchase Sponsio, on the heels of a joint venture agreement with the Scandinavian company dating back to 2001. In a deal with an initial price tag of £36 million and an additional £4 million pending future earnings, Ladbrokes will buy out Sponsio, whose assets, will in turn be used to capitalize on the egaming prospects in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.

Aside from the developing opportunities to provide online casino and gaming services in Italy and Spain, Ladbrokes has affirmed that the largest and most promising market for online gambling outside of the UK is in the Nordic region. Following a successful bid at acquiring online gambling licenses in Italy, a joint venture with Cirsa Slot in Spain, and now, with the Sponsio deal clinched, Ladbrokes appears to be well on their way to establishing a triumvirate of continental dominance in Europe and Scandinavia.

Ladbrokes Chief Executive of International Development, Alex Kovach, said that in choosing these three markets to put the company's main focus and assets in, a close analysis of the popularity of online casino gambling and governmental legislation was implemented in the business strategy. In other words, the populous for all three regions showed a propensity for gambling online, while each country's government either showed a likelihood to embrace the regulation of online gambling, or, have already introduced and/or passed legislation calling for the regulation of internet betting activities.

Kovach was especially excited about the developments in Sweden, where the word is that the Swedish government is currently considering licensing opportunities for online casino and gaming operators. Once the state-run monopoly, Svenska Spel, is brought down from its high perch, foreign gaming companies like Ladbrokes will likely have an opportunity to provide Swedes with online gambling services.