William Hill Plc has secured its first South American sportsbook venture after confirming that it has acquired a ‘majority stake’ in Colombian-licensed operator Alfabet SAS.

Closing its 2020 trading, the FTSE250 betting group stated that Colombia will be ‘the ninth regulated betting market in which William Hill will have an active presence’.

Operating in Colombia since 2018, Alfabet SAS is the operating company of BetAlfa.co – a federally approved online sportsbook and casino brand which maintains a licence by Coljuegos – Colombia’s national gambling regulatory authority.

In its transaction notice, William Hill backed Coljuegos’ progressive online gambling regulations as the first LatAm jurisdiction to adopt ‘a European-style licensing system’ allowing foreign operators to compete within its marketplace.