Sportium, the Joint Venture between Cirsa and Ladbrokes, has opened its first dedicated betting shop in Madrid. The company already operates from 58 premises in the Communidad de Madrid, typically points of sale or ‘corners' located in arcades and bingo halls.

Sportium plans to operate a total of 125 outlets by the end of 2010, made up of the corners placed in Arcades and Bingo Halls and exclusive betting shops.

John O'Reilly, Managing Director of Remote Betting and Gaming commented: "The opening of our first exclusive shop in Torrejon de Ardoz is the latest step in the successful roll out of Sportium's sports betting service in Madrid."

According to Antonio Hostench, of Cirsa: "The first dedicated Sportium shop is another milestone in the development of sports betting in Madrid."

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About Sportium

At the beginning of 2007, Ladbrokes and Cirsa created a 50-50 Joint Venture called Sportium. The business combined the betting expertise of Ladbrokes with the market knowledge of Cirsa Slot, the leading slot machine company in Spain. Sportium is licenced in the Madrid region of Spain and is also working to secure betting licences in other areas of Spain that are considering regulating betting for the first time

www.sportium.es