Spanish-based gambling operator Sportium has been awarded Colombia’s ninth online gambling license, while simultaneously putting down significant land-based operations in the Latin American country.

On Tuesday, Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos announced that Sportium – a joint venture of Spain’s Cirsa Gaming Corp and UK bookmakers Ladbrokes – had become the ninth operator to receive Coljuegos’ seal of approval since the country formally regulated online gambling in late-2016.

Sportium Apuestas Colombia S.A.S. paid COP7.85b (US$2.76m) for its five-year license to offer sports betting and games of chance via the new Sportium.com.co domain (which is still in test-only mode). Sportium originally planned to launch its Colombian online ops last year but evidently needed more time to dot the I’s and cross the T’s on its paperwork.

Sportium is also plotting a major land-based invasion, starting with its first sports betting terminals at the Dubai Casino in Bogotá. The company hopes to install over 100 retail points of sale in major Colombian cities before the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Russia in May.