UK bookmaker William Hill has planted its Latin American flag by acquiring Colombian betting operator Alfabet. 

On Sunday, Hills informed investors that it had secured a majority stake in Cali-based Alfabet SAS, which offers online casino and sports betting in Colombia under the BetAlfa brand. The Betalfa.co site received its Colombian license in 2018. 

Hills’ brief announcement didn’t state how big a majority of Alfabet it had acquired, nor what the company had paid for said stake. Hills said only that Colombia marked the ninth regulated market in which it is active, and that the deal furthered Hills’ international expansion strategy. 

Hills CEO Ulrik Bengtsson, whose penchant for acquiring underperforming assets reportedly contributed to his exit from Nordic betting operator Betsson in 2017, said Sunday that Colombia’s regulated market was “a role model for the Latin American gambling sector,” offering a hint of Hills’ primary motivation behind the deal.