JL Sports Investment, a company owned and operated by former MP & Silva chief executive Jochen Lösch, has acquired an exclusive mandate to sell title sponsorship, betting, data and video-game licensing rights to the top two tiers of Colombian club football.
Lösch’s exclusive mandate to sell each set of rights stretches for 11 seasons, from 2020 to 2030. SportBusiness understands that no upfront guarantee was paid to acquire the rights, but Lösch will earn a commission for each sale.
JL Sports Investment’s combined acquisition of betting, data and title sponsorship rights indicates that Lösch is set to take advantage of more relaxed of gambling laws across South America and in the United States.
Local experts believe the Categoría Primera A and B’s title sponsors are more than likely to be one or more sportsbooks from 2020 onwards.
There are over a million documented Colombians or Colombian-Americans living in the United States, and the US’ gradual legalisation of gambling means that international betting rights to South American leagues are now a coveted property for specialist boutique agencies.
Lösch struck the deal with Latin American Equity Sports, a special-purpose vehicle set up by key investors at the Prudent Group investment fund. In addition to the rights which JL Sports Investments will sell, Prudent holds international media rights to the Primera A and B for the same 11-year duration, from 2020 to 2030.
Prudent’s attempts to acquire international media rights to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A are still in progress, and it is thought the investment group has ambitions to create a global OTT service with multiple Latin American leagues available.