M&A – Bookielink

Weekend Report: Paddy Power customers turning to NFL betting, Evolution edges closer to Galaxy Gaming acquisition

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: NFL popularity on the rise among Paddy Power customers, Evolutions moves closer to Galaxy Gaming acquisition and Victoria launches Gambling Harm Awareness Week.

NFL betting popularity on the rise with Paddy Power

First, Paddy Power has revealed increasing interest in NFL betting. American football is now the third most popular of all sports among customers in the UK and Ireland.

Data from the operator shows only football and horse racing have been more popular than the NFL in 2024. This is in contrast to 2021 when NFL ranked seventh in popularity, also behind golf, boxing, rugby union and darts.

In the past year, the NFL jumped from fifth to third on the most popular sports list at Paddy Power. The operator puts this down to several reasons including better coverage on television and an improved offering on its own sportsbook.

“Organic growth in NFL i..

3 days ago

LatAm Q3 results round-up: Brazil betting launch dominates discussions

With the majority of the gambling industry having published their Q3 results, iGB looks at how operators fared in the region and their plans for the future there.

Brazil will launch its legal betting market on 1 January 2025 and one operator that is hoping to make a real dent in the market is the giant Flutter Entertainment.

Back in September, Flutter announced it had agreed to acquire an initial 56% stake in NSX Group, which operates the Brazil-facing Betnacional brand. The deal is worth $350 million (£266.5 million/€316.0 million).

For the nine months ending 30 September, Flutter reported year-on-year revenue growth in Brazil of 4%. In its earnings call following the Q3 results release, CFO Rob Coldrake spoke of the operator’s excitement for the market opening.

“We’re very confident about our approach in Brazil,” Coldrake told reporters. “We’ve grown with our brands that we’ve got there already. We’re very excited about the NSX acquisition.”

The NSX acquisition will create a new..

November 6, 2024

Flashscore founder Livesport acquires Spain’s BeSoccer

Livesport, the Czech technology company behind Flashscore, has completed the acquisition of Spanish-facing football live scores, stats and news provider BeSoccer for an undisclosed amount.

BeSoccer will now join the wider Livesport, running alongside Flashscore, another live score provider. The strategic acquisition, Livesport said, will add approximately 25 million monthly users to its total user base.

The deal encompasses three business entities in BeSoccer, BeSoccer Pro and Resultados de Fútbol.

BeSoccer is the core brand, delivering football-only live scores brand in English, with over 100 million downloads worldwide. Resultados de Fútbol offers live scores in Spanish, while BeSoccer Pro is an additional service focusing on football data analysis.

Livesport said the triple addition will allow it to deliver more comprehensive coverage of football to fans around the world.

Historic acquisition for Livesport

Commenting on the deal, Livesport chairman Martin Hájek said the acquis..

October 23, 2024

What could the future hold for Kambi and OpenBet as platform consolidation slows?

Betting platform consolidation has slowed and as operators are turning to smaller, specialist technologies to bolster their sportsbooks, what does the M&A opportunity for incumbents like Kambi and OpenBet look like today?
In September a rumour that Genius Sports was eyeing a takeover of Kambi Group surfaced, resulting in both parties publicly dismissing the suggestion of ongoing talks. The chatter caused both share prices to dip briefly as the market considered what such a deal might look like.

One source at the time told iGB it wasn’t a good time for Kambi to get caught up in a buyout as it was navigating a transition period and ushering in new CEO Werner Becher. But analysts at Swedish investment bank ABG Sundal Collier have suggested that Kambi has been up for sale for a while.

When MGM announced on 24 June that it was acquiring Tipico’s US betting platform to help it move into Brazil and bring its LeoVegas European betting offering onto an in-house tech stack, ABG Sundal Colli..

October 23, 2024

What could the future hold for Kambi and OpenBet as platform consolidation slows?

In September a rumour that Genius Sports was eyeing a takeover of Kambi Group surfaced, resulting in both parties publicly dismissing the suggestion of ongoing talks. The chatter caused both share prices to dip briefly as the market considered what such a deal might look like.

August 8, 2024

Penn CEO Snowden: “Don’t believe everything you read” on M&A, points to late August NY launch

Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden refused to comment on speculation of competitors teaming up to acquire the operator during Thursday's quarterly earnings call. Instead, he talked up deeper and deeper integrations with partner ESPN.
On Thursday’s (8 August) earnings call, Snowden said the company will be live in the biggest legal market in the US – New York – by the start of the college football season. He also addressed the controversial winners’ surcharge that DraftKings is floating. But his main focus was acquisition rumours.

The ESPN Bet launch last November brought the premier sports media brand into the betting sector. Snowden said it was a milestone moment. But it hasn’t yet translated into a podium position for Penn Entertainment.

Blended market share across six states averaged 6% for March, and investors have started to question Penn’s digital strategy. This led to rumours of a sale, suggesting Boyd Gaming would bite. Those rumours evolved into a joint approach with ..

August 2, 2024

Betsson bolsters betting tech with Sporting Solutions acquisition

Betsson Group has agreed a deal to acquire Sporting Solutions’ trading, pricing and sports betting risk-management offerings from FDJ Group.
Announcing the deal, Betsson said it would integrate Sporting Solutions’ advanced pricing feeds for both pre-match and live betting, strengthening both its B2C and B2B sportsbook offerings.

Established in 2007, Sporting Solutions is a UK-facing business but also operates in Canada and South Africa, working with several major operators and lotteries including 888Sport, Ladbrokes Coral, SkyBet, William Hill and Norsk Tipping and Betsson, who have partnered with the platform for over 10 years.

Sporting Solutions will continue to provide services to its B2B betting partners, it said in a statement on LinkedIn.

The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals and certain other conditions. Once the deal gains the necessary clearance, as expected by both parties, the acquisition will close. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed..

July 23, 2024

DraftKings sells VSiN to Musburger Media

DraftKings has sold the Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN) to Musburger Media for an undisclosed price after first acquiring the network for $70m in March 2021. The deal was announced on Monday (22 July).
As part of the deal, VSiN’s original founders, Brian Musburger and Bill Adee, will take back control of the company. The two men founded the sports betting network in 2017 and guided it through the original 2021 sale to DraftKings. The network features 18 hours of daily original betting-focused content and streams 24/7.

In a statement on Monday, Musburger said the “original vision for VSiN still holds” despite the relatively quick sell-off.

“We truly appreciate the work we’ve done with DraftKings and look forward to continuing to collaborate on future projects,” he said. “Bill and I couldn’t be more excited about leading VSiN into the future and cementing our position as a trusted authority in sports betting.”

DraftKings thanked VSiN “for a great relationship” and said it “..

July 15, 2024

Weekend Report: DraftKings to divest VSiN, Bermuda’s banks slow casino launch and more

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week we’ve got news of DraftKings cashing out of its big media bet, Bermuda’s casinos struggling for acceptance in the banking sector and more.

DraftKings turns off VSiN?

DraftKings could be preparing to sell off its sports betting media specialist Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN), according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming.

Original owner Brent Musburger is allegedly set to take back control of the TV and radio network, which was acquired by DraftKings for $70m back in 2021. Active since 2017, VSiN broadcasts 18 hours of content a day, across multiple markets and streaming platforms, at one time showing Betting Across America, a BetMGM-backed sports betting programme.

While the sale is not confirmed it would take a significant media asset out of DraftKings’ stable, although it still maintains a distribution deal with Meadowlark Media, as well as its own streaming..

July 8, 2024

EveryMatrix buys FSB in all-cash acquisition

EveryMatrix chief executive Ebbe Groes described the supplier’s acquisition of betting and igaming platform provider FSB Technology as its “most ambitious acquisition to date”, giving its OddsMatrix sportsbook division a foothold in the African, Irish and UK markets.

FSB’s full end-to-end turnkey solutions, including its player account management software and horse racing products, will strengthen the OddsMatrix platform and generate “immediate additional revenues and cross-company synergies”, EveryMatrix said.

“This is our most ambitious acquisition to date, by value, size and complexity,” EveryMatrix chief executive Ebbe Groes commented.

FSB Deal ACCELERATES EVERYMATRIx’S regulated market rollout for sports betting, says CEO Ebbe Groes

“This transaction facilitates our long-term growth strategy of entering and growing within a greater number of regulated markets, including the UK, Ireland and Africa, where many FSB clients operate.

“It also allows us to accelerate this process, ..

July 5, 2024

Report: Flutter may join Boyd in bid for Penn Interactive assets, including ESPN Bet

As activist investors are pushing Penn Entertainment to divest its digital gaming arm, The Deal is reporting Flutter and Boyd Gaming may partner on an agreement. Boyd has a 5% ownership stake in Flutter, and partners with Flutter's FanDuel in the US for retail and digital sports betting.

Penn stock was up 4.22% at midday on Friday on receiving the news, while Flutter stock was essentially flat after a morning uptick. Boyd Gaming stock was also relatively flat after an early rise reacting to the news.

“Adding Flutter into the equation with Boyd of a potential Penn acquisition makes it more than interesting,” gaming consultant Brendan Bussmann told iGB. “It’s a back door into the ESPN brand for online, but would also give a brick-and-mortar presence to Flutter.”

On Friday (5 July) Seeking Alpha wrote “Flutter (FLUT) may want to partner with Boyd Gaming (BYD) as the owner of FanDuel is interested in Penn’s interactive assets, according to a report from TheDeal.com on Friday, whi..

July 1, 2024

Weekend Report: PH senator pushes POGO ban, FanDuel’s strong week in NY and more

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB updates you with the stories you may have missed over the last few days. This week we cover POGOs in the Philippines, as well as stopping off in New York, New Hampshire, Thailand and Brazil.

Philippine senator renews call for online gambling ban

Philippines Senator Joel Villanueva is pushing for his 2022 legislation banning Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and all forms of online gambling to progress through the country’s legislature.

First filed in September 2022, Villanueva’s Senate Bill 1281 aims to repeal all legislation granting the power to regulate online gambling and criminalise the vertical. Those found to have placed, received or otherwise unknowingly transmitted a bet or wager online would face either a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine of PHP500,000 (£6,736.74/€7,943.75/8,524.33).

Villanueva urges PAGCOR to intensify investigation on POGOs and other forms of online gamblinghttps://t.co/dDChQ5jZSZ
— DZRH..

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Tag: M&A