Copenhagen-based sports betting media group, Better Collective, has acquired Atemi Group in a deal worth up to €44M.

Atemi Group is one of the world’s largest companies specialising in lead generation for iGaming through paid media (PPC) and social media advertising, and the acquisition represents a major strategic move for Betting Collective, and presents significant synergistic opportunities. 

Founded in 2015, Atemi Group has mostly been focused on traffic acquisition towards iGaming (online casino, bingo etc), but has more recently pivoted towards building and investing in sports betting comparison platforms. 

Though it has a global presence, its main market is the UK, and the company’s operations are headquartered in London. In 2019, Atemi Group generated revenues of €33M, and registered an organic growth of 70% compared to 2018. 

For 2020, Atemi Group is on course to send over 180,000 new depositing customers (NDC’s) to their partners, and has set a revenue target of >€40M, and operational earnings of approximately €8M.

Discussing the deal CEO of Better Collective, Jesper Søgaard, said:

“This acquisition is a very important step for us to reach our strategic target of becoming the leading sports betting aggregator in the world. Atemi Group has been on an impressive growth journey since the company was founded in 2015, and has reached the large scale it takes to be competitive and profitable within paid media. 

“We see many opportunities for expansion into new markets and for harvesting synergistic effects between our assets and competences. The acquisition will immediately bring Better Collective in the absolute leading position when in comes to customer acquisition for the online operators, with an estimated annual NDC level of of more than 600.000, and from a financial perspective Better Collective will take a leap of having proforma annual revenue of estimated more than 120 million EUR with high operational earnings and cash flow.”

While founder of Atemi Group, Richard Skelhorn, added:

“We built a very successful gaming affiliate business over the past five years at Atemi.  All credit goes to the amazing team and now we are thrilled to be joining Better Collective.  Atemi and Better Collective are both market leaders in their respective areas, and the combination of the two companies, creates a very strong force in gaming affiliation. I  am certain this will take us to the next level.”

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SBC and the South African Bookmakers’ Association (SABA) have agreed a strategic partnership ahead of October’s SBC Digital Summit Africa virtual conference and exhibition.

SABA is the leading trade association for sports betting operators in South Africa and, during its 69-year history, has established itself as a respected voice within the industry and among regulators. 

The agreement will see SABA support SBC’s physical and digital event programme by providing in-depth knowledge of the South African market, starting at SBC Digital Summit Africa on 6 – 7 October 2020.

During the event, SABA will run the Empowerment Through Education workshop detailing how its learning programmes and partnerships with bookmakers and government institutions help to create employment opportunities  in the industry for young people. 

Sean Coleman, CEO of SABA, will also be participating in the Gaming in Africa conference panel, joining Jason Roberts (COO, Betty Bingo), Richard Hogg (CCO, BetGames.TV), Dean Finder (CEO, Evolution Services) and Dan Phillips (CEO, NEL Advisory) to examine the future of online casino in African markets. 

Coleman said:

“We’re delighted to be a partner of SBC, which is renowned for staging high-quality conferences for the global betting and gaming industry.

“I’m particularly looking forward to participating in SBC Digital Summit Africa, which will allow us to showcase the valuable work of SABA’s education programmes, as well as giving us the opportunity to meet bookmakers from other markets to share knowledge and ideas.” 

Dennis Algreen, SBC’s Marketing Director, added:

“We’re excited about the prospect of working with Sean and his colleagues at SABA, which counts most of South Africa’s largest bookmakers among its membership. 

“Their unrivalled knowledge of the South African sports betting market will be a great addition to SBC’s events and provide our audience with some invaluable insights about doing business in the country.”

SBC Digital Summit Africa’s online conference features 60 senior executive speakers taking part in 18 conference sessions, covering markets across the continent and key issues such as regulation, payments, marketing, and safer gambling. 

In addition to the conference, the event will also feature an interactive product display area with leading suppliers showcasing innovations tailored for local markets, together with a programme of networking roundtables to make it easy for delegates to connect and talk business with other decision makers. 

Click here to register for your free pass for SBC Digital Summit Africa.

Following Caesars Entertainment’s agreement to acquire William Hill, 888 Holdings has expressed its interest in acquiring the British bookies’ European operations.

As reported yesterday, Caesars Entertainment has agreed to acquire William Hill in a £2.9bn ($3.72bn) deal, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. It also confirmed it only intends to keep William Hill’s US operations, and will seek to sell its UK and European businesses. 

Now, according to the Financial Times, 888 Holdings CEO, Itai Pazner, has suggested his company may be interested in acquiring William Hill assets from Caesars, saying:

“We are going to look at any asset that can be relevant for us, and within that list, if that opportunity (to buy William Hill’s assets) comes our way, that could be relevant for us.”

888 Holdings saw revenue surge 37% year-on-year, to $379.1m, in the first half of 2020 as it benefited from a surprise uptick in online poker. Profit before tax also rocketed 130% to $50.9m. Indeed, 888 Holdings’ stock price has risen a dramatic 260% since the COVID-19 pandemic started.  

AYO.NEWS says:

Like many other online gaming operators, 888 Holdings has benefited from a surge in business during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with furlough and job support schemes winding down in many countries, including the UK and Germany, Europe is facing the real possibility of unprecedented unemployment. 

If this happens, and consumer spending power plummets, it could well be that only the biggest operators have the economy of scale to survive – so it makes sense that 888 is looking to ‘strike while the iron is hot’ and snap up William Hill’s assets… or at least online ones.  

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Caesars Entertainment has reached an agreement to acquire William Hill for around £2.9bn GBP ($3.72bn USD, €3.18bn EUR).

If approved by shareholders and cleared by regulators, the acquisition is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021, and will see Caesars Entertainment’s UK subsidiary, Caesars Bidco, acquire all issued share capital of William Hill, paying £2.72 in cash for each share.

Caesars has made it clear the acquisition is firmly focused on the US market, and expects the merger to generate between $600m and $700m in net revenue in the United States in 2021. All of William Hill’s non-US operations, including its core UK business, will be sold off. 

Caesars currently owns 20% of William Hill’s US business, which runs online sports betting via Caesars’ market access in specific states. 

Discussing plans Caesars Entertainment CEO, Tom Reeg, said:

“We look forward to working with William Hill to support future growth in the US by providing our customers with a superior and comprehensive experience across all areas of gaming, sports betting, and entertainment.”

While William Hill chairman, Roger Devlin, added:

“The William Hill Board believes this is the best option for William Hill at an attractive price for shareholders.

“In terms of our UK and International businesses, we believe they have a strong future ahead and we will work with Caesars to find suitable partners to further the long-term growth prospects of these businesses.”

Two rival bids for William Hill by US private equity group Apollo were turned down.

In July Caesars Entertainment became the world’s biggest casino operator after a $17.3 billion mega-merger with Eldorado Resorts. 

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Scientific Games has entered an agreement with Betsson Group covering the provision of its OpenTrade platform in the United States. 

The multi-year deal will see Scientific Games provide Betsson’s entire portfolio with its Don Best sports data pricing service and OpenTrade platform – part of its OpenSports product suite. Thanks to the partnership, Betsson will enjoy access to all major professional and collegiate US sports, including both pre-match and in-play. 

In June 2020, Betsson announced it would be entering the US market, signing an agreement with Dostal Alley Casino, Colorado. It is expected to launch a proprietary sportsbook in the state in 2021. 

Commenting on the news Betsson Group CEO, Jesper Svensson, said:

“Working with Scientific Games, we’re in a really strong position to penetrate the US market and provide a world-class sports betting experience to players.”

While SVP, Sportsbook and Platforms at SG Digital, Keith O’Loughlin, added:

“Betsson Group has strong ambitions within the US sports betting market and we’re excited to be supporting their efforts with the launch of OpenTrade.”

Yesterday Scientific Games also announced a five-year contract renewal with long-term customer Flutter Entertainment, to continue providing its OpenSports technology to the operators’ portfolio of global brands. 

Staying with Betsson, at the end of last week the company announced the launch of a new production studio in Stockholm, Sweden.

AYO.NEWS says:

The US clearly has the potential to become the world’s biggest betting market, but we’re also seeing mergers and acquisitions result in some truly gigantic operators. Though Betsson is by no means small, the question has to be asked, will it have the firepower to take on giants like Caesars Entertainment – which could be about to swallow up William Hill – and Roar Digital’s BetMGM from MGM/GVC? 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

BetMGM has been announced as the first official sports betting partner of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. 

The deal will see BetMGM, which is jointly owned by MGM Resorts and GVC Holdings, benefit from extensive brand exposure across the Titans’ digital assets and in-game media. Also included are exclusive naming rights for the Titan’s television studio at Saint Thomas Sports Park. 

Additionally, BetMGM will be sponsoring an upcoming raffle for The Titans Foundation, aimed at raising money for community organisations across Tennessee. 

Commenting on the partnership Titans Sr. Vice President, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer, Gil Beverly, said:

“We are thrilled to bring BetMGM to the state of Tennessee. BetMGM will deliver new experiences and levels of engagement to our fans and we’re excited to welcome them in as an official partner.”

While BetMGM chief marketing officer, Matt Prevost, added:

“The Titans are an incredible organisation and we’re proud to have BetMGM as the team’s first official sports betting partner. This is truly a partnership between two great brands and we’re excited to introduce Titans fans to new ways to engage with their favourite football team.”

Earlier this month BetMGM also announced an extension of its existing partnership with the Las Vegas Raiders, becoming the team’s official sports betting partner. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Right now all the big gambling operators are scrambling to partner with teams across the big US leagues, but BetMGM is adding some Hollywood flair too – last week the operator revealed Academy and GRAMMY Award winner Jamie Foxx will be fronting its “The King of Sportsbooks” brand campaign. 

Staying with NFL sports betting partnerships, just yesterday PointsBet announced it was the first sports betting partner of the Chicago Bears. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020