US private equity firm Apollo Global Management has made a AU$3.5B offer for Tabcorp’s Wagering & Media arm. 

Apollo’s bid for the Wagering & Media arm of the Australian group matches last week’s improved AU$3.5B bid from British gambling giant Entain. If Entain’s bid is successful, the operator will become the biggest player in the country overnight.

However, Apollo has upped the ante by also tabling an alternative offer of AU$4B, if Tabcorp throws in its Gaming Services division too. 

Tabcorp says it will be assessing the proposals in its previously announced strategic review – which is tasked with evaluating all structural and ownership options. An alternative to selling the wagering and media arm could be to separate it from the lotteries arm, and list it as a separate company on the ASX. 

US media group, Fox Corporation, is also known to be interested in Tabcorp’s Wagering & Media arm. Indeed, the corporation recently registered the FOXBet trademark in Australia, clearly signalling its intentions to establish a presence. 

Mixed martial arts organisation UFC®, and sports and entertainment industry blockchain provider Chiliz, have announced plans to launch a $UFC Fan Token on Socios.com

Fan Tokens provide owners with access to exclusive content and opportunities on the Socios.com app, including fan voting, VIP rewards, exclusive promotions, AR-enabled features, chat forums, games, and competitions. 

UFC joins 26 other major sports properties which have teamed up with Chiliz to launch Fan Tokens on Socios.com, including major European football clubs like FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, and Manchester City. 

The new $UFC Fan Token is scheduled to launch in June, and will be limited to a maximum lifetime supply of 20 million. 

Tracey Bleczinski, Senior Vice President, UFC Global Consumer Products, said: “We are continually looking for ways to increase engagement with our fans. UFC has more than 625 million fans around the world, and Fan Tokens are a unique way to connect with them through a compelling, authentic product that brings them closer to UFC and gives them influence, while also rewarding their passion for the sport.”

Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, added: “Socios.com and Fan Tokens will empower UFC to connect with its global following like never before. By giving fans around the world the ability to influence their favorite teams and sports, we are transforming what it means to be a fan. We’re delighted to welcome UFC to our growing roster of Fan Token partners and we are very excited to continue our expansion in the U.S. and globally, throughout 2021.”

Staying with Socios.com, just last week Valencia’s Levante UD confirmed it would be launching a Fan Token, while the NHL’s New Jersey Devils entered a marketing partnership with the platform.

Kindred Group brand 32Red has agreed a multi-season extension to its partnership with Glasgow-based Rangers FC. 

One of the longest running gambling partnerships in British football, the collaboration dates back to 2014, when the club was promoted to the Scottish Premiership. The club says the new deal represents the “largest sponsor agreement” in its 150-year history. 

The renewal comes at a time when the ethics of gambling sponsorships in football are being fiercely debated across the British Isles, and both Kindred and Rangers have underlined initiatives such as Team Talk.

Delivered by 32Red, Team Talk is a club platform focused on men’s mental health. Earlier this week, Rangers Manager, Steven Gerrard joined 25 other members in a Team Talk session discussing mental health. 

Rangers Manager, Steven Gerrard, commented: “Rangers and 32Red have been on a long journey together and I am delighted our winning partnership is continuing. I was particularly heartened to hear that the vital Team Talk initiative will be continuing as a result of the new agreement. 

“I recently took part in a really positive session and it is abundantly clear to me how much of a support network Team Talk provides to our fans.Today’s announcement is really positive news for everyone connected to the club.”

Kindred Group’s UK GM, Neil Banbury, added: “We are thrilled to be continuing our longstanding partnership with SPFL Champions Rangers; it’s been quite a journey over the last decade and we’re proud to have played our part in that. 

“More widely, we remain committed to reinventing the sports sponsorship model, so that it benefits the wider community. That is why as part of this extended agreement with the club we will be renewing our support for the vital men’s mental health initiative, Team Talk.”

SportCaller, the free-to-play games provider, has teamed up with Coingaming Group’s Sportsbet.io for its first crypto partnership. 

By combining Sportsbet.io’s multi-currency capabilities with SportCaller’s global reach, the partnership is aimed at promoting growth in both mature and emerging markets. 

SportCaller has now launched over 100 games across 47 countries and in 20 languages in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Australasia and North America. In the past 12 months, it has also rolled out 44 new games, doubling the total number of games offered across the previous three years.

For the Sportsbet.io partnership, two new football and cricket focused games, 4-3-free and Bet free 6-6, have been created. 

The first, 4-3-free, asks its players to win a realistic jackpot, or a range of attainable tier-two prizes, by answering a series of questions correctly. Meanwhile, Bet free 6-6 adds a new twist to the popular Super 6 FTP format by posing a set of six predictions (e.g. correct score, or under/over goals) whereby players still earn points for consolation prizes.

Director of Sportsbook at Sportsbet.io, Joe McCallum, said: “SportCaller’s highly focused and collaborative approach to game-ideation, together with their consumer analysis from a host of worldwide data sets, gives them a competitive edge when it goes to both game-delivery and strategic planning. Whether it’s acquisition or retention-focused games, we now feel confident of keeping our players engaged with the Sportsbet.io brand in a fun, fast and fair way – enhancing the existing experience, and minimizing churn, wherever we set our scene.”

MD at SportCaller, Cillian Barry, added: “Coingaming and Sportsbet.io are led by some of the great innovators and disruptors in the sportsbook space, always striving for innovation and pushing the limits of new technology. So, we’re thrilled to align those values with our own, on a watershed journey into unexplored markets where both crypto and fiat currencies are vying for position.

“In this industry, sowing the seeds of global success is best achieved by coupling international ambition to local utility. After all, while some trends are universal, language, taste and specific sports-mad fanbases are invariably culturally-contingent. International fragmentation for game design and regional requirements (e.g. regulatory, or player-preference-based) only magnifies the importance of supplying a precise game UI at every turn, and in every country. Which is why SportCaller has developed peerless geo-location tools, allowing us to geo-target and partition between diverse territories with dexterity.”

European gambling affiliates Better Collective and Catena Media have both announced major US sports affiliate acquisitions.

Better Collective Makes Biggest Acquisition Yet

Copenhagen-based gambling affiliate, Better Collective, is set to acquire US media sports platform, Action Network in a deal worth $240M USD. The debt free, cash deal will represent Better Collective’s biggest acquisition to-date, and significantly expand the firm’s US footprint. 

Founded in 2017 and launched in 2018, Action Network provides sports news content, insights, odds, and betting data. It is expected to generate $40M in revenue this year, but Better Collective says it aims to up that to over $100M next year. 

Commenting on the news Better Collective CEO, Jesper Søgaard, said: “I am thrilled to welcome Action and its employees to Better Collective. This acquisition, which is the largest in Better Collective’s history, gives us a leading position within affiliation in the US and a strong foundation for profiting from the continuous regulation of the US betting market.

“We add three new, very well-positioned US sports media brands to our portfolio and welcome around 100 new colleagues, together representing an invaluable pool of knowledge and expertise on the US sports betting media market. By all accounts, this is a great day for Better Collective.”

Action Network CEO, Patrick Keane, added: “Today marks a great achievement in the history of Action. In just a few years, our team has managed to build a leading sports betting product and media business in the US market, making us attractive to a leading international player. I am thrilled about this outcome for our employees and investors, and we look forward to continuing to forge great relationships with our league, media and sportsbook partners.

“Under Better Collective’s ownership, we become part of a company with many years of experience and all the resources necessary to further grow our position and develop our offering, to ultimately enhance the betting and entertainment experience for sports fans. We gain new colleagues, career paths and perspectives. I’m looking very much forward to the journey ahead.”

Action Network joins casino affiliate brand Atemi Group and esports site HLTV.org in a string of major acquisitions for Better Collective. 

Catena Media splashes $39.6M on Lineups.com 

Meanwhile, another European gambling affiliate company has also made a major US acquisition. Catena Media has said it will be acquiring 100% of the shares in US sports affiliate Lineups.com, in a deal worth $39.6M – paid in three installments over two years. 

CEO, Catena Media, Michael Daly, said: “The acquisition of Lineups.com strengthens Catena Media’s leading position in the growing US betting market with a complementary product that fits perfectly into our existing US portfolio. It gives us a second, even stronger, national sports betting affiliation site, alongside thelines.com.

“This will allow us to capture more market share across North America, as well as to take advantage of shared tools across multiple Catena Media sites. Sam Shefrin, the seller and founder of Lineups.com, will bring his industry and technology focus to the Catena Media team and will work with us for the near future as an exclusive consultant to the business.”

AYO.NEWS says:

In the immediate post-PASPA period, it seems very much like many European affiliates, suppliers, and operators were singularly failing to grasp the sheer magnitude of the long-term opportunities inherent in the United States. However, Better Collective was a notable exception, making some very smart early moves. Of course, over the past year we’ve seen reality dawn and what seem like daily mega mergers and acquisitions, as firms scramble to secure their positions and build market share.

Sports data and technology company, Genius Sports, has agreed to acquire free-to-play games and fan engagement solutions provider FanHub. 

FanHub, founded in 2012, provides a suite of technology solutions built around three core service offerings: games, betting and social activation. The company’s operations currently span Australia, the UK, US, and Ukraine.  

As part of the deal, Genius Sports will also acquire FanHub’s suite of F2P games, including fantasy sports, trivia, bracket challenges, pick ’em, and polling games. FanHub already works in partnership with some of the largest companies across Genius Sports’ ecosystem, including the NFL, MLB, MLS, Betway and PointsBet.

Genius Sports says it plans to integrate FanHub’s solutions across its media services, delivering proven content solutions that help drive customer activity, fan engagement, sponsor activation, and lower cost per acquisition. 

“The acquisition of FanHub will provide our sports, betting and media partners with exciting new content platforms that entirely complement our established data, video and marketing solutions,” said Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke. “This transaction is expected to expand Genius Sports’ global audience and reach while accelerating the convergence of sports, betting and media to engage the modern fan.”

“We are delighted to join the Genius Sports family and excited about the potential opportunities for our clients and staff,” said Chairman of FanHub, Tim Lamb. CEO and Founder of FanHub, Andrew Cronyn added, “We couldn’t imagine a more complementary partner and together we will offer an even richer fan experience, generate more engagement and offer value to our partners – and fans.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.