Esports Entertainment Group (EEG) is set to acquire online gambling brand Bethard. 

EEG has entered an agreement to acquire Gameday Group’s B2C business, operating under the Bethard brand by Bethard Group Limited. The deal will see EEG pay an initial €16M ($19.5M USD) in cash, followed by 12% of net gaming revenue for two years. 

Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, commented: “This is another great addition for Esports Entertainment Group that substantially increases our revenues, and available markets. With this transaction, we expect to gain two new gaming licenses, including one in the strategically important Swedish market. At the completion of the license handover we will have 6 tier one licenses.”

The acquisition is expected to close on 1 July 2021, and as a result of the transaction, EEG is raising its fiscal 2022 revenue guidance to $100M – $105M USD.

Malta-based Bethard was founded in 2012 and offers sports betting and casino games online. In 2020 the operator generated revenue of $31M USD.

Malta-based sportsbook supplier BETBY has added eFighting competitions to its Betby.Games offering.

Based on a popular video-game series, the new product features numerous characters, each with different talents, multiple arenas, and several different fighting styles. Each combat lasts for three minutes, with the addition of the new game adding 1,500 events a day to BETBY’s offering, with three fights occurring simultaneously, 24/7. The newest creation in the Betby.Games range is available across 10 markets.

eFighting is the latest addition to the supplier’s immersive portfolio of AI-led esports products, which now includes football, basketball, Rocket League, and tennis. BETBY has experienced significant commercial success with its Betby.Games offering since launch, and it continues to gain impressive market share through its dynamic, innovative eSports offering.

Leonid Pertsovskiy, Chief Executive Officer at BETBY, said: “Our Betby.Games range of titles has been a resounding success for us, and we’re always looking to add new genres of games for players to enjoy. eFighting takes a gaming classic and creates a unique betting experience for fans, and we can’t wait to see how our operator partners and players all over the world enjoy the latest fantastic addition to this unique and exciting vertical.”

William Hill has made its debut in Latin America, with the launch of WilliamHill.co in Colombia. 

The launch was possible thanks to William Hill acquiring the locally licensed casino and sports betting operator Alfabet S.A.S in December 2020. Colombia represents William Hill’s ninth regulated market. 

William Hill CEO Ulrik Bengtsson said: “I am thrilled to see WilliamHill.co launched within such a short time frame. This launch includes the full integration of the Alfabet team into our international business hub in Malta and marks our first entry into a regulated Latin American state.

“We are delighted to have the Alfabet team join our international team, and excited by the opportunity to deliver a very competitive product and safe player experience under the William Hill brand in Colombia.”

Following William Hill’s $4B acquisition by US gaming superpower Caesars Entertainment, its non-US assets look set to spark a bidding war involving Entain, Apollo Global Management, and possibly Betfred. 

Gaming and betting entertainment provider, Bally’s Corporation, has entered the mobile sports betting market with the beta launch of Bally Bet in Colorado. 

Bally Bet was developed by Bet.Works – a US regulated sportsbook technology platform that is being acquired by Bally’s. Its beta launch will be supported by limited marketing, and focus on deployment, testing, and refinement of the app and its content. 

David Wang, Founder and CEO of Bet.Works, who will become the CEO of Bally’s Interactive once Bally’s closes its acquisition of Bet.Works, said: “Bally Bet is the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work by both the Bally’s and Bet.Works teams, and represents a key component of Bally’s long-term growth and diversification strategy. Today’s launch is just the beginning of what Bally’s has in store for the mobile sportsbook market.”

Adi Dhandhania, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Interactive, for Bally’s Corporation, added: “We are excited to provide sports fans across Colorado with a new and innovative way to engage with their favorite sports and teams, and are confident that the Bally Bet sportsbook will provide those fans with the same unique and first-in-class experience that our loyal gaming customers have come to expect from our three Colorado casinos. By integrating Bally Bet with Bally Rewards, we will provide sports and gaming enthusiasts with an unmatched betting experience.”

Bally’s says the new app will include exclusive parlay games and integrated social features, and enable users to earn points that can be redeemed for gaming, dining, retail and other amenities at Bally’s Golden Gates, Golden Gulch and Mardi Gras casinos located in Black Hawk, CO, and at all of Bally’s casinos nationwide once the company’s new rewards program is unveiled this summer.

Bally’s intends to launch mobile sportsbooks in three additional markets in 2021, with subsequent launches to occur in 2022. The Bally Bet app is now available for download in Colorado on both iOS and Android, and is also accessible via desktop at www.ballybet.com.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) has launched a mobile football betting app, GoalX, featuring live streaming and real-time statistics. 

GoalX is now available to users in Hong Kong. In addition to free live streaming of selected matches and engaging data visualisations, other features of the app include biometric login and the HKJC eWallet.

Richard Cheung, HKJC Executive Director, Customer and International Business, commented: Development.“GoalX is the new addition to our suite of customer digital experience platforms. It aims to address unmet customer needs in the current classic 3-in-1 app in terms of rich and live football information, easier to make transactions as well as biometric login, eWallet and funds transfer in one application.”

A non-profit organisation founded in 1884, the Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the territory’s oldest institutions, and now holds a monopoly on horse racing and football betting. It is one of the largest taxpayers and community benefactors in Hong Kong, and one of the world’s largest charity donors. 

Loteria do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Loterj) has begun the process of selecting operators to offer new gambling products in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

As the organisation responsible for managing gambling in the state, Loterj has now invited expressions of interest from sports betting and lottery operators interested in handling the new gambling products. The license, which is worth around $50M USD, will be valid for 60 months. 

It seems Loterj is looking for companies that provide a mix of online and retail betting and lottery products, with proven distribution and marketing capabilities. Loterj will be defining the development of the technology platform, including lottery control, and payment functions, both physical and digital.

Any international companies interested in the contract must be partnered with a Brazilian entity to be considered, with each member of any consortium required to submit their own supporting evidence to show they meet the requirements. The public tender process is slated to begin, based on a lowest overall price modality, on 5 July. 

Pressure to introduce a legal online gambling market has been building in Brazil over recent years, with states increasingly exasperated that offshore gambling sites are attracting Brazilian customers, which means state coffers are losing vast amounts in potential tax revenues. Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais are among the first Brazilian states to make real progress in terms of rolling out legal sports betting and expanded gambling products.