Sports betting social platform Betsperts has acquired Fantasy Life App, a platform providing breaking news, updates, and advice to fantasy players. 

Following the all stock transaction, the new entity will be renamed Betsperts Media and Technology Group, Inc, and will form what that company says will be the world’s largest social media platform dedicated to sports betting and fantasy sports. 

The acquisition will double the headcount of Betsperts, and Fantasy Life App co-founder and ESPN fantasy sports expert, Matthew Berry, will be staying on with Betsperts as a board member and a significant minority shareholder. 

Betsperts was founded in 2018 by Reid Rooney and Austin Harper, as a platform to allow users to share information, content, and resources to create a more informed and stronger betting community. 

The properties that will form Betsperts Media & Technology Group racked up over 10,000,000 monthly visits during the 2020 football season. 

Reid Rooney, CEO of Betsperts, said: “The future of sports betting is stronger social connectivity between bettors and we are leading the way in building the destinations for communities. The acquisition of Fantasy Life App is a major stepping stone in providing our loyal users with advanced capabilities where they’ll be able to not just interact within the community but utilize Betsperts to grow, fortify and effectively monetize their sports betting following much like how influencers leverage other social media platforms.”

While Matthew Berry added: “Community and the social fabric of gaming has been a huge part of my life and career. I write about it extensively and it’s what led to the creation of the Fantasy Life App for fantasy and DFS players. When I saw what Reid and Austin had built with the Betsperts community I was really impressed. They’ve done for sports betting what we have done for fantasy – used advanced technology to create a robust and highly engaged community.

“The companies are a perfect complement to each other and as gaming in all forms keeps growing in America, I know that bettors and fantasy players alike will continue to look to Betsperts and the Fantasy Life Apps for more ways to interact, educate and entertain themselves.”

Following the closing of the acquisition, Betsperts is actively raising a multi-million dollar Series A funding round. The new capital will be used to fund growth strategies, including recruiting more talent, adding content, and user acquisition, along with technology advancement.

Aspire Global-owned platform provider BtoBet has agreed to offer an extended suite of services through its Certified Partner in Africa, Mauritius-based STM Gaming. 

The expanded agreement means current and future partners will be able to take advantage of a broader portfolio of localised managed services, tailored to the African iGaming industry’s unique requirements. 

Dima Reiderman, Chief Operations Officer of BtoBet, commented: “We are enthused and looking forward to offer an extended managed services portfolio to all current and prospective partners in Africa. Having someone on the ground through the local presence of our esteemed Certified Partner – STM Gaming – will be key to meet the unique requirements of the African landscape. I am sure that this strategic move will allow our partners to significantly accelerate their performance and capabilities in Africa.”

Alessandro Pizzolotto, Chief Executive Officer at STM Gaming, added: “We are now capable of providing a broader range of localised managed services to BtoBet’s partners. Deep market knowledge, operational support, and focalised marketing services are amongst the most essential aspects for operators to succeed in such a demanding and unique scenario as Africa. I am confident that these extended services will play an important role in BtoBet’s continued growth in Africa and the success of our partners.”

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.

With less than two months until the 2020 Summer Olympics are due to start in Tokyo, one of the games’ official partners has joined calls for it to be cancelled. 

With COVID-19 surging in Japan, opinion polls show the vast majority of the public is now against the games going ahead. As previously reported, medical experts and associations have also been demanding the games are cancelled. 

But now an official partner of the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese newspaper publisher Asahi Shimbun, has also joined calls for the Summer Games to be axed. 

An editorial published in the Asahi Daily on Wednesday said: “We ask Prime Minister (Yoshihide) Suga to calmly and objectively assess the situation and decide on the cancellation of the event this summer. We are far from a situation in which everybody can be confident they will be ‘safe and secure.”

Reflecting the level of opposition to the Olympics going ahead, the editorial quickly went viral, racking up over 30,000 tweets within hours. 

Host city Tokyo is currently under a state of emergency, which is expected to be extended again, and earlier this week reports stated that hospitals in Osaka, Japan’s second largest city, were close to being overwhelmed by a huge new wave of COVID infections, with doctors warning of a “system collapse” and again urging the government to cancel the Olympics.

Despite all of this, Olympic organisers are refusing to change plans, insisting that the games can be held safely. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It looks like Olympic organisers are placing what amounts to blind faith in the effectiveness of the vaccination program and physical infection controls. However, considering the fact that the vaccines do not stop infection or transmission, but merely reduce severe symptoms, and are clearly far less effective against emerging variants than politicians would like people to believe, this all seems like a recipe for disaster. 

One thing is absolutely clear now: if the Olympics does go ahead, and it fuels the virus and causes preventable illness and deaths, there’s going to be a whole lot of anger, and probably more than a few lawsuits, directed at the IOC and organisers. 

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.