The deal could eventually see Bally’s take control of The Star. The US firm is set to buy around 56.7% of the Australian Securities Exchange-listed operator’s “fully diluted share capital.”

The deal must be approved by the regulatory Foreign Investment Review Board, which could potentially save The Star from administration.

Star: Bally’s Buyout Imminent?

In an official release, the Australian firm wrote that Bally’s would make the first payment – comprising a third of the total amount – “on or before” April 9.

Shareholders will then be asked to approve a second tranche, which will be subject to “regulatory approvals.”

The shareholders’ vote appears to be something of a formality, however. The Sydney-based firm wrote: “The Board of The Star intends to unanimously recommend that […] shareholders vote in favour […], in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding [that this] is in the best interests of The Star’s shareholders.”

The company added that “each director of The Star intends to vote all of The Star shares that he or she holds or controls in favour” of the deal.

Based in Rhode Island, Bally’s operates 19 casinos across 11 states. It also controls a horse racing track, a New York golf course, and several online sports betting sites.

The deal will make use of a “multi-tranche convertible note and subordinated debt instrument.”

Bally’s reportedly made an initial move for The Star in March.

Bid From Pub Baron Mathieson Still Possible, Reports Claim

In its own press release, Bally’s suggested that The Star’s major shareholder Bruce Mathieson “may separately subscribe for a portion of the notes.”

The 82-year-old Mathieson, a pub, hotel, and poker machine businessman, is thought to be worth over $1 billion.

Australian media outlets think that Mathieson is mulling a $100 million investment. If accepted, this would reduce the size of Bally’s investment by a third.

The Star runs The Star Sydney, as well as the Queensland-based The Star Brisbane. The firm’s shares are still suspended on the ASX after failing to provide the exchange with its mandatory half-year financial report for H2 of FY2024.

Bally’s: Australia a ‘Fantastic Market’

In its press release, Bally’s quoted its Chairman Soo Kim as stating: “This transaction provides Bally’s the opportunity to infuse The Star with what it needs to regain its position as Australia’s preeminent gaming destination. It allows The Star shareholders to share in what we confidently believe will be a brighter future together.”

Bally’s added that it was excited to “bring its reputation and operating expertise” to “fantastic markets” in Australia.

“We are up for the challenge,” George Papanier, the American firm’s President, concluded.

In February, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission began prosecuting Stars Casino and some of its former executives.

The firm is accused of breaching money laundering protocols at its Sydney, Brisbane, and Gold Coast locations.

The post Australian Casino Operator Star Entertainment Accepts $180.2M Bally’s Rescue Bid appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Upon approving the acquisition from Brightstar, an industry-focused private equity firm, AGS’ shareholders will receive $12.50 per share in cash, representing a 41 per cent premium to the supplier’s volume-weighted average share price over the last 90 days. 

The figure also represents a 40 per cent premium to AGS’ closing price on May 8, 2024. 

David Lopez, CEO & President of AGS, commented: “We are very pleased to reach this agreement, which we believe provides our stockholders with compelling, certain cash value. Joining forces with Brightstar represents an exciting new chapter for AGS and our mission to provide exceptional gaming solutions for our operator partners.

“With Brightstar’s resources and strategic guidance, we believe AGS will be well-positioned to make targeted investments in R&D, top talent, operations and industry-leading innovation, which should accelerate our global footprint.”

While the acquisition has been approved by the AGS Board of Directors, they did recommend that the company’s stakeholders approve the acquisition before its completion.  

If the acquisition gains full approval, Brightstar will gain full control of AGS gaming operations, supplying land based slot and table game products as well as online casino content.

“We look forward to working with David and the AGS team to capitalise on opportunities by taking a long-term approach to creating value,” said Andrew Weinberg, Founder & CEO of Brightstar. 

“AGS has a strong pipeline of new products, and we believe the company’s innovative approach to game development provides significant potential for continued growth.”

Macquarie Capital will serve as financial advisor for AGS, while Cooley LLP will serve as the supplier’s legal counsel throughout the acquisition. 

For Brightstar, Jefferies LLC will serve as lead financial advisor with Barclays and Citizens JMP Securities as supporting financial advisors. Kirkland & Ellis LLP will handle the buyer’s legal counsel. 

Due to the acquisition announcement, AGS has cancelled its Q1 2024 conference call, which was set to take place on May 9, and has confirmed that it will not issue a quarterly earnings release. 

Roger Bulloch, Partner at Brightstar, added: “We have been impressed by AGS’ award-winning products, differentiated culture, and outstanding reputation in this expanding industry. 

“We trust that partnering with AGS and executing on our shared vision can accelerate the company’s ability to create even greater value for its customers and players around the world.”

Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025 with AGS to become a privately held company. 

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Revenue for Betsson reached €248.2m, a 12 per cent spike on the same period last year – bolstered by the growth of the firm’s casino output, which grew by 19 per cent to €180.5m, driven by an elevation of customer activity and a 15 per cent increase in active customers. 

Lindwall was keen to praise the company’s overall growth, “activity is high across the board and that took us to success. But, then again, casino outcomes are always a little bit more stable due to the nature of the business, whereas sports fluctuate a little bit more due to the nature of that business, which is the charm with sports. 

“I would say that the reason for coming out so strongly, and with the casino as the driver behind that, is that we have very high activity across the board in all our services.”

Betsson was also active in terms of game releases, which Lindwall emphasised is a key “way of developing the offering you have to all your customers”.

Italy provided key success for Betsson, a core market that the operator has been forging itself in for a significant period of time, according to Lindwall. 

He said: “We’ve been building up our Italian business for a very long time under the brand Star Casino. And it’s been geared towards casino as you can tell by the name. During the quarter, we also launched Betsson in the Italian market.

“We have already proven that we know how to operate in the Italian market and Italy is a very sports-prone market.”

The firm’s Italian footprint has also been bolstered by a collaboration with AS Roma legend, Franscesco Totti, an association that Lindwall stated placed the firm in ‘a great position in Italy’. 

Furthermore, he detailed that this is something the group can tap into in order to elevate its growth as it utilises the upcoming European Championships to enhance its footprint. 

Lindwall also praised the impact that the company’s M&A strategy has had in recent times as he underlined the pivotal nature of local knowledge when it comes to growing its audience in new markets.

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“It’s all about standing out and appealing to players”, Craig Davies stated as he reflected on discussions with BetBeast, a firm that has recently undergone expansion and sought to maximise engagement amongst casino players. 

The panel agreed that an efficient and meticulous strategy is integral to appealing to a new audience and enjoying success upon expansion into new markets. 

Furthermore, Davies highlighted that it is important to avoid solely focusing on what players enjoy, but also to take heed of the elements that disengage players and ensure they are being avoided. 

Danny Lee also cemented the idea that forming a brand presence and ensuring that an engaging lobby is provided can be pivotal for ensuring player retention, specifically amongst smaller operators. 

Davies went on to highlight how important strategic M&A can be when it comes to regional expansion. M&A can be an incentive for many, he underlined, as operators perhaps move into markets with an eye to being purchased. 

The podcast then emphasised that free-to-play can be a vital asset to maximising player retention and bringing them back – tapping into leaderboards and other competitive elements that provide a new avenue to gaining player attention. 

As well as this, Lee cited the need for an initial activation, specifically when it comes to matched bonuses and promotions and sign up offers – something he stated can be crucial to having a positive first impression between operator and player. 

The podcast was also united in stating that safer gambling protocols and player protection also bolster retention – with players wanting to know they are seen as valued and aren’t just there for quick transactions.

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Entering new territories, withdrawing from a major jurisdiction, attempting to become a public company, and driving continued growth in established markets are just a few of the challenges that have made their way on to his to-do list. It has not only been a busy period for Athanasopoulos and his teams in Athens and Malta, it has also been a successful one. 

Reflecting on recent developments, Athanasopoulos said: “2023 so far has been a remarkable year for Novibet, both in terms of expansion in our global operations, and in terms of growth in all markets.”

Picking out a highlight, he continued: “Novibet embarked on an ambitious endeavour to build its presence in the vibrant Central and South American markets. With limited brand awareness and intense competition across the Atlantic, Novibet took on the challenge head-on, crafting a fantastic international 360° campaign that captivates audiences across Brazil, Ecuador, Chile and Mexico.” 

The campaign included securing the Chilean superstar Arturo Vidal as global brand ambassador, collaborating with iconic goalkeeper Memo Ochoa in Mexico and sponsoring four football clubs in South America. 

The year has not all been about taking market share in the emerging markets of Latin America though, as Novibet has also strengthened its position in its home market of Greece, where NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Premier League footballer Kostas Tsimikas linked up with the operator as CSR ambassadors.

“We hope that market conditions will change in favour of a healthy competition between operators”

“The Greek market has been the proving grounds for Novibet,” said Athanasopoulos. “In the last few years we managed to overtake global operators, with brands that used to be household names and product offerings that were perceived as best in class. 

“It takes time to reach the maturity level that Novibet offers today. We invested heavily in our technology, innovated with our product, optimised our CRM recipes, and only then we accelerated to a podium position. We have still room to grow in this market, and expect to do so as momentum is on our side.” 

Novibet is also enjoying growth in Ireland, a market that Athanasopoulos described as being a “long-term play” for the operator. However, the situation in its third European market is more complex.

“Italy is a completely different case. The advertising ban happened very close to our launch, putting us in a dilemma of either cancelling our efforts or planning for a very small market share,” Athanasopoulos explained. 

“We, obviously, did not give up. Given the adjusted return to our investments in this market, we decided to operate a third-party platform and released the internal resources to other opportunities. We hope that market conditions will change in favour of a healthy competition between operators.”

Novibet had also had a presence in Europe’s biggest and most-competitive gambling market, but elected to hand back its UK Gambling Commission licence in 2022. 18 months on, Athanasopoulos is satisfied that was the right decision, but hinted that the company has not yet reached the final chapter of its UK story. 

“Prior to our surrender of the licence, we had been growing at a typical, for Novibet, rate of more than doubling every year. And while our commercial success was delivering on plan, we noticed two very worrisome long-term threats: regulatory challenges and an accompanying black market growth,” said the CEO. 

“Unfortunately and outside of our control, the SPAC market deteriorated”

“We took the very hard decision to focus our efforts and investments in more promising markets, but we haven’t completely written off the UK opportunity. We are monitoring changes, and if a more favourable set of conditions is shown to become the most likely scenario, we would consider reapplying for a licence.”

Private or Public? 

There comes a point in any successful private company’s life when it has to give serious consideration as to whether the allure of the stock market is the right path to support its long-term growth plans. 

In 2022, Novibet’s leadership team decided that it was and announced plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange, via a special purpose acquisition company merger with Artemis Strategic Investment Corporation. However, the deal was terminated in June 2023, leaving the GameTech business still in private ownership. 

While the outcome was, obviously, not what had been hoped for, Athanasopoulos believes the original strategy was correct. 

“The decision for Novibet to become a public company was the right one, at the wrong time. The announced SPAC transaction would have provided us with growth capital and a ticket to become listed on one of the biggest exchanges in the world,” he said. 

“Unfortunately and outside of our control, the SPAC market deteriorated to the point of becoming a negative return for target companies. There are many lessons and anecdotes from this journey, and some are too fresh to discuss publicly. 

“We changed our corporate governance and group structure to become listed-ready, got audited and went through multiple due diligence rounds, and presented our success to the top sector analysts and funds of the world. While most of these achievements are intangible, our organisation matured in a very healthy way.”

“…our view is that the consolidations that are currently taking place internationally are not led by industry experts”

Going Global 

The cancellation of the SPAC deal has done little to quell Novibet’s ambition and it already has plans to enhance its operation in Cyprus and explore opportunities in Oceania. 

It is a strategy that will bring the company into even greater competition with the world’s biggest operators. And as the spread of regulation has created an ever-growing total addressable legal market, those multinational operators have become more aggressive with their M&A tactics in a bid to grab market share.  

So, is that a situation that worries Athanasopoulos? Not particularly. 

“The founders and top management of Novibet have been in this sector for more than 20 years, so we have witnessed the rise and fall of many,” he said. “The fragmentation and expanding regulation in the industry at a global level favours companies that have experience with multi-jurisdiction operations and the ability to deploy scalable technologies when expanding in new markets. 

“Also, given the multitude of unlawful operators currently in the market, having a valid licence and a spotless track record is a ‘sine qua non’ for operators across the globe. Novibet has historically only focused on regulated, or about-to-be regulated, markets.

“We welcome any relevant local efforts, and look forward to working together with regulators – as in the case of Brazil – to create a safe environment for users, culling bad actors and protecting the vulnerable.” 

He added: “As far as the M&A landscape is concerned, our view is that the consolidations that are currently taking place internationally are not led by industry experts, and these M&A efforts are bound to fail, if not initiated by operators themselves. 

“We in Novibet have considered being the buyer in the M&A space, but so far what is on offer is underwhelming, with the market presenting only very limited opportunities that could justify a buy-versus-build dilemma, especially for a company with organic growth rates such as our own.”

The post Novibet: embarking on ambitious endeavours to achieve global ambitions appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The merged company’s leadership structure will see the CEO of Bet99, Jared Beber, become the CEO of the merged company, whilst current Kings leader Steve Budin will continue to manage the LottoKings operations and act in an advisory role.

Additionally, the senior leadership team will feature former CEO and Founder of Bragg Gaming, Adam Arviv, who will join as the Executive Chair.

An experienced gaming executive, Arviv was credited with transforming the balance sheet at Bragg, eliminating $50M of debt, and ensuring $45M in cash and zero debt.

“The combination of Kings Entertainment, a company led by pioneers of the international online sports gambling industry, and SVH, the parent company of operators of the market-leading Bet99 brand, will be transformative for the Canadian sports betting sector,” commented Budin, CEO of Kings Entertainment.

“Our vision for Kings has always been to build leadership positions within each of the regulated jurisdictions that we enter, and this agreement will certainly accelerate that goal within the Canadian landscape and beyond.”

The deal remains subject to terms and conditions, which include both shareholder approval and the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. 

This year, Kings was listed on the CSE under the ticker JKPT, as it aimed to ‘attract and engage an international player base and expand into the live dealer casino games and sportsbook sectors’.

“Merging with an internationally recognised online betting veteran such as Kings is a natural next step for SVH,” said Jared Beber, CEO, of Sports Venture Holdings. 

“Bringing the Bet99 brand to the public capital markets, through Kings’ CSE and OTC listings, will not only support expansion by engaging a much broader investor base, but will also build the Bet99 brand with an even wider audience of betting enthusiasts.”

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The firm has held a stake in the sports media, betting and icasino brand since 2020 when it acquired a 36 per cent stake in a deal worth around $163m. 

It then secured additional shares to increase its ownership to around 50 per cent for an additional $62m, which was originally noted to occur following three years, whilst retaining the rights to acquire 100 per cent of Barstool.

PENN has now accelerated those plans to take 100 per cent of the shares of Barstool, with the transaction now expected to be complete by February 2023. 

Updating investors, PENN stated: “As previously disclosed, PENN Entertainment has call rights with respect to all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Barstool Sports, Inc not already owned by PENN. PENN has exercised these call rights to bring its ownership of Barstool to 100 per cent.

“The acquisition of the remaining Barstool shares is expected to be completed in February 2023, after which Barstool will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of PENN. 

“Completion of the acquisition at that time is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the absence of any governmental order or law prohibiting such acquisition and the expiration of termination of any applicable waiting period.”

Publishing its Q2 financial results, PENN detailed that Barstool Sports has expanded its social reach by ‘delivering highly engaging and relevant content’, whilst the Barstool Sportsbook was preparing to migrate onto the new tech stack during Q3 2023. 

In the same report, it was noted that Barstool was continuing to develop, with Barstool retail sportsbook ‘resonating with the younger demographic’.

The report noted: “Our Barstool branded retail sportsbooks resonate with the younger demographics and create meaningful cross-sell opportunities. Our recently converted Barstool sportsbook in Lake Charles, Louisiana, set a new standard for retail sportsbook experiences, and we are seeing encouraging results in visitation and spend. 

“We are on track to convert our existing temporary sportsbook to a Barstool sportsbook at L’Auberge Baton Rouge this fall where we expect to have a similar positive impact.

“Based on our ongoing success in Louisiana, we are optimistic about our upcoming Barstool branded retail sportsbook launches in Kansas and Ohio where we operate similar market-leading properties bolstered by large casino databases that should augment our omni-channel strategy.”

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The Playtech board is unanimously recommending shareholders vote in favour of the deal in a year that has seen an unprecedented level of M&A activity. Aristocrat plans to fund the deal with a £864m equity raising, alongside new debt and existing cash.

Aristocrat believes the deal will provide material scale in online gaming, provide revenue growth, reach a broader range of customers and ‘operate and innovate’ in the European market through Playtech’s Snaitech B2C operation.

Aristocrat CEO and managing director Trevor Croker explained: “The proposed combination would bring together Aristocrat’s world-class gaming content and customer and regulatory relationships with Playtech’s industry leading global online RMG (real money gaming) platform (B2B) and European B2C footprint.

“The combined group would offer a broad portfolio of end-to-end solutions for gaming customers around the world, as well as seamless player experiences, underpinned by a shared focus on responsible gameplay and innovation.

“Additionally, the business will be ideally positioned to unlock sustainable shareholder value by seizing opportunities in the fast-growing global online RMG segment as they continue to open up, particularly in North America.”

Croker said that the offer reflects the strategic potential of the merger in the global sector that continues to migrate online. “Adding Playtech’s talented team with Aristocrat’s established strengths and momentum will create a true industry leader in the global online RMG space, particularly in terms of our B2B capabilities.”

The offer represents a valuation multiple of 11.4x Playtech’s adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months to 30 June 2021 and Aristocrat has already made deals with major shareholders for just over 20 per cent of Playtech’s outstanding shares.

Mor Weizer, CEO of Playtech, said of the transaction: “This transaction marks an exciting opportunity in the next stage of growth for Playtech, and delivers significant benefits to our stakeholders, including our customers, our shareholders and our incredibly talented people. This deal has the potential to enhance our distribution, our capacity to build new and deeper relationships with partners, and bolsters our technological capabilities.

“The combination of our two companies builds one of the largest B2B gaming platforms in the world, with the people, infrastructure and expertise to provide our customers with a truly best-in-class offer across all areas of gaming and sports betting.”

Brian Mattingley, chair of Playtech, added: “In recent years, Playtech has successfully repositioned its world leading gambling technology and operations, expanding in strategically important regulated markets and driving major online B2B revenue growth.

“Whilst the business has made significant progress, most notably in the Americas, Aristocrat’s proposal provides an attractive opportunity for shareholders to accelerate Playtech’s longer-term value.

The post Aristocrat makes bold £2.7bn offer for Playtech appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Formerly GVC Group Holdings, Entain currently operates several global gaming brands, including Ladbrokes, Coral, Bwin, PartyPoker , SportingBet, Gala Bingo, Eurobet and Betboo. Crucially it is already a partner with MGM in the burgeoning US sports betting and gaming market, where their joint venture BetMGM is already challenging the leading DraftKings and FanDuel brands.

The WSJ reports that MGM’s latest offer is the second approach after an approximate $10bn all-cash overture was ‘rebuffed’. However it appears this new offer will have a substantial stock component.

The move echoes the recent deal put together which saw Caesars Entertainment agree a £2.9bn takeover of William Hill which is expected to be completed in Spring. Currently sports betting stocks in the US have been outperforming most other sectors, with investors keen to buy in after DraftKing’s move into the stock market and the huge jump in value of Penn National after it acquired a large stake of media company Barstool Sports.

All this activity will also be putting pressure on MGM governance to make a bigger play in sports betting with existing partner Entain being its obvious choice. As with the Caesars/William Hill tie up, there would still be a question as to how much MGM wants the non-US gambling assets and whether they would be divested further down the line, but Entain’s investment in areas with massive potential such as South America should be appealing to an international firm.

Meanwhile Entain has confirmed that the appointment of chief governance officer Robert Hoskin to the company’s board of directors, while Jane Anscombe has stepped down as non-executive director to pursue other opportunities. Anscombe joined the Board in June 2017 and has chaired the remuneration committee and served on the nomination, CSR and audit committees. Her successor as remuneration committee chair will be announced in due course.

Barry Gibson, Chairman of Entain, said: “As previously stated, Robert has made an outstanding contribution to Entain in his 15 years at the Group. He is responsible for regulation, legal and governance, all of which are central to our long-term growth plans to build a responsible and sustainable business of global scale and world class standard.

“On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Jane for her significant contribution and commitment to Entain over the past three years. In particular I would like to recognise her hard work and engagement on the company’s remuneration and strategic transition. Entain has become a stronger company and Jane has our thanks for her efforts.”

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The second edition of CasinoBeats Malta will be significantly larger than the 2019 debut, welcoming up to 1,500 delegates to the InterContinental Malta on March 24-26, and offering delegates unparalleled networking opportunities alongside six tracks of conference content including, on day one, the Investor Forum.

KPMG Malta offers specialised services to the igaming sector, combining gaming industry expertise, close relationships with industry stakeholders and the reach of KPMG’s global network to offer a professional service across functional and geographical boundaries.

With more than 100 operators present, along with regulators, leading suppliers, payment companies, affiliates and marketers attending CasinoBeats Malta, the Investor Forum will offer insight into M&A activities and prospects across Europe and in North America.

KPMG Malta Director and Head of Gaming, Russell Mifsud, commented: “We are
delighted to be working in partnership with SBC and the CasinoBeats brand to deliver the Investors Forum.

“CasinoBeats has quickly become a powerful brand in the igaming sector and we see this event as the perfect opportunity to work together and offer delegates high-level insight and first-class networking opportunities.”

Visitors to the much bigger 2020 edition of CasinoBeats Malta will gain access to six tracks of conference content, specifically Slots 2020; Regulation & Compliance, Gaming 2020 (with a focus on poker, bingo, social, live and lottery), Working in Malta (delivered in partnership with GamingMalta), the inaugural Malta staging of the PaymentExpert Forum and the Investor Forum, in partnership with KPMG.

Delegates attending the Investor Forum will also be welcomed to an exclusive drinks reception before the main CasinoBeats Malta networking party on Wednesday, March 25.

CasinoBeats Managing Director Stewart Darkin added: “As the scope and scale of CasinoBeats Malta continues to grow, we are thrilled to be working with KPMG, one of the island’s leading providers of professional services.

“We anticipate that Russell and his team will add huge value to the event, bringing unique insight and a powerful network of speakers and delegates to CasinoBeats Malta.”

CasinoBeats Malta (March 24-26, 2020) will bring together 1,500 senior-level attendees from operators, suppliers, affiliates and regulators, as well as 130 leading industry speakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the online casino sector.

Learn more about the event and buy your tickets here

To inquire about exhibition and sponsorship opportunities at CasinoBeats Malta, please contact sales@sbcgaming.com

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