Leading casino operator Aspire Global has acquired sportsbook provider BtoBet.
Aspire Global has announced a new deal to acquire BtoBet, a sportsbook technology provider, for €20 million (Around £18.3 million), as part of a move to cover the “main elements of the B2B iGaming value chain” and expand its sports betting presence.
According to iGamingBusiness, the deal sees Aspire Global pay €15 million in cash at closing and then an addition €5 million for the next twelve months after the deal is signed, coming to a whopping total of €75 million.
What’s more, Aspire Global will reportedly pay an additional consideration based on the tech company’s performance over the last two years, and the consideration will be equal to seven times the company’s earnings before interest and tax.
The deal, which is set to close in the fourth quarter of 2020, will help expand Aspire Global’s sports betting services. Aspire Global Chief Executive Tsachi Miamon said the deal means the company will be involved in all major online gambling areas due to BtoBet’s Neuron 3 platform.
He said in a statement: “Aspire Global now enters the sports betting arena with storm strength. With the acquisition of BtoBet we have become a true global B2B company which owns and provides an iGaming platform, sports betting, casino games and games aggregator as well as managed services for all continents and markets.”
He added: “Aspire Global can now compete for any deal, big or small, that exists out there. This is a perfect match. We are impressed by the qualities of the Neuron Sports platform and in addition we will get access to new growth markets, new potential big deals and new opportunities.”
Alessandro Fried, the founder of BtoBet, added: “I am truly enthusiastic by the opportunities we see by becoming part of Aspire Global, the powerhouse for iGaming operators.
“With our joined forces, we will take this new global iGaming offering in every corner of the Earth. We have been in the industry for a long period of time and finally we met the perfect partner that matches our vision and with which we can build a stronger presence globally.”
BtoBet, which is based in Gibraltar and has around 100 employees, had revenues of €4.4 million as well as an EBITDA of €1.5 million. Within the first six months of 2020, the tech company recorded over €3 million in revenue, and Aspire Global’s acquisition will have a positive effect on the casino operator’s EBITDA of 2021.
The news comes after Aspire Global strengthened its presence in the Romanian gambling market after striking a new partnership with 888 Casino. Under the agreement, all games developed by Pariplay, which is owned by Aspire, is made available with 888 Casino in Romania.
Aspire Global is a well-known online casino operator and is the owner of dozens of popular online casinos including Generation VIP, Hopa, Karamba, Neptune Play, Campeon UK, Chilli Spins, Casiplay, Jambo Casino, Luckland, Mr Play, Slotzo, Trada Casino, Winnings, WixStars, PlayFrank, Queen Play, and so many others.
All of the sites, which we’ve reviewed extensively, are well-known among gamblers for providing players with a huge selection of casino games, for accepting most major payment methods, for providing great customer support, and for offering both new and regular customers various promotions.
Over the last few years, Aspire has been working on expanding its gambling presence by launching betting services. In September 2019, Aspire Global implemented a sportsbook offering on its Mr Play online casino, expanding its gambling activities to sports betting too.
Aspire Global’s Karamba online casino also launched a sports betting service, and it seems with the new acquisition Aspire Global is looking to continue this trend and implement additional sportsbook services into its online casinos.
Aspire Global isn’t the only casino operator to have changed focus and begin launching sports betting services. In January 2020, Casumo celebrated the launch of its online sportsbook, giving customers a chance to bet on a variety of sports games and events.
As we reported at the beginning of the year, the launch of the sportsbook came with a brand new welcome bonus of a £10 free bet for depositing £10. What’s more, the service included several great features, including results that are instantly updated, the ability to hide sports, as well as quick deposits and withdrawals.
In June 2019, before Aspire Global launched its Mr Play sportsbook, Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) launched sports betting services on its popular Metal Casino and Guts Casino websites, expanding the gambling services available with those websites.
More recently, BGO Casino – one of the biggest online casino sites in the United Kingdom – launched its own virtual sports betting service. Currently, the service only allows customers to bet on virtual sports and not real-life events and games.
While many online casino operators and brands have already launched their betting services, others are yet to come. In January this year, popular casino operator Genesis Global Limited announced a partnership with SBTech for a new sports betting service, suggesting that it was looking at launching sportsbooks on its online casinos.
Meanwhile, Videoslots has announced that it will be launching its own sportsbook in 2020 in partnership with Betradar and the company’s Managed Trading Services system, allowing the operator to run a sports betting service. Unfortunately, Videoslots’ sportsbook has yet to launch, and there has been no other news about the service – so check back in the coming months to see if anything has changed.
The trend of casinos launching sports betting services seems to be on the rise so you can expect many more online casinos to announce partnerships with sports betting providers or announce the launch of their new sportsbook.
