SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
888 has secured the long-term product development strategy for its 888Sport division after acquiring the BetBright sports betting platform for £15 million.
The platform will be integrated into 888’s proprietary gaming backend, giving the online gaming entertainment and solutions provider ‘complete ownership’ over its technology and product development across four key verticals – sport, casino, poker and bingo.
However, more specifically 888 is acquiring high-quality and scalable sportsbook technology from BetBright, alongside associated risk management, product and trading capabilities, to support the long-term development of the successful 888Sport brand.
It was announced by 888 as the signing of an agreement by its wholly-owned subsidiaries for the acquisition of certain assets of Dedsert Limited and Dedsert (Ireland) Limited and its affiliates (together which form BetBright) for a £15 million fee.
As part of the acquisition, which will lead to a phased and market-by-market rollout of 888’s enhanced sportsbook as soon as is ‘practically feasible’, BetBright’s Dublin office will be integrated into the Group.
Itai Pazner, Chief Executive of 888, commented: “This acquisition of a high-quality and scalable sportsbook is an exciting milestone for 888. It gives the Group the missing piece in our proprietary product and technology portfolio and will enable 888 to own proprietary, end-to-end solutions across the four major online gaming verticals.
“With 888Sport becoming an increasingly established and popular worldwide sports betting destination, we believe it is the right time to take ownership of our full sports betting proposition. We are confident that this acquisition will increase the Group’s long-term prospects and differentiation in the growing global sports betting market.
“The BetBright sportsbook has been developed by a fantastic team and is a high quality and scalable platform. Our new colleagues joining from BetBright will significantly strengthen 888’s sports betting expertise and industry know-how, and we are delighted to welcome them into the Group.
“This is the third acquisition that the Group has made in recent months and demonstrates the Group’s commitment to its strategy: to be a global leader in the online gaming market by driving organic growth across regulated markets, supported by value-accretive M&A.”
As reported by Regulus Partners, it remains to be seen whether BetBright – while expected to deliver greater operational control to a brand that is an estimated five times bigger than its own – can provide for the scale of a Kindred Group, which effectively powers the current offer.
