Amalgamation in the gambling market gains momentum – GVC Holdings at the forefront

The head of GVC Holdings, a leading provider of B2B and B2C services to the online gaming and sports betting markets, which has branched out far and wide rapidly through a series of deals, told Reuters that they will sit out any further consolidation in the British industry. GVC, which acceded to take over Ladbrokes Coral, the leading British bookmaker for up to £4bn (€4.49bn), disclosed that the net gaming revenue hiked  17pc in 2017, aided by gains from the bwin.party businesses it acquired prior to three years.

Amalgamation in the British gambling market has gained momentum as companies bulk up in response to higher tax bills and tighter regulations and GVC has been at the forefront.

GVC Chief Executive, Kenneth Alexander told Reuters: “I expect there would be some more deals in the next 12 to 18 months in UK. We bought Ladbrokes Coral and we are done for the UK. Ladbrokes is what we wanted, we got them and we are biggest in the UK when the deal closes so we don’t need anything more here.”

“However GVC, the owner of the Sportingbet and Foxy Bingo brands, would still explore M&A opportunity beyond Britain,” Mr. Alexander added. He has built GVC through a series of increasingly ambitious deals, including the £1.1bn reverse takeover of bwin.party, growing it into a FTSE 250 business.

For GVC, gains made from bwin.party deal help it post net gaming revenue of €925.6m last year compared with €794.3m in 2016.

It acquired bwin.party for £1.1bn in 2015 after a prolonged bidding with online rival 888 Holdings. Shares were up 3.9pc and among the top gainer on FTSE 250 Index. (Reuters)

Source: Irish Independent