Paddy Power and Fanduel owner Flutter Entertainment said it had bought an initial 51% stake in Serbia’s second biggest sports betting and gaming operator MaxBet for €141m in a bid to expand in the Balkans.

Flutter said the deal allows it to acquire the remaining 49% stake in 2029 on similar terms.

It added that the deal aligns with its strategy to target fast-growing, regulated markets where it can combine local expertise with its global pricing and technology.

Flutter, the world’s largest online betting company, said the €700m Serbian betting market is attractive due to its relatively low online penetration of around 35% and expected online compound annual growth to 2025 of about 15%.

MaxBet, which generated pro forma fully regulated revenue of €145m in the year to June, 44% of it online, also has a smaller presence in Bosnia, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

It has an estimated 20% online share as well as over 400 retail outlets across four markets, a well-known local brand and 95,000 online average monthly players.

Flutter, which makes 78% of its revenue in its main divisions of the US, Australia and Ireland and the UK, operates in more than 100 countries around the world.

Peter Jackson, Flutter’s chief executive, said today’s acquisition continues the company’s progress against the strategic priorities it has set for its International division; to buy and build podium positions in regulated markets.

“We believe MaxBet is an excellent opportunity to replicate the success we have achieved in markets like Georgia, India and Italy by acquiring a strong brand in a podium position, where we see a compelling opportunity to combine that extensive local expertise with the power of the Flutter Edge to accelerate and transform growth,” the CEO added.

The deal is subject to customary regulatory clearances and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.

Spinomenal, the leading iGaming content provider, has augmented its presence in the Bulgarian iGaming market following a new content partnership with WINBET.

Following the agreement, the leading player in the Bulgarian market will gain seamless access to a wide range of Spinomenal’s top performing titles. Some of the games now available on WINBET’s platform are Poseidon’s Rising, Book of Rebirth and Wolf Fang – to name just a few.

The games are being integrated into WINBET via EGT Digital’s platform. This latest content partnership builds on Spinomenal’s relentless commitment to enhancing its regulated global presence across the iGaming space.

Lior Shvartz, CEO for Spinomenal commented: “Bulgaria has been a major growth market for us and we’re really pleased to enhance our presence here. Our games are proving very popular and by partnering with WINBET we can increase their exposure further.”

Victor Perenovski, WINBET Operations Director, commented: “As the leading Bulgarian online entertainment provider, we strive to offer our clients an ever-expanding portfolio of top quality content and bespoke customer service. By integrating Spinomenal titles we further extend our offer as part of our growth strategy for the Bulgarian market.”

Hacksaw Gaming, a developer of premium online casino games, has broken into the Bulgarian iGaming market courtesy of a content distribution deal with Inbet.

The partnership sees Hacksaw Gaming supply the operator with an assortment of crowd-pleasing slot titles including flagship creation Wanted Dead or a Wild, in addition to 2023 smash hit R.I.P. City, Chaos Crew, Stack‘em, Cubes 2, and Joker Bombs, among several others.

Hacksaw Gaming’s Bulgarian bow represents another step forward as part of an overarching strategy to enhance its international footprint across regulated markets. The last two months alone have seen the studio debut in the highly competitive West Virginia and Lithuanian iGaming arenas to help swell its presence both at home and abroad.

Hacksaw Gaming CEO, Marcus Cordes, said: “It fills us with huge satisfaction to enter the Bulgarian market with Inbet so soon after breaking into the US and Lithuania. Hacksaw Gaming’s wide-ranging catalogue of games has wowed scores of fans across the world, and we’re excited to deliver our captivating content to another market of such strategic significance.

“As iGaming grows apace across the world, we remain perfectly positioned to embark on continued expansion across Europe and further afield driven by mutually beneficial partnerships.”

“As iGaming grows apace across the world, we remain perfectly positioned to embark on continued expansion across Europe and further afield driven by mutually beneficial partnerships.”

Tihomir Dyakov, COO of Inbet, added: “We are one of the most fast-growing betting sites in Bulgaria. Our main goal is to continue our great results in the first year of our market entry, and we believe that our partnership with Hacksaw will help us with that.”