Wire EMEA
Entain Deal Undermined by UK Fine
Days after announcing its partnership with EMMA Capital to establish Entain CEE and acquire SuperSport, Entain receives UK’s biggest ever regulatory fine.
Entain is to pay EMMA Capital €600m in cash for 75 per cent of SuperSport, and the UK Gambling Commission £17m for land-based and online responsibility failures.
UK ONLINE & SPORTS BETTING
ROMANIA – SYNOT is inviting visitors to its booth at the Entertainment Arena Expo, taking place September 6-8 at the RomExpo Fair Ground in Bucharest. SYNOT is showcasing its new progressive system, Magic Ball Link, plus its Explosive Games Premium+ product line, including three compendiums and its Firebird game sets containing more than 60 games.
Sales Manager, Alexandru Rilea, confirmed that SYNOT is also introducing its latest triple screen Eclipse FL-32 cabinet ,available in 32ins. Full HD, the successful triple screen UP1-24 cabinet and the latest games from SYNOT Games and software solutions from SYNOT Interactive.
Six days in August proved a rollercoaster for London-based Entain as the gaming giant announced both its partnership with Czech Republic’s EMMA Capital to establish a new venture, Entain CEE; and its regulatory settlement with the Gambling Commission amounting to the largest fine ever paid by an operator in the UK.
Entain Group will pay £14m for failures at its online business LC International Limited, which runs 13 websites including
ladbrokes.com,
coral.co.uk and
foxybingo.com. It will also pay £3m for failures at its Ladbrokes Betting and Gaming Limited operation which runs 2,746 gambling premises across Britain.
Te is the second time that the winner of SBC North America’s Responsible Gaming Operator 2021-22 has fallen foul of the rules, with the regulator making clear that further serious breaches makes the removal of its UK licence a very real possibility.
SPAIN – Zitro’s new multi-game, Wheel of Legends, has been installed at Bingo Roma in Madrid. “The reception that Wheel of Legends has had among our customers has been incredible,” said a Bingo Roma spokesperson. “We are excited to see how players enjoy Zitro’s multi-game launch, together with the new Altius Glare cabinet.”
Vicente Fernández, Commercial Director at Zitro, said: “Bingo Roma is known for offering customers high-end products and exciting gaming experiences, so we want to thank the managers of Bingo Roma for adding Wheel of Legends to the wide portfolio of Zitro products they currently offer.”
THE NETHERLANDS – Synot Games is now live with
Jacks.nl in a deal that marks Synot’s’ debut in the regulated Dutch market and the continuance of its European expansion, with the KSA-certified operator already a hit with Dutch audiences.
Priscilla Gatt, Head of Business Development at SYNOT Games, stated: "We would like to congratulate JOI Gaming for being officially licensed and we are delighted to be its partner. This partnership signifies for us important future growth in the strategic region of Europe."
Eric Olders, CEO and member of the Board of JVH gaming & entertainment group at JOI Gaming, added: “We continue to expand our offer, and we are very excited about this exclusive partnership with Synot Games which will bring a large selection of new games to
Jacks.nl. to our players.”
P16 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Outside of the UK, news was much more positive with Entain’s expansion in Central and Eastern Europe seeing the company now owning 75 per cent of the economic rights in Entain CEE, alongside the acquisition of the SuperSport Group, the gaming and sportsbook operator in Croatia from EMMA
Entain is creating platform in the CEE region, led by SuperSport’s CEO, Radim Haluza, combining Entain’s global scale, access to capital and
content, with EMMA’s regional knowledge and connectivity, alongside the expert local operational knowledge of Radim and his team. Te bespoke structure will allow Entain to join with local operators through Entain CEE to continue to grow the platform across the region. Entain is to pay EMMA €600m in cash for 75 per cent of the economic rights in SuperSport, with a further contingent payment made to EMMA in early 2023 based on SuperSport’s EBITDA for the financial year ending 2022. Tis payment is expected to be €90m. EMMA will contribute their 25 per cent stake in SuperSport to Entain CEE at an initial implied valuation of €200m, with the contingent payment implying an additional €30m value contributed by EMMA.
Te acquisition is expected to value SuperSport at €920m which implies a transaction multiple of 9.6x 2022 EBITDA, or 9.1x 2022 fully synergised EBITDA. EMMA is also entitled to enhanced dividends from completion to the end of 2024, which will be linked to the performance of SuperSport. It is expected that the consideration, plus enhanced dividends, will imply a multiple of less than 10x LTM SuperSport EBITDA at each stage.
Te acquisition will be financed through a €700m bridge loan from Deutsche Bank, Lloyds, Mediobanca, NatWest, and Santander. Te acquisition will increase Entain’s pro-forma net debt to EBITDA leverage ratio in 2022 by 0.4x. Te acquisition is expected to complete in Q4 2022.
Italy Flutter completes acquisition of Sisal Spa
Flutter Entertainment Plc has completed its acquisition of Italian gambling group Sisal SPA for €1.9bn (£1.6/$2.2bn).
On 23 December 2021, Flutter declared it had secured definitive terms with US PE fund CVC Capital Partners to acquire all assets (lottery, online and retail) of the heritage Italian gambling group.
Te acquisition will see the FTSE100 group secure an ‘Italian podium place’, as the combination of Sisal with Flutter’s established Italian brands of Betfair and PokerStars will result in a combined online market share of 20 per cent. Furthermore, the deal ensures that Flutter expands its
European retail presence, taking over the Sisal Matchpoint network, which operates VLTs across 39,000 Italian retail points, alongside the stewardship of Italy’s SuperEnalotto lottery.
Irrespective of Italian gambling’s ongoing regulatory headwinds, Flutter has outlined its intent to expand within Europe’s second- largest gambling market, which saw a mass consumer migration from retail to online verticals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Flutter anticipates that the overall Italian gambling market is predicted to reach £3.6bn by 2024, equating to a forecast 5-year compound annual growth of 20 per cent.
Latvia
Further expanding the scope of its activities, PopOK Gaming now includes Latvia within its licensed markets reach. Tis latest approval adds to the momentum PopOK Gaming has been enjoying, opening new doors forpartners to grow their business . PopOK Gaming Product Manager, Tsovinar Elchyan, said: “Tis achievement is another important step forward for PopOK Gaming and an impetus for continuous improvements. After receiving the green light to provide our games in Latvia, we are keen on ensuring a remarkable gaming experience for local players.”
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