22 Nov: Entain to bet on Baltic booster?

Entain Olympic bid, Flutter/Tombola industry reaction, the week ahead, Startup Shoutouts +More

Nov 22, 2021

Good morning. We start the week with news of Entain’s rumored $1bn bid for Baltic and pan-European operator Olympic Entertainment Group. There is some industry reaction to Flutter’s bid for Tombola. We also take a look at the week ahead with results due from Genius Sports, Rivalry and Elys Technology and we have more Startup Shoutouts.

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Entain Olympic bid

Feeling Baltic: Entain is reported to have made a $1bn bid to buy elements of Estonian-based betting and gaming operator Olympic Entertainment Group. The Bloomberg story suggests the bid is all cash. Olympic is owned by collapsed London-based private equity group Novalpina Capital. A bid for Olympic would represent a doubling-up of Entain interests in the Baltics after it bought up Estonian-based online operator Enlabs in another all-cash deal worth £250m ($335m). When contacted by WE+M Entain offered no comment on the news.

From Stettin to Trieste: Olympic runs the online brands OlyBet and MaxBet as well as land-based casinos in Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Italy and Malta as well as online operations in Croatia. Entain’s bid would reportedly include the online operations only and consist of an upfront payment plus an earn-out payable in 2023. It was unclear whether Entain would buy the land-based casino interests.

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Flutter/Tombola industry reaction

Bang on the Drum: Ex-Which Bingo founder Wayne Howe writes about Flutter’s Tombola buyout:

“I think what is more likely to be considered is whether or not Flutter could take the unique bingo platform that Tombola have built and bring their other bingo brands onto the same platform, essentially creating a Flutter bingo network, powered by Tombola, that pools players together from Sky Bingo, Paddy Power and Betfair,” writes Howe. “If they did that, and did it in the right way, it could be a game-changer for the UK market as we know it.”

Startup Shoutouts

The long game: Serial esports entrepreneur Rahul Sood has returned to the startup fray following the sale of Unikrn to Entain this past summer with a new Seattle-based outfit called Irreverent Labs. It has raised $5m for its NFT, AI and decentralized blockchain credentials from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Crypto) with additional investment from The Chainsmokers’ Mantis Fund, Keen Crypto, Unlock Ventures, and AdvancIt Capital. The company’s bold claim is that it is building “hundred-year games, designed to grow across decades of breathtaking depth and fun.”

EKG Ventures: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) has announced the formation of EKG Ventures, a closed-ended early-stage, private investment arm called EKG Ventures. Adam Krejcik, principal at Eilers & Krejcik said the firm currently has 10 active investments that span across the gaming industry. Investments to date include Underdog Fantasy, Live Play Mobile, Jackpocket, Gaming Analytics and Betting Hero. It has already achieved two exits.

The week ahead

On Tuesday, Elys Technology is expected to provide proof-of-concept in its Q3 for its micro-targeting of bars and restaurants with its Gameboard sport-betting platform. Details will also be sought around its deal with Atlantic City’s Ocean Casino Resort. Genius Sports will be reporting on Wednesday. In Q2 the company reported revenues that doubled to $55.8m, but losses hit $464m. The company is expected to reveal the costs of the NFL data deal which have remained under wraps since it was signed ahead of the current NFL season. On Thursday, Toronto-listed esports-betting operator Rivalry will be providing its first results since listing in early October. Later today, Esports Technologies will be speaking at the 1st Annual Needham Consumer Tech/Ecommerce conference.

Share price review

GAN is down over 29% in the past month post-results and Jefferies noted that CEO Dermot Smurfit has sold down 200,000 shares. Ahead of its results, Genius Sports has suffered from weak trading, with its share price down 24% over the past month. Gambling.com Group shares are down 16% since its results last week; Jefferies suggest this is down to profit-taking after a strong performance in the previous month and after what the analysts said were “somewhat unremarkable” Q3 results. DraftKings is down over 11% in the past week while Penn was down 10%, as was Caesars. Analysts at Truist noted the weakness in DraftKings and Penn, suggesting this partly reflected investor sentiment about the ending of the interest in bidding for Entain.

Betting partnerships

Caesars Sportsbook has agreed a wide-ranging partnership with Madison Square Gardens Entertainment for sponsorship of the Knicks and the Rangers as well as the branding for a premium club in the arena’s lower bowl. In the wake of the news about the New York licensees, MSGE completed a multi-year agreement with BetMGM and analysts at Jefferies noted at the time this was unlikely to be the last partnership deal. Betway has signed a multi-year partnership with New Jersey Devils including TV-visible signage throughout the Prudential Center and social media exposure. DraftKings is now the fantasy sports-betting partner of the Boston Bruins and will become the official sports-betting partner of the NHL franchise once it is regulated in the group’s home state of Massachusetts. Digital token and fan engagement company Socios has doubled up in New England by sponsoring the state’s NFL team the New England Patriots and its MLS counterpart the New England Patriots, both are owned by the Kraft Sports + Entertainment group.

Newslines

No gopher: Investment firm Gopher has pulled out of the race to buy Playtech but maintains it will complete the acquisition of the financial arm Finalto as previously agreed. The news leaves JKO Play, the Eddie Jordan and Keith O’Loughlin investment vehicle, as the only other rival to Aristocrat as it stands. Meanwhile, the Times looks at the cast of characters involved in the bidding.

Quantum of solace: Rank has reached an agreement with HMRC on the quantum of its claim for the refund of VAT paid on slot machine income in the period from April 2006 to January 2013. The refund has been agreed at £77.5m and should be received by the Group shortly. Interest is also due on the claim which Rank expects to be circa £5.5m. Both amounts will be subject to corporation tax at 19%.

End of the peer show: SCCG Management has partnered with Seth Schorr and his group of companies, to bring Gamerwager's UK-licensed, peer-to-peer console esports wagering platform, to the US. Gamerwager’s platform has been approved by the UK Gambling Commission and has been successfully launched in both the Play and App Stores for the UK. The platform allows like-minded gamers to connect and wager with one another in a licensed and compliant environment.

In the huddle: Gaming technology provider Huddle is set to work on a number of projects related to automated data products for FDJ-owned Sporting Group with an emphasis on driving automation in the North American markets.

Bejewelled: Crown Resorts has received a renewed A$6.2bn takeover offer from Blackstone Group. The third attempt by the private equity behemoth to wrest control of the troubled Australian-based casino group. Blackstone said the offer is conditional on receiving approval from the Victorian regulator.