888 Holdings has moved to gain complete control of the technologies needed for all its online gambling offerings by acquiring Irish sports betting operator Betbright in a deal valued at about $19.9 million.
The company will purchase assets of Dedsert Limited, Dedsert Ireland Limited and its affiliates which operate the BetBright brand.
BetBright is headquartered in Dublin, but regulated in the UK and offers online sports and casino betting. It is backed by racehorse owner and former banker Rich Ricci
888 Holdings said the deal gives the company complete ownership of technologies and development across its four online betting services—online casinos, poker, bingo and sports betting. The company also sees the acquisition as strengthening its long-term goals in the international sports betting market by allowing 888 to fully leverage its marketing and analytics capabilities.
The company did not say when it expects the deal to be finalized, but said it will move quickly to integrate BetBright’s platform into its brands.
“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,” 888 CEO Itai Pazner said in a press release. “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.”
888 is also in the process of buying JPJ Group’s Mandalay operating business for £18m. 888 will acquire a range of bingo assets from Jet Management Group and Jet Media, including the Costa Bingo brand. In December, the company also acquired the remaining 53 percent interest in the All American Poker Network.
“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,” Pazner said in the release.
888 Holdings offers online sports betting in New Jersey and analysts said the move should help the company move into other U.S. sports betting markets as they develop.
