Malta-based Gambling.com Group is readying a major push into sports betting by acquiring Bookies.com—which has a portfolio of 76 sports betting related domains.
The purchase included a cash settlement of £2 million along with a year-long deferred payment of a further £4.5 million, according to CDC Gaming Reports. Bookies.com has 76 sports betting and casino-related domain names, including Bookmakers.co.uk and Footballscores.com. Up until now, Bookies.com has largely focused on horse racing and soccer matches. Gambling.com said the acquired assets generated collective sales of more than £600,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Nearly all of the acquired domains serve the UK gambling market, but Gambling.com officials have specifically pointed to the possible opening up of the U.S. sports betting market as a reason for expansion. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon rule on New Jersey’s challenge to the federal ban on sports betting. That has led to a flurry of activity in the U.S., with several states readying sports betting laws should the court strike down the ban.
Gambling.com Group CEO Charles Gillespie pointed to the case in a press release on the sale.
“This is both the largest and most exciting acquisition we have done since we began acquiring in 2017,” Gillespie said. “These websites perfectly complement our existing portfolio in terms of both increasing our sports betting market share and continuing with our focus on big brands and big domains.
“Should (former New Jersey) Governor Chris Christie triumph at the Supreme Court and strike down the federal ban on sports-betting, Gambling.com Group stands ready with the strongest domain portfolio of any performance marketing company for the American sports betting market,” he said.
