Esports Entertainment Group acquires Online Casino Operator Lucky Dino
Published: Mar 4, 2021 - Last Updated: Mar 5, 2021
The esports entertainment and online gambling company, Esports Entertainment Group has announced that its Malta gaming licensed subsidiary, Esport Entertainment has finished the acquisition process of Lucky Dino Gaming Limited.
The acquisition
The roughly $30 million deal to acquire the assets of the Malta-licensed online casino operator has provided the Esports Entertainment group with a wide range of new assets for their growing business. They now have access to a premium casino platform based on modern microservices architecture for superior simplicity, scalability, and flexibility. The proprietary technology developed by Lucky Dino Gaming Limited includes features like affiliate marketing software, payment servers, and a comprehensive CRM system with a sophisticated gamification and loyalty engine, and unique automated player management functionality.
Comment from the CEO
“Over the past five years, Lucky Dino has evolved from a single brand white-label casino operator into a multi-brand, class-leading casino operator and technology business,” commented Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group.
“In addition to further strengthening our tech stack, Lucky Dino’s assets will give us a substantial foothold in multiple new jurisdictions across Europe, particularly in Scandinavia where esports are extremely popular, and with Lucky Dino’s 25K monthly active casino players we will have tremendous cross-selling opportunities with our SportNation and VIE.bet betting platforms.”
“Lucky Dino has generated an impressive track record of growth, reporting an 86% CAGR on revenue for the five years ended June 30, 2020,” continued Johnson. “With opportunities to realize synergies across shared back-office functions, payment processing and more, we are in a great position to build upon Lucky Dino’s notable EBITDA performance. Ultimately, we will look to bring this exciting online casino platform to the U.S. in the future alongside our VIE.bet esports offering.”
Esports Entertainment Group in the US
The Esports Entertainment Group has also applied for a gaming licence in the state of New Jersey. If the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement approves their application for the licence, they will be able to operate and service bettors in New Jersey with their esports-focused betting site VIE.gg. At the moment, the VIE.gg site will be unavailable for the rest of the globe as they go through the application process in New Jersey. As a stopgap for esports bettors, they have launched the website Vie.bet that will allow the rest of the world to keep on betting using a gaming licence from the Malta Gaming Authority.
The growth of esports betting
Many other esports betting sites offer extra gaming opportunities beyond the traditional sports book odds. Sites like Unikrn have their own online casino and slot options that expand their product line. By acquiring Lucky Dino and their assets, Esports Entertainment Group can provide more functionality and draw in users that may not traditionally be interested in esports betting. This will also be a big stepping stone in the US expansion plan, If they can show that they have an established presence in traditional gaming operations and not the often misunderstood esports sector, they are in with a better chance of getting approved for licences.
