Esports Entertainment Group to acquire Swedish and Spanish-licensed sports betting operator Bethard
The Esports Entertainment Group just recently announced their plans to acquire the Swedish and Spanish-licensed sports betting operator Bethard. Bethard operates the business-to-consumer arm of Gameday Group PLC. This will expand Esports Entertainment Groups esports betting reach across Europe.
The acquisition
Esports Entertainment Group will pay €16 million in upfront costs as well as committing to paying out 12% of Bethard’s net gaming revenue for each of the next two years. This earn-out payment combined with the upfront cost ends up giving Bethard a valuation of €27 million.
Bethard generated net gaming revenue of $31 million in 2020 and as a result of the deal with Esports Entertainment Group, they have raised their revenue guidance for the first day of Esports Entertainment’s 2021-22 fiscal year from $100 million to $105 million. This will be a boon to EEG, they have not generated revenue in the last quarter of their fiscal year, in fact, the business made a net loss of $12.4 million for the three months ending March 31st, 2021.
The acquisition is due to close on the 1st of July 2021.
Bethard
This is an important acquisition for the company, it looks like the Esports Entertainment Group are planning a major expansion. Considering that Bethard is licensed to operate in Sweden and Spain, Esports Entertainment Group will be able to strengthen their foothold in Europe. It looks like they are specifically interested in the Swedish betting licence. According to their CEO, Sweden is strategically important to the growth of their company.
This should also solve the issues currently circulating around football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his part ownership of Bethard. He is a brand ambassador for the company, but it was revealed that he was a part-owner of the company, this breaches the FIFA and UEFA Codes of Ethics. The acquisition would resolve his issues.
Comment from Esports Entertainment Group
Esports Entertainment Group CEO, Grant Johnson spoke about the recent acquisition plans:
“This is another great addition for Esports Entertainment Group that substantially increases our revenues, and available markets. With this transaction, we expect to gain two new gaming licenses, including one in the strategically important Swedish market. At the completion of the license handover, we will have six tier-one licenses.”
Esports Entertainment Group
This is a period of rapid expansion for the Esports Entertainment Group. Recently they have signed two marketing agreements to expand their VIE.bet esports betting brand into Latin America. They have sponsorships deals with Infamous Gaming, Peru’s largest esports organization, and Movistar Liga Pro Gaming League, produced by Live Media Esports Entertainment.
They also acquired the online casino operator Lucky Dino, 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.
Just last week they announced their New Jersey GMBL subsidiary had been approved for a licence in New Jersey, allowing them to enter the North American esports betting industry. They will now be able to operate and service bettors in New Jersey with their esports-focused betting site VIE.gg.
