888 (LON:888) announced mon Monday that it had acquired BetBright’s sports betting platform for £15 million.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the Gibraltar based company acquired the sports betting platform in order to support its long term development strategy for 888Sport.
Under the acquisition, BetBright’s Dublin office is set to be integrated into 888. Additionally, the company will receive complete ownership over its technology and product development across its four key betting verticals – Casino, Sport, Poker and Bingo.
888 is one of the world’s leading online gaming and entertainment providers. Founded in 1997, it also operates in three US states – Nevada Delaware and New Jersey.
“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,” Itai Pazner, the Chief Executive commented in a company statement.
“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. We are confident that this acquisition will increase the Group’s long-term prospects and differentiation in the growing global sports betting market,” he continued.
Last year sports betting was legalised across the US following a supreme court ruling. Federal law previously barred gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most US states under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Established in 1992, only some exceptions qualified under the law.
888 revealed its plans to expand into the US in its full-year financial results posted in December. It had purchased the remaining 53% of shares in All American Poker Network for $28 million. The US Supreme Court’s ruling that removed the law that banned sports betting has created opportunities across the Atlantic for the company to exploit.
At 09:41 GMT today, shares in 888 Holdings (LON:888) were trading at -3.61%.