Online Casino Takes Over Major Sportsbook
Published: Saturday, June 03, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
32RED ONLINE CASINO TAKES OVER MAJOR SPORTSBOOK
GBP 11 million deal comes in time for the World Cup betting bonanza
British online casino and poker operator 32Red Plc has announced the acquisition of Bet Direct from Sportech Plc, for a total of GBP 11 million plus account liabilities.
Bet Direct is one of the largest independent telephone and internet betting businesses in the UK, offering telephone, internet, interactive TV and mobile sports betting, as well as online casino, poker and fixed odds games.
The buy-out of the Liverpool based firm brings with it a strong database of customers, as well as excellent infrastructure, notably employees, software and content feeds.
The 32Red and Bet Direct brands will not at present come under a single e-wallet, but if 32Red poker and casino players want to have a sports bet they will be able to go the 32Red sportsbook that will be developed and launched in the coming months.
The Bet Direct-Boss Media poker and casino rooms would remain as they are, although this aspect would be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Ed Ware, CEO of 32Red Plc, commented: “The acquisition of Bet Direct fits the strategic objectives of 32Red extremely well, providing a much enlarged customer database and the ability to offer the full portfolio of betting and gaming products through a variety of distribution channels. Our combined UK focus has enabled both management teams to identify areas of marketing cross-over, area for review and customer recruitment and retention opportunities.
“We welcome the staff and management of Bet Direct to the group and look forward to an exciting period of growth and development.”
Greg Feehely, head of research at Altium Securities, said: “For 32Red, the strategic rationale is good and it probably has the skill set and management team to succeed. From an egaming perspective, it is clear you need the full range of products and the ability to cross sell to drive higher yields per customer. That can only be done by offering poker, casino and sports betting products to your customers.”
