BetMakers bets big on US as “transformational” Sportech acquisition completes

BetMakers has completed the A$56.2m (£30.9m) acquisition of fixed-odds and tote betting supplier Sportech. The all-cash takeover, which has now earned final regulatory approval, includes Sportech’s Tote racing and digital businesses in the US, UK and Europe. Shares in BetMakers are not currently available on the Australian Securities Exchange after the firm triggered a halt to trading pending the announcement. They will begin trading again on Monday 21 June. BetMakers previously said the multi-million-dollar deal forms part of a wider push into the highly competitive US market, in respect of both pari-mutuel and fixed-odds wagering. To fund the deal, BetMakers completed a A$50m capital raise in January. BetMakers MD Todd Buckingham said: “It is not often that such compatible international wagering assets become available in our industry. “Accordingly, BetMakers views this acquisition as a pivotal step in seeing the business become the centre of global wagering. We intend to continue to expand in all regions where we see complementary synergies for our business that fits this vision. “I am delighted that we have been able to reach this significant milestone and I now look forward to integrating these transformational international wagering assets which we expect will unlock enormous benefits for BetMakers. “I would like to officially welcome all of our new Sportech team members into BetMakers’ growing family and we look forward to continue working with our global workforce to deliver results for racing bodies, racetracks and wagering operators globally,” Buckingham added. Sportech supplies betting technology used in 15,000 annual race meetings across 434 sites in 38 countries. In the US, Sportech operates in 36 states with 70 existing contracts to provide technology at more than 200 venues, including 25 white-label digital agreements and 9,000 betting terminals. In Europe, Sportech operates agreements with major Tote providers including the UK Tote Group, Finland’s Veikkaus and Racecourse Media Group, as well as co-mingling agreements with 20 other Tote operators worldwide. Sportech operates seven offices across the UK, US, Ireland, Turkey, France and Germany. Elsewhere, Sportech has confirmed the sale of digital raffle business Bump 50:50 to Canadian Banknote and the sale of a freehold property in New Haven, Connecticut.