Cherry eyes UK acquisitions ahead of market entrance
CEO Fredrik Burvall says operator is late to the UK party but expects to grab a slice of market share
Swedish gaming operator Cherry is eyeing up a number of options to help its entry into the UK market this year, including the potential acquisition of sites which are already established in the market.
The company confirmed in last week’s full-year results that it has started an application process to obtain an operator’s licence in the UK and said it expected to enter the market at “some point in 2016”.
Speaking to EGR about how Cherry would compete in the UK, CEO Fredrik Burvall said the firm was still weighing up several options.
“You can focus on marketing; there are affiliate tracks you can take, or you can look at acquiring sites which are big already,” Burvall said. “We haven’t made a final plan yet.
“We think the UK is a great market with a good model for the operators and a good model for the government with the taxes it recoups. We are a bit late to the party but I think we are going to be able to get a small market share.”
The Nordic-facing operator has made five acquisitions in the last year alone, including increasing its stake to 75% in the Malta-based company Almor Holding – a leading online casino in German speaking markets.
The increased stake in Almor was in addition to the 2015 acquisitions of Game Lounge, the domains and agreements of a leading Finnish affiliate, Moorgate Media and NorgesSpill.com.
“All in all, Cherry is very well positioned to continue to grow faster than the market, both organically and through acquisitions, focusing on rapidly increasing profitability,” Burvall added.
Cherry also recently revamped its online casino website Cherrycasino.com, adding a sportsbook for the first time. “The launch has gone well,” Burvall said. “We have some good feedback from the players. It’s still very early but there’s a new look and feel and I think its engaging a lot of players.”
He also played down his expectations for the sportsbook, saying that Cherry wasn’t attempting to compete with the likes of Unibet and bet365.
“We have not pushed the sports betting yet – it is an add-on product for us, rather than a main focus,” Burvall said. “With Euro 2016 coming up it’s good to have it because we don’t want customers leaving our site to go and bet on a game.
“It’s really good for retention and acquisition and it makes the site more full. Obviously we aim to make money on the product but we’re not going to be able to compete with the big guys,” he added.