Poll results: Sportsbook giants should look to M&A to boost gaming growth
Slow summer of sports could be best time for focus on re-inventing online casino operations
Sportsbook-led operators should focus on strengthening their gaming businesses through M&A, according to a small majority respondents to this week’s poll.
More than one-third (38%) of voters believe acquisitions of gaming-focused businesses is the best route for sportsbook giants to overcome sluggish growth in the vertical.
Voters’ opinions were evenly split elsewhere, with 31% urging operators to rebuild the vertical by pushing both in-house investment and cross-selling initiatives.
Q1 results this week revealed underwhelming gaming growth for both Paddy Power Betfair with a 2% revenue rise and Ladbrokes Coral with 7%.
William Hill performed marginally better, reporting an 8% increase, which the operator attributed to both its core and non-core markets.
Meanwhile, smaller gaming-focused operators such as LeoVegas, Mr Green and Gaming Realms continue to perform strongly, growing at significant double digit rates.
The slow summer of sport ahead could prove the perfect opportunity for big firms to re-organise and reverse gaming fortunes.