Poll results: Hills and Playtech best placed for OpenBet swoop
Respondents to this week's EGR poll narrowly feel William Hill's joint-bid with NYX Gaming makes most strategic sense
NYX Gaming’s William Hill-backed bid to acquire OpenBet makes more strategic sense than others in the race, according to respondents to this week’s eGaming Review poll, but only just.
Last week it was revealed William Hill was ready to financially fund a NYX Gaming swoop for the sportsbook and gaming supplier, which is thought to be on the market for around ?275m.
Following news of the funding arrangement, and reported interest from Paddy Power Betfair and Playtech, EGR asked which potential bid you thought would make most strategic sense.
And in what proved to be a tightly contested poll, 37% of respondents sided with the William Hill-funded bid, marginally ahead of the 34% who opted for the Playtech rationale.
The perceived wisdom behind Hills’ intervention in the race is that a NYX acquisition of OpenBet would prevent a period of upheaval should another operator, such as Paddy Power Betfair, acquire the supplier and kill the B2B business.
In addition, Hills would also prefer OpenBet to remain out of the clutches of Playtech – the operator has in recent years been attempting to reduce its reliance on the supplier giant.
There is also rumoured to be interest in OpenBet from a private consortium and 18% of respondents said a bid from an independent group would make the most sense.
Finally, any attempt from Paddy Power Betfair to buy OpenBet was backed by 11% of respondents.