GAN Closes Coolbet Acquisition

US-focused supplier of online gambling solutions GAN has completed the previously announced acquisition of digital gambling operator Coolbet.

GAN paid €149.1 million (approx. $175.9 million) in cash and stock for the fast-growing digital gaming and sports betting brand.

Coolbet was launched in 2016 and has expanded its presence across multiple markets over the past several years, with a particular focus on the Nordics, Canada, and Latin America. Its sports betting and casino operations are powered by in-house software. The brand is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority.

GAN announced plans to acquire Coolbet in November. The company said back then that the digital gambling operator would help it venture into the fast-growing US B2C online gaming and sports betting markets. GAN already boasts growing presence in the local B2B market as it delivers its technology solutions to a number of land-based casinos around the nation.

In a press release announcing the deal’s closure, GAN said Monday that integration of Coolbet’s proprietary betting technology into GAN’s own B2B technology stack has begun ahead of the transaction’s finalization.

GAN said that it expects the newly integrated offering to become broadly available in the US market by the third quarter of the year.

Transaction to Be Immediately Accretive

Coolbet’s founder, Jan Svendsen, will remain with the operator and will be tasked with overseeing its iGaming and sports betting operations in Northern Europe, Canada, and Latin America. In addition, he will also advise on trading services and technical integrations with GAN’s clients around the US.

GAN said that it expects the addition of Coolbet to their operations to be immediately accretive to the business.

Commenting on their combination with Coolbet, GAN’s CEO, Dermot Smurfit, said that the deal has brought together “two best-in-class offerings” in the online gambling space and has created a fully-integrated offering that is customizable for each of their clients’ needs.

Mr. Smurfit went on to say that he expects the integration process to be seamless and that GAN has already begun welcoming Coolbet’s team to the larger organization. The online gambling operator employed more than 175 people prior to its acquisition by GAN.

GAN’s tie-up with Coolbet was the latest of a series of big announcements made by the technology provider in recent months. As reported by Casino News Daily in early October, GAN sealed a multi-year deal with US casino and hospitality giant Wynn Resorts to power its online gaming and digital sports betting debut in Michigan.

Online betting is set to start in the state later this month. Wynn and GAN will be able to provide digital gambling services to Michigan residents through the latter’s existing partnership with Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which operates five casinos around the state under the Kewadin Casinos brand.

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