Avid Gaming acquisition for Entain

British land-based and online sportsbook behemoth Entain looks set to increase its presence in the newly-liberalized iGaming market of Canada after inking an arrangement to purchase smaller operator Deis Limited for approximately $235.9 million.

The London-listed company used an official Monday press release to detail that the arrangement for the firm also known as Avid Gaming is due to give it control over the Sports Interaction sportsbetting brand that is already accessible to Canadian punters via the Mohawk Online Limited enterprise of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake.

Encouraging endeavor:

Entain stated that this acquisition is destined to be ‘highly complementary’ to its Party and Bwin brands, which are already accessible to Canadian online sportsbetting aficionados, and allow it to supply punters from across the giant nation ‘with a broader offering of engaging products and services’. The operator also declared that Sports Interaction’s ‘local expertise, capabilities and partnerships’ are to now be combined with its own ‘global scale, expertise and market-leading platform’ in order ‘to drive further growth in line with the group’s growth and sustainability strategy.’

Future foundations:

Jette Nygaard-Andersen (pictured) serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Entain and she used the press release to describe Canada as ‘a highly-attractive and fast-growing sportsbetting and gaming market’ before disclosing that her firm is currently in the process of applying for an Ontario iGaming license. The executive moreover noted that the boss for Avid Gaming, Will Golby, is now scheduled to ‘transition’ her own company alongside ‘other members’ of the acquisition’s ‘leadership team.’

Read a statement from Nygaard-Andersen…

“Sports Interaction is the leading Canadian sportsbetting and gaming brand and is aligned perfectly with our own ambitions of great customer service and ambitious growth, coupled with an unwavering commitment to sustainability. It is highly complementary to our existing operations in Canada and the combination of its local expertise with our own powerful platform will provide customers with an unrivalled range of exciting and engaging products in this fast-growing market.

Potential purchase:

Previously known as GVC Holdings until undergoing a December of 2020 name-change, Entain is responsible for a slew of online casino and sportsbetting domains including Ladbrokes.com, Bwin.com, Coral.co.uk and Sportingbet.com. The Isle of Man-based firm established in 2004 furthermore recently initiated negotiations that could soon see it pay in the region of $1 billion so as to acquire rival Eastern European operator Olympic Entertainment Group.

Phenomenal partnership:

For his part and Golby welcomed the fresh arrangement by painting Entain as ‘an exceptional company’ that features ‘world-class brands, strong leadership and a winning strategy’. The professional additionally asserted that his entity’s Sports Interaction brand has been experiencing ‘rapid growth’ and recently saw its gross revenues for 2021 rise by around 40% year-on-year to top $59.7 million and produce earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization as well as profits of about $14.1 million and $13.6 million respectively.

Golby’s statement read…

“Entain has a unique approach to local markets and no other company of its scale consistently delivers so many well-executed and localized approaches to the same level of customization and detail. Entain’s commitment to sustainability, responsible gaming and community investment aligns exactly with our own business philosophy and we look forward to a bright future together.”