Neil Goulden: JPJ and Gamesys combination will “blow the rest out of the water”

The combined JPJ Group/Gamesys business has the potential to “blow the rest of the UK market out of the water”, according to JPJ Group executive chairman Neil Goulden.

Goulden said the initial plan had been to “internalise” Gamesys by onboarding operational staff, but that process would have seen the two operators still competing with one another, whereas a full takeover would create a single strong company.

“We started discussing in October last year how we would internalise the Gamesys business in a way that didn’t damage either business,” Goulden said. “It quickly became apparent that under this process, we would be taking around 200 from the 800 plus Gamesys team, breaking up a group that have worked together for several years.

“It would have been hugely disruptive for their business, and there would have been a pretty large execution risk. If we had internalised, we would effectively turn our guns on each other, operating as competing business in a UK sector that is largely becoming about consolidation.

“So, we thought why fight each other, let’s put it together and blow the rest out of the water.”

Goulden confirmed that Gamesys business founders Noel Hayden, Andrew Dixon and Robin Tombs had elected to retain the newly launched Virgin Bet brand because they saw huge potential for the nascent sportsbook.

“Gamesys believed that when fully developed, the Virgin Bet brand will be very successful because the Virgin name is so strong,” Goulden said. “In fact, their estimates say the Virgin Bet business could be worth as much as £500m when fully realised. However, for us it was a case of how do you quantify the value of an unrealised investment?

“We weren’t particularly interested in acquiring the sports betting business anyway, so it made sense that they kept the fledgling Virgin Bet business and become a sports betting and content business, while we become one of the biggest bingo and casino operators in the UK.”

As part of the acquisition, existing Gamesys CEO Lee Fenton and COO Robeson Reeves will retain their positions and become both CEO and COO of the enlarged business.

Goulden highlighted the “incredibly close relationship” between JPJ and Gamesys as being integral to realising the takeover deal and said it was important to retain both executives as JPJ had “a lot of confidence in what they will do within the enlarged portfolio”.

Explaining the company’s forthcoming approach, Goulden said: “The whole idea is to operate brands at different stages, Jackpotjoy is mature, Virgin is maturing, with parts that are still growing strongly, while Monopoly is just starting out.”