666Bet lines-up further acquisitions following Metro Play deal
Ambitious start-up operator in talks with a number of other targets as it looks to leverage the Metro Play brand
666Bet chief executive Barry Martin (pictured) has told eGaming Review the operator expects to be involved in further M&A activity in the coming weeks as it looks to follow-up on its recent acquisition of online casino Metro Play.
eGR yesterday revealed 666Bet had purchased the DMG Media-owned operator for an undisclosed fee and Martin is keen to develop the brand into a multi-vertical operator as soon as possible.
“Metro Play is a big brand that we’ll add into our portfolio and keep it running alongside 666Bet,” Martin said. “It’s a massive coup for us and we are very excited about being able to market to the Metro Play customer database and add in some additional products,” he added.
The chief executive explained the Metro Play casino will soon be joined by sports betting, bingo and lottery products with the hope of eventually bringing everything onto the same platform in order to increase CRM capabilities.
Martin said the board was still discussing its sportsbook options for the Metro Play brand, with a final decision likely to lead to a switch from its current 666Bet set-up, a white-label deal with Greek operator Novigroup.
One option would be to buy a sportsbook, something Martin refused to rule out, with 666Bet in discussions with “four or five” parties in relation to further acquisitions.
“Our investor is very big on M&A and we are looking at four or five opportunities as we speak,” Martin said. “We see a number of opportunities coming across our desks and there are some really good possibilities out there – some big names.”
The acquisition of Metro Play handed 666Bet an Alderney licence, something Martin said the firm was keen to achieve having been operating off Novigroup’s Isle of Man permit.
According to Martin, 666Bet, which launched on 2 June, had hit its six-month targets within the first 22 days of operation, with the success leading to a discussion of how to develop the business even further.
“Myself and the board sat down and started to look at what we could do to move ourselves onto a licensed situation. We looked a number of options but the Metro deal came about and three weeks after first speaking with Jamie [Walters, former Metro Play managing director] we had completed the deal,” Martin said.
And now the firm is on the cusp of gaining a licence for the soon to be re-regulated UK market.
“We are pretty much done now with the UK licence so we should get that through within the next few days,” he said.
666Bet’s launch came in a blaze of publicity, backed by an £8m marketing kitty which saw it launch a multi-channel advertising campaign featuring QPR manager Harry Redknapp and offer new customers 1,966/1 on England to win the 2014 World Cup.
The bookmaker has also bought a number of English Premier League football perimeter advertising spots and is the main shirt sponsor for League One football club Leyton Orient in an attempt to gain a foothold in the UK and Asian markets.