888 acquires BetBright betting platform for $20m
888 could use the new platform for sports in the US in the medium to long-term according to analysts
888 has acquired the sports betting platform of Irish bookmaker BetBright as part of a £15m ($20m) deal that will enable the London-listed operator to own its technology and product roadmap across all four core verticals.
The deal, advised on by Oakvale Capital, will see 888 acquire the Irish operator’s sportsbook technology and associated risk management, product and trading capabilities, while BetBright’s Dublin office will also be integrated into the business.
888 CEO Itai Pazner described the acquisition of BetBright’s technology as an “exciting milestone” for the operator having previously hinted it was looking to take control of its sportsbook technology.
“It gives the Group the missing piece in our proprietary product and technology portfolio and will enable 888 to own proprietary, end-to-end solutions across the four major online gaming verticals,” Pazner said.
He added: “With 888Sport becoming an increasingly established and popular worldwide sports betting destination, we believe it is the right time to take ownership of our full sports betting proposition.
“We are confident that this acquisition will increase the Group’s long-term prospects and differentiation in the growing global sports betting market.”
Julian Buhagiar, co-founder of RB Capital, said the obvious place where 888 could utilize a sportsbook platform was the US, but added: “Movement has plateaued there since the turn of the year largely due to the DOJ opinion, and the dust is still settling on the precise impact this could have in the short to medium term. 888’s new sportsbook technology is more likely to be used to pick off lower hanging fruit in Central and Eastern Europe.”
888’s sportsbook is currently powered by Kambi, which also powers DrafTkings. The contract between the two expires in 2021, although Kambi shares were down 15% this morning.
The operator said it would kick off the integration process of BetBright’s techology into 888 “as soon as practically feasible”, with a market-by-market roll out of its proprietary sportsbook to take place once the integration is complete.
“The BetBright sportsbook has been developed by a fantastic team and is a high quality and scalable platform,” Pazner added.
“Our new colleagues joining from BetBright will significantly strengthen 888’s sports betting expertise and industry know-how, and we are delighted to welcome them into the Group.”
BetBright was founded in 2012 and has won a number of industry awards, including Innovation in Sports Betting at last year’s EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards.