The Stars Group: Sky Bet will help us crack the US
Stars CEO Rafi Ashkenazi says firm will look to export Sky Bet’s “deep expertise in integrating media and sports”
The Stars Group has confirmed Sky Bet will play a leading role in its plans for US sports betting, pending final approval of the transaction from the CMA.
Speaking after the firm’s H1 results, group CEO Rafi Ashkenazi said the integration of Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG) was the firm’s “immediate focus”, with the aim of growing its share in the UK and “establishing leading positions in emerging markets, mostly notably, the United States”.
Specifically, Ashkenazi said Stars would look to export to the US Sky Bet’s “deep expertise on the integration of media and sports”.
The comments give credence to analysts who suggested at the time of the acquisition that Stars might try and mimic the Sky model with a different US brand such as ESPN.
However that kind of deal is still some way off, with Stars initially planning to launch sports betting in New Jersey and Pennsylvania under its current BetStars brand.
Ashkenazi added: “Again, we have a long-term view of the US opportunity and have adopted a disciplined approach to this evolving landscape. However, there can be no doubt that this opportunity will represent a major step towards our vision of becoming the world’s favourite online gaming definition.”
He said the ongoing CMA investigation of the Sky deal was “common and was fully expected”.
He also revealed SBG was continuing to grow in 2018, with Q1 revenues up 18% and Q2 revenues expected to grow in a similar range.
The chief exec also referred YouGov data first published on EGR that showed Sky Bet claimed the largest percentage of UK sports betters during the World Cup.
“Data points like this serve as an encouraging evidence of SBG’s ability to continue growing its market share,” Ashkenazi said.