Each week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most interesting stories. This week’s edition takes a look back at a period that saw a number of acquisitions completed, as Inspired Entertainment and JPJ Group fall on the radar, with the UK Gambling Commission also busy, as we detail the second of two large fines.
£490m
The JPJ Group has agreed a £490m deal to acquire the majority of its software provider Gamesys, excluding sports brands and games.
Delivering an enlarged group, affording JPJ ownership of its technology platform and operations together with a reduced reliance on third party providers, the deal will see £240m payable in cash upon completion, with a further £10m to Gamesys shareholders 30 months later and 33.7m new shares set to be issued.
Set to be renamed Gamesys Group, JPJ praises the diversified brand portfolio and international expansion opportunities afforded as a result of the proposed purchase, which it expects to complete in this year’s third quarter.
Included as part of the deal are content and brand licences, including Virgin Games, Virgin Casino, Monopoly Casino, and Heart Bingo, with Virgin Bet and LiveScore site among those not included.
$120m
Inspired Entertainment has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the gaming technology group of Novomatic UK for $120m.
The purchase of the Novomatic Group division, which supplies category B3, C and D gaming terminals to pubs, arcades, motorway service areas and holiday resorts in the UK, sees Inspired be set to manage in excess of 75,000 gaming machines across the region and Europe.
NTG comprises Gamestec Leisure, Playnation, Astra Games, Bell-Fruit Group, Harlequin Gaming and Innov8 Gaming, with Inspired stressing that it expects to achieve between $12.3m to $13.3m of synergies through shared costs and increased scale.
Outlining plans to “draw on the core strengths of Inspired and NTG,” as a result of the transaction the former is striving to broaden offerings, bring differentiated gaming products to new sectors and geographies, accelerate key growth initiatives and offer enhanced capabilities, systems, field service and content.
Furthermore the company has also emphasised an aim of making efficient use of shared manufacturing, engineering, software development, field maintenance and customer service to drive growth and cost savings after the transaction closes.
89,500
Penn National Gaming has been awarded regulator approval for the development of its $111m, inclusive of licence fees for slot machines and table games, Hollywood Casino Morgantown.
Securing the unanimous go-ahead at a recent Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hearing, the organisation is to soon begin construction of its category four property on a vacant 36-acre site in Caernarvon Township, Berks County.
Hollywood Casino Morgantown is to be an 89,500 square foot facility and is set to encapsulate 750 slot machines and 30 table games, with the ability to accommodate an additional ten of the latter should it require.
Furthermore, the entity will also see the construction of a new sports and race book, a signature restaurant, an entertainment lounge and a food hall.
The facility is expected to generate approximately 250 new local jobs and more than 275 construction jobs, with a construction timeline that is anticipated to be approximately 18 months.
£629,420
Platinum Gaming, which is licensed to operate Unibet.co.uk and uk.bingo.com, has become the latest company to make expensive failures in its social responsibility and anti-money laundering procedures. Following a Gambling Commission investigation, the company has agreed to pay £1.6m in a settlement with the regulator.
The investigation started as a result of information passed to the Commission regarding a customer who had been convicted of a £2 million fraud and had been spending stolen money through several gambling operators.
This convicted fraudster had spent £629,420 of stolen money with Platinum Gaming and the investigation discovered that the customer’s deposits were ‘so high and losses so significant’ that Platinum Gaming should have considered refusing or barring service to the customer. Instead the operator continued to allow the customer to gamble.
Investigations also revealed the operator breached anti-money laundering regulations, including a failure to make adequate enquiries about the source of the funds the customer used to gamble.
