The iGaming and sports betting industry are charging higher after two high-profile acquisitions. 💰 💰
Shares of the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF ($BETZ) have increased 7% in the last week, ballooned by optimism surrounding $PENN and $DKNG‘s recent M&A deals. 🎈
On Thursday, Penn National Gaming made a bid to acquire sports betting platform theScore in a $2B deal. Penn, which owns a majority stake in Barstool Sports and its Barstool betting app, will pick up 4 million new daily active users. Many of theScore’s customers are in regions where Barstool Sportsbook is not currently offered, such as Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, and Canada.
This morning, DraftKings announced it would acquire Golden Nugget Online for $1.5B. The company offers iGaming in the United States, mostly through online casinos. With the deal, DraftKings will bring 5 million casino bettors into its orbit. 🚀 Investors weren’t initially sold on the acquisition’s value-add, but $GNOG CEO Tilman Feritta insists that iGaming customers are “worth seven times the value of a sports betting customer.”
Both deals support the prospects for more consolidation and M&A in the betting and iGaming industry. The online betting M&A narrative is mirrored in other industries — companies sitting on large pots of money have been investing to diversify their businesses, capture new audiences, and expand their horizons. ☀️
$PENN‘s acquisition was well-received, boosting the stock +4.4%. $DKNG‘s acquisition was generally well-received, pushing the stock up 1.59% in the day. Shares of both future acquisitions — $SRC.CA & $GNOG — saw double-digit gains. 💪