GIG acquires German sports betting authorization during Nordbet takeover.
GIG, an international iGaming service provider, has acquired Nordbet, a Hamburg-based company, for 500,000 euros. This move will help GIG secure a sports betting license for Schleswig-Holstein. They aim to expand their business into the German betting market.
GIG's CEO, Robin Reed, revealed that Nordbet's sports betting license, which is currently valid until February 2019, will be extended. The goal is to strengthen GIG's services like iGaming cloud and online casino portals such as Rizk and Thrills in the German market. The gaming technology operator, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, is particularly ambitious due to the FIFA World Cup scheduled for June 2018.
GIG considers the acquisition as an opportunity to collaborate with the popular payment providers in Germany. They want to broaden the B2C casino offering and make it available to German consumers. According to Reed, Germany is the second-largest gambling market in Europe after the UK, with sports betting turnover of EUR 5.3 billion in 2017 alone.
To compete on a higher level, GIG plans to integrate sports betting with established payment providers in Germany. He believes that combining sports betting with these providers will make their offering highly competitive before the World Cup.
The online gambling industry is highly competitive. GIG, which operates primarily from Malta, is not the only company entering the German market for sports betting and the FIFA World Cup. Yesterday, the Swedish group LeoVegas completed the purchase agreement for the acquisition of World of Sportsbetting, a company known for its operators of HappyBet, worth a total of 2.6 million euros.
With the takeover, LeoVegas also secured one of the rare sports betting licenses for Schleswig-Holstein. In addition, World of Sportsbetting had received approval for a nationwide license from the state of Hesse, but this has not been notarized yet. It's uncertain if LeoVegas can officially assume this 'legacy'. Hesse is viewed as a legal authority in the unregulated chaos of the German gambling market.
Despite this, LeoVegas's CEO, Gustav Hagemann, remains optimistic. He believes that local licensing will boost the operator's credibility with partners and providers. Both CEOs, Reed and Hagemann, seem to agree on this.
However, the Swedes have a minor headstart over GIG, who originally comes from America. LeoVegas has already roped in Lothar Matthäus and Stefan Kretzschmar as official advertising ambassadors for their brand, which is relatively unknown in the German market and was founded in 2012. In contrast, GIG had a record year between 2016 and 2017, with revenue growth 193 percent.
As a result, the outcomes of the World Cup are not crucial this year. The intense competition between GIG and LeoVegas in the German betting market will be more engaging.
*Bonus points for mentioning the World Cup!
Read also:
- The 15-year-old murderer admits to fatally shooting Francesco, who was 14.
- Schalke's pressure has affected Terodde.
- Columbia University Faces Possible Expulsion Following Demonstrations
- Football turmoil in Munich: Last-minute penalty stuns Bayern
Source: www.onlinecasinosdeutschland.com
