Betsson announces Dutch gaming acquisitions

Betsson will buy Holland Gaming Technology and Holland Power Gaming.

The Netherlands.- Less than a year after withdrawing its application for an online gambling licence in the Netherlands, Betsson has announced a pair of acquisitions focusing on the country. The Sweden and Malta-based gambling operator will pay €27.5m for Holland Gaming Technology, an operator that has held a Dutch gambling licence since September 2022 and its game studio Holland Power Gaming.

Betsson said the deal aligns with its plan to “deliver profitable growth through geographic expansion” and will allow it to generate a higher share of revenue from locally regulated markets. Holland Power Gaming will continue to supply games exclusively for Holland Gaming Technology. The deal will be financed through liquid assets.

Betsson announced the withdrawal of its own application for a Dutch online gambling licence in July last year. It said it had taken the decision because the process was taking too long.

Just this month, Betsson announced that it had launched online casino in Belgium under the betFIRST brand, which it bought last year. Online casino is being provided in partnership with Groupe Partouche land-based venue Middelkerke Casino.

Betsson entered a €120m deal to buy Betfirst Group in June of last year. It announced the deal with Groupe Partouche’s Middelkerke Casino at the same time. Reporting its financial results last week, Groupe Partouche said that its Casino Middelkerke land-based casino received a licence to offer online casino games in Belgium as of January.

Betsson and Groupe Partouche have said that they will explore the possibility of expanding their partnership in other regulated markets. That exploration is likely to include France and Switzerland, where Groupe Partouche operates land-based casinos.

For now, online casino gambling is not legal in France, but there have been proposals to add it to the regulated sector due to estimations about the amount of money being lost to the black market. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), of which Betsson is a member, has been encouraging such a move. Betsson picked up a licence to provide online sports betting in France in September.