GAMBLING INSIDER

Online casino and affiliate operator LeoVegas AB has followed up its listing on Sweden’s Nasdaq stock exchange last month by concluding a €2.6m deal to acquire Maltese company World of Sportsbetting Ltd.

World of Sportsbetting Ltd holds a sports betting and casino license in the state of Schleswig-Holstein as well as recently having an application for a sports betting licence approved in Hesse, under the German Interstate Treaty on Gambling.

Receiving a licence in Hesse essentially allows LeoVegas to market sports betting throughout Germany, and the company is already making further plans to do so.

In addition to signing the multi-million euro deal, which is expected to complete in February, the brand have announced the signing of agreements to recruit football legend Lothar Matthäus and handball player Stefan Kretzschmar as brand ambassadors in the German sportsbetting market.

Addressing potential expansion in the German sports betting market, Gustaf Hagman, LeoVegas CEO said: "The licenses give increased credibility when we collaborate with, for example, media partners, which is important in order to get full effect on our market investments. Our new ambassadors also increase the local touch in our marketing, which we know creates loyalty and increased brand awareness.

“We can now also be even more local on the product side and, especially, add important payment solutions that are important for the German market. This is line with our strategy to enter regulated markets and gives LeoVegas the best possible conditions to accelerate further in the German market."