Gaming recruitment agency and M&A broker Exacta Solutions has commented on the recent purchases involving Aristocrat and NeoGames, and Fanatics and PointsBet.

Recently, Aristocrat entered an exclusive agreement to buy NeoGames in a deal worth $1.2bn, a deal which is based on a price of $29.50 per share.

Meanwhile, Fanatics announced it will purchase PointBet's US operations for $150m. However, as part of this deal, PointsBet will still retain its business in Australia and in Canada. Previously SCCG CEO and Founder Stephen Crystal described the deal as a "bargain basement price."

With regards to Fanatics' purchase of PointsBet, Exacta said: "The size and scale of local US incumbents mandates a constant, colossal marketing budget as a prerequisite to establishing and maintaining a lasting foothold in the market.

"PointsBet may have underestimated the size of the challenge and has likely made a wise decision in offloading its US arm. Competition is fierce, so re-focusing efforts elsewhere may be the right value choice, potentially providing a more stable future for the company."

Exacta went on to provide comments on Artistocrat's purchase of NeoGames, by telling Gambling Insider: "Aristocrat has long been a superpower in the land-based gaming sector. In recent years, the group has diversified itself by entering the social and mobile gaming spaces via its acquisitions of Big Fish Games, Product Madness and Plarium.

"The obvious benefit of the NeoGames purchase is access to the iLottery vertical, though its subsidiary, Aspire Global, which provides a major step into digital gaming for Aristocrat, enabling a strong starting position in the iGaming and sports betting markets."

For more information on Exacta, you can watch our GI Huddle episode featuring Managing Chris Vella and Anthony Hennessy. For more information on the PointsBet merger, check out our recent Huddle with PointsBet Managing Director and Group CEO Sam Swanell.