son has announced a new strategic fit with the acquisition of horse betting operator RaceBets.

Established in 2007 as the leading horse racing bookmaker in Germany, RaceBets offers Betsson with a proprietary horse racing product and an experience horse betting trading team.

Betsson acquired RaceBets from the company’s founders and the German Thoroughbred Racing Association, although the cooperation with German racing will continue.

As one of the most popular betting sports, the European horse racing market has a total estimated worth of €3.5bn. 75% of RaceBets’ revenue comes from locally regulated markets, primarily Germany and the UK, making it a suitable acquisition for Betsson.

CEO and President of Betsson AB, Ulrik Bengtsson says: “Horse racing is important in many of our markets and the key rationale of the acquisition of RaceBets is to enable our subsidiaries to accelerate the launch of a world class horse racing product on all core brands. This will help fuel organic growth in strategic markets such as the UK and Germany.”

Subject to the satisfaction of relevant regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close in the beginning of 2017.