Top 5 Mergers & Acquisitions in 2023

Better Collective acquires position in Catena Media
One of the standout deals of the year involved two rival companies, Better Collective and Catena Media. In February, Better Collective acquired a position of greater than 5% in Catena Media, emphasising the former’s intent to build up a reasonable stake in Catena. This deal came as a surprise in some ways, but at the same time both companies would be considered a ‘super affiliate,’ acquiring other affiliates to strengthen their positions in the US market. This move clearly paid dividends for Better Collective, who showed growth in both its revenue and EBITDA for its third quarter 2023 results compared with the same period in 2022.

Gaming Innovation Group acquires AskGamblers
One of the early deals closed out in the year, originally announced in December of 2022, was Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) completing the acquisition of casino affiliate websites Askgamblers.com, Johnslots.com, Newcasinos.com and several other domains. This was once again a deal involving Catena Media with several smaller domains from Catena Media acquired by GiG. At the time of first announcement of the deal, GiG underlined how the acquired websites generated €12.9m ($14.1m) in revenue and €8.4m in EBITDA for the first nine months of 2022. With regards to the AskGamblers website, GiG’s aim at the time was to evaluate its performance and to implement GiG Media’s technical SEO and marketing technology, alongside AskGamblers’ extensive knowledge, as well as trying to drive substantial growth and maximise profitability through a renewed focus on the AskGamblers domain.

Better Collective acquires Playmaker Capital
Towards the end of 2023, Better Collective was once again closing a big deal, with the strategic acquisition of Toronto-based digital sports media group, Playmaker Capital, looking to boost its presence in the Americas and expand its overall global reach. Only a few months earlier, in July, Better Collective completed the acquisition of Playmaker HQ, a sports and entertainment media platform with over 20 million followers across its platforms, providing Better Collective access to millions pf sports fans in the US. Playmaker Capital brought to Better Collective an impressive array of sports media brands, including Futbol Sites, Yardbarker and The Nation Network (TNN), which collectively have a monthly following of over 200 million visits across the Americas. This move aligned well in this sense for Better Collective in its growing presence in the Americas, with an increased portfolio and overall following.

Oddschecker acquires Catena Media’s Italian betting brand
Catena Media finalised the sale of its Italian casino and sports betting assets for €19.8m after it concluded its strategic review as it looked to concentrate on regulated markets, primarily in the Americas. It was expected that the sale was going to go towards improving Catena Media’s financial standing. It was then revealed that it was Oddschecker who was confirmed as one of the buyers of Catena Media’s Italian assets.

Gaming Innovation Group acquires KaFe Rocks
Finally, GiG, featuring again, announced in November that it had acquired KaFe Rocks, a move with the aim of strengthening its position in the online casino affiliate sector. The main attraction of KaFe Rocks is its gaming portfolio which spans over 15 markets, including flagship brands in the US, Time2play.com and USCasinos.com. This move was seen as a way therefore of expanding into the North American market, with GiG media aiming to use its media and marketing technology to increase the growth of KaFe Rocks’ assets, with the acquisition being seen as a way of enhancing profitability.

Honourable Mentions
In February, digital media company, Plant Sport, acquired marketplace for sports betting predictions, Tipstrr. This move from Planet Sport was made with the intention of expanding its offering of betting information and creating new subscription options for its users. By incorporating Tipstrr’s capabilities and attributes, Plant Sport’s aim was to expand its business by bringing on a new tech team, strong betting content, a base of registered active customers and a variety of reliable sports betting tipsters.
 Breckenridge also completed a deal in February, completing the acquisition of CasinoSecret, a Japanese online casino. The thinking behind this move was to help in Breckenridge’s expansion of its presence in the online gaming space in Japan, having already owned three casinos in the Japanese industry at the time of the acquisition. With basketball’s continuous growth in Brazil, French sports gaming media group, North Star Network took advantage of this to acquire basketball website Lakersbrasil.com. North Star Network runs sports media in 30+ countries and hosts sports and esports fan communities worldwide, with Lakersbrasil.com, being the latest addition to its portfolio at the time.
 The online sportsbook and casino operator, B90 Holdings, entered into a share purchase agreement with Funko International for the acquisition of Emwys AB, a Swedish-based marketing company in the online gambling sector, that operates using a pay-per-click model during 2023. The total share capital was valued at €3.6m for Emwys, on a cash-free and debt-free basis. This was comprised of €500,000 in cash and €250,000 in convertible loan notes upfront, with the remainder due on the closing date.
 Finally, as part of its planned expansion and growing its market share within the online gaming sector, Betting Sites acquired Fair Betting Sites. As part of the deal, Fair Betting Sites would collaborate with Betting Sites to produce a comprehensive source of information for gamers looking for betting sites.