GVC Acquires Portuguese Online Gambling Operator Bet.pt

London-listed gaming operator GVC Holdings has announced the acquisition of Portuguese online gambling operator Bet.pt, on the day the group upgraded its earnings guidance for the full year.

GVC saw its overall net gaming revenue rise by 12% in Q3, year-on-year, with online NGR up 26%. UK and European retail revenues are within 10% of those seen prior to enforced closures, while online sports wagers are “well ahead” of those seen in 2019. BetMGM, the sports betting and gaming platform of Roar Digital, GVC’s joint venture with MGM Resorts, is now live in eight states taking 17% of market share.

Shay Segev, CEO of GVC, said: “This has been another strong period for GVC. We have delivered our 19th consecutive quarter of double-digit online growth, along with market share gains in all our major territories. The momentum that we are seeing across the group is a clear testament to the resilience of our highly diversified business model, the attractiveness of our brands and products, the power of our proprietary technology platform, and the hard work and dedication of our teams around the world.

“GVC is primed for further growth. In the US, BetMGM continues to go from strength to strength as we roll out into new states, integrate further with our partners’ customer propositions and deliver innovative products and features. With a market share of approximately 17 per cent across our live markets, we are making great progress towards being the leading operator in the US.

“The acquisition of Bet.pt that we are announcing today is consistent with our strategy of expanding into new markets that are either regulated or regulating, in order to support our international growth ambitions.

“While the risk of further restrictions as a result of Covid-19 mean that we remain cautious on the short-term outlook, in the longer term we are confident of being able to continue delivering sustainable growth for all our stakeholders.”