DoubleDown Interactive, a leading gaming company delivering exceptional player experiences across multiple genres, announced that it has entered into a Share Purchase and Transfer Agreement with Azerion Tech Holding to acquire WHOW Games GmbH, a social casino developer headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.

The initial consideration for 100% ownership interest in WHOW Games is €55 million (approximately $64.7 million). An additional earn-out payment of up to €10 million, payable to Azerion at €5 million annually, is contingent upon WHOW Games meeting certain performance targets during each of the first and second year following the closing date. The acquisition will be financed through DoubleDown’s cash reserves and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2025.

DoubleDown intends to leverage WHOW Games’ proven expertise in the Europe market and partner-driven business model alongside its own operational strength, marketing capabilities and extensive gaming content to pursue growth opportunities in Europe, particularly in Germany. According to research from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming LLC, the European social casino market grew in 2023 and 2024 as compared to the overall market which has entered a mature stage. WHOW Games offers a versatile portfolio of social casino apps with proprietary brands such as MyJackpot and Lounge777 as well as third-party labeled social casino offerings including Merkur24 through strategic licensing agreements with prominent global brick and mortar casino companies.

In Keuk Kim, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said: “This acquisition marks a significant step toward increasing our competitiveness in the growing German social casino market. Leveraging our combined operational expertise and enhanced scale, we aim to unlock valuable synergies. We are delighted to welcome the WHOW Games team to DoubleDown and look forward to working collaboratively on initiatives to drive growth across the business.”

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Giovanni Valerio Valeriota, Chief Executive Officer of WHOW Games, said: “We are excited to begin this new chapter as part of the DoubleDown family. Their deep expertise in gaming makes them a natural fit for WHOW Games, and we believe that this partnership will accelerate our growth and innovation. I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Azerion, whose support and strategic guidance during our time together has been instrumental in shaping WHOW Games into the strong and dynamic company it is today.”

Sportingtech, the multi-award winning iGaming platform provider, has extended its partnership with 888Africa for another three years – reinforcing a relationship that has rapidly become one of the most successful in African iGaming. The extension signals a continued commitment to trust, performance, and shared expansion ambitions in one of the industry’s most dynamic regions.

Since launching together in 2022, Sportingtech and 888Africa have established an effective operating partnership, successfully delivering top-tier sports betting and casino experiences across key African markets. During this time, 888Africa has recorded customer base growth of over 800%, underlining the strength of the collaboration.

As part of the renewed agreement, 888Africa will benefit from Sportingtech’s enhanced platform, featuring an updated sportsbook and casino UI/UX designed to drive deeper engagement and deliver strong performance in competitive markets.

Anthony Murphy, Commercial Director at Sportingtech, said: “This renewal shows the value of doing things properly – understanding local markets, building solid tech foundations, and working in true partnership. We’ve built a strong relationship with the team at 888Africa and are ready to keep pushing their growth further.”

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Christopher Coyne, CEO at 888Africa, added: “Sportingtech has been a key part of our African success in Mozambique. 888 is now #1 for market share in Mozambique and without doubt the Sportingtech Platform has been a part of this result. The Platform has proven to be stable and high performing, we’ve made big strides in the partnership over the last while and I cannot speak highly enough about Tom Ustunel, Colin McDonagh and the whole team as partners.”