2UP Gaming receives £215m investment for US push
UK-based egaming firm announces receipt of Letter of Intent from Asian investment group
2UP Gaming, a London-headquartered egaming operator established in 2011, is in line for a £215m investment to finance the acquisition or development of an Atlantic City casino.
The Frankfurt-listed company said yesterday it had received a Letter of Intent from an unnamed Asian group, with the investment subject to the completion of a Definitive Agreement between the parties set to be finalised by 9 September.
The investment is designed to facilitate 2UP Gaming’s entry into the US online gambling market. New Jersey regulations state that only an existing land-based casino can obtain a licence to offer real-money online gaming. Casino regulations also allow an operator to build a new casino from scratch and subsequently apply for an egaming licence.
It is unknown which Atlantic City casino it has earmarked for a potential buyout, however the fact that several of the 12 properties have already entered deals with online gaming partners leaves only a handful of likely contenders. One such deal in which PokerStars was set to acquire the ailing Atlantic Club casino, valued the property at around US$40m.
2UP Gaming’s managing director Vincent Crandon, who has previously pumped $75m into the company, will oversee the operator’s planned US expansion.
“We have assembled an amazing team of local New Jersey professionals who are looking forward to helping revitalise Atlantic City by creating new jobs and opportunity,” Crandon said in a statement.
2UP Gaming was founded in January 2011 and is registered in London. Its operational office is Melbourne, Australia “ the home of the coin toss-based game it is named after. Its Curacao-licensed 2UP.com site offers poker, following the January acquisition of DBG Poker Group, as well as sportsbetting, casino and live dealer games.
On its corporate site the company outline outlines two key growth strategies, one involving the establishment of animated and live streaming versions of the 2UP game and the other a number of acquisitions and joint ventures to provide immediate access to established global markets.
“2UP has been working diligently for the past 12 months assembling the finest technology and strategy necessary to be a global leader in the [egaming] marketplace,” said 2UP’s CEO Marino Sussich.
“Emerging global gaming markets have created enormous growth opportunity for our company, and the United States launch of 2UP’s online gaming products will significantly add to our growth,” he added.