EGR Power 50 2019: Gamesys Group (08)
08. Gamesys Group (11)
FINANCIALS: Maiden financial results revealed a 23% year-on-year rise in Q3 revenue to £92.4m, driven by the strong growth of its Vera&John brand
STRATEGY & IMPACT: Combination of JPJ Group and Gamesys leaves operator in complete control of its technology, while it continues to be one of the industry’s leading marketing forces
GEOGRAPHIC REACH: The core Gamesys/Jackpotjoy business has long been UK-centric but Vera&John brand has found plenty of traction further afield, including Japan
INFLUENCE & LEADERSHIP: Gamesys Group is one of Europe’s largest online bingo operators and also boasts some of the sector’s most successful mass-market brands in casino
JPJ Group’s £490m acquisition of Gamesys earlier this year was probably one of the least surprising deals in online gaming history. The relationship between the two businesses goes back more than four years when Intertain snapped up Jackpotjoy from Gamesys for a base of £425.8m, prompting Gamesys to instead become a B2B provider to the online bingo and casino business. Intertain later rebranded to Jackpotjoy plc and listed on the London Stock Exchange, before changing its name once again to JPJ Group. It swept in for Gamesys approximately one year later.
As an Eilers & Krejcik consultant said at the time the acquisition was announced: “One way of describing the deal is JPJ has acquired (most of) the other parts of Gamesys it didn’t already own. Another would be as a vehicle for taking the core Gamesys business public. Neither are correct but neither are hugely far from the truth either.”
The inevitability of the deal shouldn’t detract from just how attractive the combination is though. The enlarged group, which had a market cap of £755.7m at the time of writing, is the only new company in the top 10 of this year’s Power 50 – and it’s not difficult to see why. Gamesys Group boasts some of the industry’s strongest mass-market brands in Virgin and Monopoly, is fully in control of its own technology and owns one of Europe’s biggest bingo businesses in Jackpotjoy.
The company’s maiden Q3 2019 financial results also painted a picture of a business in fine fettle with the London-listed fi rm reporting a 23% year-on-year rise in revenue to £92.4m. Much of this
growth came from the Vera&John casino brand, up 57% year-on-year, which despite the grey market risk, gives Gamesys Group some much needed international diversification in light of the UK’s current regulatory outlook.
One intriguing aspect of JPJ Group’s acquisition of Gamesys, however, was the omission of the latter’s Virgin Bet brand which only got its long-awaited launch in June this year. Executive chairman Neil Goulden said it would explore its options of launching a new sportsbook brand. If this were to occur, then Gamesys would arguably have the full package; until then, it will be more than content with being one of the world’s leading online gaming businesses.