GVC hopes Betit will be next Swedish success story
CEO Kenneth Alexander is optimistic Betit brands can replicate the success achieved by the likes of Mr Green and Betsson
GVC’s chief executive Kenneth Alexander said its newly acquired Betit brands will look to follow in the footsteps of Mr Green and Betsson with their sights set on significant success in the competitive Scandinavian market.
Last week, the company announced it had paid 3.5m for a 15% stake in Betit Holdings, a recently formed joint-venture with Betit Securities and owner of the brands Thrills.com and Superlenny.com.
The deal marked GVC’s first significant play in the Scandinavian market and Alexander told eGaming Review he was keen to leverage the experience of co-owner Optimizer Invest, a venture capitalist business owned and operated by e-gaming veterans Henrik Persson, Andre Lavold and Mikael Harstad.
The trio had previously launched and grown a succession of successful businesses in the Scandinavian market such as Nordic Gaming Group, Betsafe.com and BestGames Holdings, a history Alexander said was pivotal to the deal.
“GVC has only done bits and pieces in the Scandinavian market up until now,” Alexander said.
“It’s a different market to the rest of Europe with its own nuances so we always felt that if we were going to do something a bit more significant there that it would be with someone that had some expertise in the region “ and they [Optimizer Invest] have been there and done it.
“The fact we have done the deal is evidence we see potential in the market “ we wouldn’t have done it otherwise “ and you only have to look at the success achieved by the likes of Unibet, Betsson and Mr Green to see what can be achieved there,” he added.
Betit commenced operations in December and has achieved average daily revenues in excess of 40,000 and with around 1,600 players per day.
As part of the deal GVC will have a seat on the board of Betit, which Alexander confirmed would be taken by himself during the early phase of company’s development.
He also said that GVC would look to increase its stake holding in Betit dependent on its success “ the Group holds the option to acquire the remaining 85% between 1 July 2017 and 30 September 2017.
Alexander said the deal didn’t close the door on any further potential acquisitions, making clear that GVC was “always on the lookout” for investments that could add value to the company.