Playtech commits to Germany with HPYBET as Snaitech takes control
Supply giant to revitalise DACH-facing B2C brand under localised Snaitech management team
Playtech is set to commit to the German market by refocusing on sports betting brand HPYBET.
With new regulations due to come into effect, Playtech has decided to capitalise on the shifting German landscape by retaining and pushing on with the B2C brand after taking a “long-term view on the market”.
Playtech CEO Mor Weizer told EGR that following a strategic review, the London-listed supplier had decided to hold on to the asset, despite the fact it had been underperforming up to this point.
Weizer revealed the Snaitech management team would assume control of the brand and lead on future strategy of the business.
Playtech director of corporate affairs James Newman compared the process of scaling up the Germany- and Austria-facing brand to that of the nascent US market.
Newman said: “It’s a retail-led business and obviously retail business and betting brands are something that rely on scale.
“It was a sub-scale business. We have had very good momentum in that business over the last couple of years. We’ve had to invest into it, hence why it is loss-making, but that’s to be expected.
“You look any of the B2C guys in the US, they aren’t going to make any money for five-plus years and that’d be a good result. That’s just how you scale a B2C operation,” he added.
Newman went on to say that Playtech hopes to repeat the success it has seen in Italy with the acquired Snaitech brand.
He said: “The decision was taken to take HPYBET to that next level of their growth and make sure they were going to capture the opportunity.
“The team at Snaitech have got fantastic experience in doing exactly that, so we want to repeat the success that Snaitech had and within Playtech there are no better management team than the guys at Snaitech.
“It’ll will be run as a geographical division. It will have the strategic oversight from [Snaitech CEO] Fabio [Schiavolin] and his divisional leads, with a management team on the ground in Germany and Austria,” he added.
Playtech acquired HPYBET, then known as HappyBet, in 2017, with the aim of leveraging its strong retail presence into an online revenue stream.