Shareholder Vote Clears BetMakers’ Way to Acquire Sportech

Horse racing betting technology supplier BetMakers Technology Group announced today in a filing to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) the remaining obstacle on the way to completion of the acquisition of Sportech’s racing and digital assets has been cleared, after shareholders of the online sports betting company voted in favor of the transaction.

Shareholder Approval

Shareholders of Sportech approved the proposed £30.9 million acquisition price for its racing division and BetMakers will now make a non-refundable initial payment of £6.2 million, while the remaining £24.7 million will be paid upon completion of the transaction, which is pending now on certain customary conditions only the tech supplier can waive.

At the beginning of the month, BetMakers announced it entered into a conditional agreement to buy all of Sportech’s US, UK and Europe business, including its Quantum Tote flagship betting engine, which processed in 2019 wagers to the amount of £6.7 billion from clients in 37 countries.

To fund the outstanding balance on the transaction, BetMakers announced it would issue new shares, approximately 83.3 million at an offer price of AU$0.60 to round AU$50 million placement, which will settle December 31, 2020, with allotment and normal trading for the new shares expected to occur January 4, 2021.

Growth Acceleration

Through the acquisition of Sportech’s racing and digital assets, which service 15,000 race meetings a year across 434 customer sites in 38 countries, BetMakers is seeking to accelerate growth by expanding its customer base and re-position strategically for full wagering, improving on its financial and growth prospects across the US, UK and Europe.

The Quantum Tote betting engine of the online sports betting company is offering betting, hardware and operational services to more than 200 racetracks and 50 casino and betting venues in the US, Canada and Latin America, while its digital vertical ensures white-label digital betting solutions for more than 25 clients in North America.

Sportech’s Quantum™ System, which is among the ones mostly deployed globally, provides pari-mutuel solutions through its extensive range of pools, bet types, and commingling protocols, to more than 35 clients across the UK, Ireland, Europe and Asia, including for international events such as the Breeders Cup and Royal Ascot.

Recently, BetMakers expanded its footprint in Latin America by entering into a partnership with Prime Sports Jamaica (PSJ) and Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment (SVREL) to leverage its proprietary Managed Trading Services and supply its new partners with real-time fixed odds data covering local and international horse meetings.