American Gambling Awards Finalists: Dealmaker of the Year
The American Gambling Awards celebrates the exemplary work of the companies, organizations, executives and influencers who are working to responsibly develop the regulated online American casino and sports betting market.
Dealmaker of the Year is given to an operator, investment bank, venture capital firm, management consulting organization, law firm or another industry actor who has played the lead role in executing a major or groundbreaking transaction during the judging period.
Here are the finalists for Dealmaker of the Year.
Bally’s Merger with Gamesys
In October 2021, Bally’s Corporation completed a merger with Gamesys plc for £2 billion.
The move integrated Gamesys’ leading iGaming technology with Bally’s U.S. bricks-n-mortar gaming and sports betting platform to create a leading omnichannel gaming operator with a vertically integrated technology stack.
The deal nearly doubled Bally’s revenue to $2 billion.
The Bally’s/Gamesys merger was the second multi-billion cross-border transaction to create a leading omnichannel U.S. gaming operator.
It was another step forward in growing and shaping the U.S. gaming landscape.
With the cross-border nature and volatility in the financial markets from the pandemic, Bally’s Casino and sportsbook sought an advisor with a proven track record and knowledge of the global gaming industry.
Caesars Acquisition of William Hill and Asset Sale to 888
Caesars Entertainment acquired William Hill plc for £2.9 billion with a later £2 billion sale of the non-US William Hill assets to 888 holdings.
Caesars casino recognized it needed to wholly own its digital/sports business to maximize value.
With the importance of the JV to William Hill and that William Hill owned 80% of it, Caesars successfully acquired 100% of Wiliam Hill plc.
This was the first multi-billion dollar outbound deal by a leading traditional U.S. gaming operator.
The deal changed the US gaming landscape and proved to other US corporates that they can undertake complex cross-border deals successfully to achieve strategic ambitions.
The deal created one of the largest U.S. omnichannel gaming operators.
White Hat Studios Asset Purchase From Blueprint Group
White Hat Studios was created as a new business division within the WHG Group in July 2021, beating of Tier 1 competition to complete an industry shock asset purchase from the Gauselmann Group for content from their online division, Blueprint Group.
The acquisition saw WHS gain an RGS and over 300 new and back catalog of games.
The strategy of the acquisition is Top 5 Supplier by 2023.
To get WHIS live and generate income within a year, it had to move fast and do numerous deals. Three partner deals with Galaxy, SG and IGT, in addition to an unseen record of 28 operator deals completed within a year, including the top four of BetMGM, Rush Street, FanDuel and DraftKings.
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