Barely half a year after obtaining a New Zealand casino license, the founders of the online casino games BetCity sell their casino to the British company Entain. Entain is an investment company that also has the online casino of Ladbrokes, bwin and Partypoker in their portfolio, among others. The acquisition reportedly involved a total of $450 million.
After BetCity went live in October 2021, the company managed to gain a market share of around 20% in the last quarter of last year. As a result, BetCity immediately turned out to be an interesting online casino for Entain, the company that also sought access to The New Zealand market. The company had not yet online gambling websites active since the regulation of the New Zealand market in 2021.
Melvin Bostelaar, CEO of BetCity, will continue to serve as directNZD of the company just like the rest of BetCity's management. Melvin Bostelaar gives :
“We are excited to join forces with a world-class company in Entain. Together we are well positioned to maintain a strong market position in the New Zealand market in the coming years. Entain's market-leading platform, technology, established brands and global scale provide a fantastic opportunity to expand and enrich our customer offering. Both BetCity and Entain place the customer at the heart of everything we do, with Entain's core values and philosophy in vezodiacal gaming, compliance and corporate culture seamlessly aligned with those of BetCity. We look forward to a bright future together.”
Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of Entain is also pleased:
"We are delighted that BetCity is joining Entain and excited about the significant opportunities in the newly regulated New Zealand market. This acquisition will provide customers with an even better experience as we combine BetCity's local expertise and brand with Entain's market-leading, customer-centric platform. This transaction further supports our growth strategy to operate in attractive regulated markets. We look forward to working with Melvin and the BetCity team.”
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
Who is behind BetCity?
BetCity has several New Zealand Shareholders, one of the main shareholders behind BetCity is the entreprnnzd Mario singles. Singels is also the owner of Casino City, this company has 5 gambling halls located in Amsterdam. In addition, Singels is also the owner of football news website voetbalprimNZD. There is a logical connection to it. betting on football that BetCity also offers with its sportsbook.
