Esports Entertainment to acquire Bethard

Esports Entertainment has agreed to buy the Sweden and Spain-facing betting brand for €16m plus further payments based on net gaming revenue.

Malta.- Esports Entertainment Group has agreed to acquire the betting brand Bethard from Malta-based Gameday Group.

The group will pay an initial €16m, followed by an earn-out based on 12 per cent of Bethard’s net gaming revenue for each of the next two years. Considering that Bethard generated $31m in 2020, that could result in a total price of around $27m if revenue remains steady.

Bethard was founded in Sweden and has licences to operate in Sweden and Spain. Bethard pulled out of the British market last year.

Esports Entertainment expects the deal to close on July 1, the first day of its next fiscal year. It has raised its revenue guidance for 2021-2022 from $100m to $105m as a result.

In the past year, Esports Entertainment Group has acquired Lucky Dino Gaming and Argyll Entertainment.

Group’s chief executive Grant Johnson said Bethard’s licences to operate in Sweden and Spain will play an important role in the business’s continued growth.

He said: “This is another great addition for Esports Entertainment Group that substantially increases our revenues, and available markets.

“With this transaction, we expect to gain two new gaming licenses, including one in the strategically important Swedish market. At the completion of the license handover we will have six tier-one licenses.”

UEFA launches disciplinary investigation into Ibrahimovic over Bethard

Bethard is owned by Gameday Group plc, but the European football authority UEFA has launched an investigation into claims that Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic owns 10 per cent of the brand through his stock company Unknown AB.

FIFA’s codes of ethics and UEFA’s disciplinary rules prohibit players from having direct or indirect financial interests in betting companies. Violation of FIFA’s code of ethics can be punished with a fine of up to €100,000 and a ban for up to three years.

Ibrahimovic, who now plays for AC Milan and joined Sweden’s national side for its World Cup qualifiers, is said to have acquired the shares in 2018.

Bethard’s CEO, Erik Skarp, confirmed to the newspaper Aftonbladet that the player continues to own shares in Gameday Group PLC, Bethard’s sole shareholder.

Aftonbladet suggested that there was a clear conflict of interest since Bethard has offered bets on games in which Ibrahimovic played.