Entain completes SuperSport acquisition

Entain has bought the Croatian bookmaker as it prepares to expand into the CEE region.

UK.- Entain Plc has completed its acquisition of SuperSport, the leading bookmaker in Croatia. The FTSE 100-listed gaming operator had announced the deal in August as its entry to the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) market.

The acquisition was completed via Entain CEE, in partnership with Czech private equity fund EMMA Capital, paying €600m for a 75 per cent controlling share in the Croatian operator. The move expands Entain’s reach beyond the presence of Optibet in Estonia and Latvia and Totolotek in Poland.

Entain aims to use the acquisition to establish a presence and launch wider growth in Balkan markets. SuperSport has a 54 per cent market share in Croatia and its own tech solution. Radim Haluza, SuperSport CEO and former CEO of Fortuna Entertainment, has been named CEO of Entain CEE. 

Entertain CEO Jette Nygaard-Anderson said: “We are very pleased to have completed the acquisition of SuperSport, which is the first by the newly created Entain CEE. 

“SuperSport expands our operations into the highly attractive and regulated Croatian market, as well as establishing Entain CEE as a strategic growth platform into the wider region.” 

Entain provided some of the capital for the acquisition via a term loan of $1bn also intended to maximise group liquidity and fund the takeover of BetCity.nl in the Netherlands. Entain said the CEE was an ‘undervalued’ region that offered a strong potential for it to achieve ‘podium positions’. It predicts the region’s regulated online gaming market to be worth €5bn by 2025.

Further expansion for Entain

Meanwhile, Entain has gained five new gaming licences in Germany. Granted by the Saxony-Anhalt State Administrative Office, the five-year licences will allow Entain’s bwin, Ladbrokes and SportingBet brands to offer online gaming. Ladbrokes and bwin have also gained licences to offer online poker, making Entain the first operator to receive an online poker licence in Germany

Meanwhile, Entain has launched its first sports betting venture in an African market. It’s launched its flagship bwin brand in Zambia.