FansUnite sells Scotland-facing McBookie
The McBookie sportsbook and online casino has been sold for more than €3m.
UK.- FansUnite Entertainment has announced that it has sold McBookie, its Scotland-facing sportsbook and online casino, for more than CA$5m (€3.3m). It hasn’t revealed the name of the buyer describing it as an arm’s length third party.
The sale price is more than double what FansUnite paid when it bought McBookie just over three years ago for CA$2.2m in March 2020. FansUnite noted that McBookie had seen three consecutive years of revenue growth, with turnover rising by 305 per cent and gross win by 451 per cent.
FansUnite said the “tightening regulations” in the UK was part of its reason to exit the market. McBookie’s Gambling Commission remote gambling software licence and remote betting licence allowed it to operate as both a B2C online gaming operator and B2B technology provider in Britain.
FansUnite said that McBookie’s founder, the ex-Tote UK employees Damian Walker and Paul Petrie, will remain the brand’s directors following the acquisition.
FansUnite chief executive Scott Burton said: “This is a great deal and outcome for McBookie and for FansUnite. We began a path of streamlining and focusing our business in 2022. With the UK continuing to tighten regulations on gaming operations, we felt it was time for FansUnite to exit the B2C space.
We will be able to focus more resources on the segments of our business that offer the highest growth potential with good margins, specifically the US marketplace and affiliate opportunities.
“This sale will strengthen FansUnite’s balance sheet as the company moves towards being cash flow positive. I want to thank Paul and Damian for their efforts while they were part of FansUnite and wish them well as they continue to grow the McBookie brand.”
Based in Dundee, McBookie was launched in 2009. It offers sports, virtual sports and casino betting throughout the UK but has maintained a specific aim to focus on the Scottish market. It has been a major supporter of grass-roots football in the country, sponsoring Scottish Junior Leagues.
In March, Canada’s FansUnite raised CA$2m in funding from a non-brokered private placement. Tekkorp, an investment business focusing on digital gaming, agreed to acquire more than half of the units available.
