Lottomatica to absorb CIRSA in €2.8bn deal to create new global gambling giant
Lottomatica and CIRSA will merge to create the world’s second-largest listed gaming and sports betting operator.
Italy.- We’re going to see yet more consolidation among the big global players in the gambling sector. Lottomatica, which was listed on the Euronext Milan in early 2023, has agreed to absorb Spain-based CIRSA in an all-share transaction that will create the world’s second-largest listed gaming and sports betting operator.
Announced in a prospectus filed in Milan today (September 2), the cross-border merger will see Spain and Latin America-focused CIRSA folded into Lottomatica. The combined group will operate under the Italian operator’s name, although it will continue to use the CIRSA brand in the latter’s core markets for now. The company will be headquartered in Rome while maintaining a secondary base in Barcelona, and it will be listed on both Euronext Milan and Spanish stock exchanges.
Presenting the rationale for the merger, Lottomatica described the combination as creating a “global gaming champion” and “the world’s second-largest listed operator in gaming and sports betting”, while delivering leadership positions in the two largest gaming markets in Southern Europe.
Lottomatica is dominant in Italian retail and online gaming, while CIRSA runs casino, gaming hall, slot machine and online operations in Spain alongside the sports betting brand Sportium. It also has casinos and slot operations in Morocco, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Mexico. Expansion in the last two years has seen the company acquire Apuesta Total in Peru, Slots del Sol in Paraguay and CasinoPortugal and Casino Figueira in Portugal. It also has operations in Italy via its acquisition of Modena Giochi.
Lottomatica – CIRSA merger terms
Under the agreed terms, CIRSA shareholders will receive 0.668 newly issued Lottomatica shares for each CIRSA share held. Once the deal completes, existing Lottomatica investors will own approximately 67.5 per cent of the combined company, while CIRSA shareholders will hold the remaining 32.5 per cent. Blackstone, CIRSA’s majority shareholder, is expected to emerge as the largest single shareholder with a stake of around 24 per cent.
The transaction values CIRSA at roughly six times expected 2026 EBITDA before synergies and is expected to create a group with pro-forma adjusted EBITDA of approximately €2bn. The companies forecast annual pre-tax cash synergies of about €115m by the third full financial year following completion.
The deal carries significant shareholder rewards. Before completion, CIRSA will distribute an extraordinary dividend of €262m, equivalent to €1.56 per share. After the merger closes, Lottomatica intends to propose a further €744m capital distribution through a special dividend, share buy-backs or a combination of both. The combined company has also indicated it could return up to €4bn to shareholders over the next three years.
The merger remains subject to shareholder, regulatory and corporate approvals and is expected to complete during the second quarter of 2027. If approved, it will unite two of Europe’s most prominent gambling operators and further accelerate consolidation across the continent’s increasingly competitive betting and gaming industry.
Blackstone took CIRSA to an IPO in Spain in July 2025, achieving a €2.5bn valuation. Lottomatica was previously owned by Apollo Global Management before its Milan IPO in 2023. The combination of the two groups represents one of the most significant consolidation moves in the European gambling sector in recent years.
Other major deals have included Flutter Entertainment’s acquisitions of Snaitech and Sisal in Italy, making it Lottomatica’s main rival in the domestic market, MGM Resorts International’s acquisition of LeoVegas, and Entain’s global spending spree. Allwyn has merged with OPAP after buying PrizePicks in the US, while other growing European forces include France’s FDJ United following its acquisition of Kindred, and Banijay Gaming, which has merged Betclic and Tipico and agreed to buy Groupe JOA.
