NetX Betting to buy Playtech’s HappyBet brand
The sale of Germany-facing HappyBet will mark the completion of Playtech’s exit from B2C operations.
Germany.- The British gambling tech provider Playtech has agreed to sell HappyBet to NetX Betting. The sale of the German gambling brand will complete the company’s move to exit B2C operations following its sale of Snaitech to Flutter in Italy last month.
Playtech had announced two months ago that it would sell the brand as part of its move to refocus entirely on B2B operations. HappyBet was founded in 2017 and had close to 200 betting shops in Germany and Austria as well as an online business when it was incorporated into Snaitech in 2021. It was one of the first brands to gain a new sports betting licence in Germany.
However, it recorded a loss of €11.8m for Q1 2025 amid rising costs, although revenue was up by 4 per cent at €18.9m. During its results presentation, Playtech announced that it would pull the brand out of Austria and look to sell the German business.
NetX Betting is a subsidiary of Frankfurt-based Pferdewetten AG. The company said its acquisition of HappyBet would “significantly strengthen” its presence in German sports betting. The purchase also includes around 600 hardware units, such as betting terminals and POS systems. Financial details were not published.
The company said it would negotiate with HappyBet franchise owners and may buy some or all of their betting shops, which will operate under its Sportwetten.de brand. It said that any betting shops it does not buy will close.
Pferdewetten CEO Pierre Hofer said he expected a “mid-double-digit number” of betting shops to be integrated into the Sportwetten network in the next three months. This would bring in an additional annual turnover of around €7m and a positive EBITDA contribution of over €1m, he said.
Germany remains a tough gambling market with a steep tax rate for online casino. Major players like bet-at-home have faced challenges, while Tipico remains the market leader.
Meanwhile, Playtech says its simplified B2B strategy will allow it to build on its technology and expand its customer base. It will pay a special dividend of between £1.7bn and £1.8bn, or £4.56-£4.83 per share, as a result of the Snaitech sale
