Scottish bookmaker bought by FansUnite

McBookie.com has been bought by Canada-based FansUnite for £1.3million.

UK.- FansUnite has bought the Scottish online bookmaker McBookie.com for CA$2.2million (£1.3million).

McBookie, based in Dundee, was launched in 2009 by ex-Tote employees Damian Walker and Paul Petrie.

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.

Vancouver-based FansUnited was floated on the Canadian Stock Exchange on May 5.

McBookie.com said the deal would allow the company to move forward with expansion plans.

The company said it had been encouraged by the performance of its casino and virtual offerings after sports events were cancelled in March. 

Co-founder Paul Petrie said: “We have always believed in the huge potential of the McBookie brand and the investment from FansUnite will finally allow us to fulfil that. These are exciting times ahead and Damian and I will remain as directors and continue to run day-to-day operations.

“McBookie has a very strong brand and with the added marketing resources behind us we see lots of great opportunities ahead. The Scottish sports betting market is still largely undervalued by the big operators, who at best treat Scottish customers as an afterthought, whereas we will continue to put them at the front and centre of our offering.”

FansUnite has said it plans to grow the McBookie platform by expanding its membership base, currently at 10,000, and increasing betting volumes throughout the UK. 

CEO Darius Eghdami said: “McBookie is our first major acquisition and we are really excited about the massive potential for growth for the brand. The Scottish betting market is a significant one and we aim to greatly increase McBookie’s market share.

“We have always believed in the huge potential of the McBookie brand and our most recent investment will allow us to provide this asset with the necessary resources to become a leader in the UK market.

“Remarkably, McBookie has been able to build their brand and customer base through mostly organic channels. Paul Petrie and Damian Walker are excellent operators and with our team, we will now be able to assist them in continuing to grow their membership base and increasing their betting volume.”

Earlier this year a campaign group in Scotland urged the country’s football association to clamp down on betting advertising.