The esports market exploded in the past years and the interest for the sector is continuing to increase. According to stats from GlobeNewswire, the sector will keep on expanding with a 22% CAGR between 2022 to 2030. Forecasts show that sponsorships and ads will mark the biggest revenue share.
In this environment, Better Collective, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based digital sports media group, is to acquire Futbin and its domains, which all represent esports media brands within FIFA esoccer game, for a total price of up to EUR105m.
Out of the total, EUR70m will be paid upfront. The remaining portion – of up to EUR30m – will be paid over the next two years and are subject to a given financial performance.
Led by Jesper Søgaard, CEO, Better Collective is a sports betting media company providing solutions dedicated to enhancing the betting experience for iGamers and sports fans via data insights, bookmaker information, editorial content, betting tips, iGaming communities and educational tools. Its portfolio of platforms include:
– bettingexpert.com, a social network platform for sports betting tipsters,
– VegasInsider.com, a brand for the US sports betting audience, offering picks and informative analysis from experts,
– HLTV.org, a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) site providing news, CS:GO match information and player and team rankings, and
– Action Network, a platform for sports fans in the US to enhance their entertainment and betting experience through original news, betting tools, data, insights, data and real-time odds.
The company, which is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (BETCO), also owns Roulette Geeks, a platform that provides educational materials about casino strategies, to thrive by playing the best online destinations, including those at non GamStop casinos at Casino-Wise.com.
Futbin
Futbin is an esports company focused on esoccer game FIFA with 50m monthly visits on its website and 3m daily active users on its app. Together with its associated domains, its online destinations provide the player base with insights into the game. The main business model of its sites is ad sales. Recently, the launch of the app has brought an increase of revenue through subscription services, which is considered at a very early stage but with meaningful growth opportunities.
During the last year, the company’s platforms generated revenues totaling EUR13m. Following the close of the deal, the team will continue to provide support and grant the development of the platform, which will receive new investments in the next years. Better Collective started consolidating the acquired assets into its accounts as from April 19, 2022.
The company wants to consolidate its position within esports built on hltv.org. The addition of Futbin and its assets enables the company’s esports portfolio to reach 100 million monthly visits and further diversify its income stream as Futbin revenues are mainly made of ads and subscription sales.
The company expects to generate synergies across the esports portfolio by creating products and services from a joint framework, scaling the brands to enhance its audience.
Canada Sports Betting
The deal follows the previous acquisition of Canada Sports Betting, for 21.4 mEUR (23.5 mUSD). The transaction, announced earlier on March, 22, 2022, allows the company to enter the Canadian market one month before Ontario launched online sports betting legally (in April 2022). Following the execution of various investments and its overall acquisition strategy in North America, Better Collective has seen a rapid increase in profitability across the US business, which has basically been enabled by some offerings from brands such as the above mentioned Action Network and VegasInsider, and now CSB.
The company expects the North American market will continue increasing operational earnings and revenue out of the total generated.
* Esports is referred to electronic sports, which allows professional and amateur players to compete in video games related to sports via digital devices such as tablet, mobile and PC. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the global esports market size can reach $3,574.9m by 2027, increasing at a 21.3% CAGR.