- Partypoker’s parent company announced the new acquisition late last week in a surprising Q3 trading update.
- To date, GVC has failed to obtain a license for any of its subsidiaries in Portugal for any form of online gambling.
- Bet.PT currently only authorized for sports betting and non-poker casino games.
- However, applying to extend this license to add poker is a much simpler route.
- GVC has repeated voiced its commitment to online poker, including the opportunities in Southern Europe.
GVC Holdings has announced the acquisition of Portuguese online sports betting operator Bet.PT, offering another route for partypoker to extend its European segregated network into the market.
Partypoker’s parent company announced the new acquisition late last week in a surprising Q3 trading update in which the company reported continued momentum since its H1 interim results in August.
Online net gaming revenue was up 26% in Q3 to date, “with market share gains in all major territories,” it was stated.
“This has been another strong period for GVC. We have delivered our nineteenth consecutive quarter of double-digit online growth,” GVC CEO Shay Segev said.
“The momentum that we are seeing across the Group is a clear testament to the resilience of our highly diversified business model, the attractiveness of our brands and products, the power of our proprietary technology platform, and the hard work and dedication of our teams around the world,” he went on to say.
Bet.PT was one of the first market entrants in the newly regulated Portuguese online gambling market. It received the second online sports book license in July 2016, and the third approval for games of chance in July 2019.
Notable, it was approved to offer blackjack, baccarat, roulette and slot machines online for real money—it does not cover them for online poker just yet. However, applying to extend this license to add a new game is a much simpler route towards licensed online poker than a whole new entity obtaining authorization.
