James Maloney of the Panthers looks ahead through the NRL rugby league game around 6 between the Sharks and the Panthers at PointsBet Stadium on April 18, 2019 in Sydney, Australia.
Jason McCawley | Getty Images
Banach Technology is referred to as the Robinhood of sports gambling, and is now owned by PointsBet.
The company received a Banach sports bet in a $ 43 million trade on Monday. Banach is a business-to-business software company that creates sports betting platforms and algorithms, including in-play wagers.
PointsBet, based in Australia with US headquarters in Denver, will pay 55% cash for the company, issue 1.75 million shares, and pay $ 4 million to help transform the two companies .
In an interview with CNBC on Monday, PointsBet CEO Johnny Aitken said, “a number of benefits will be unlocked with this deal,” including PointsBets enhanced in-game offerings.
“The trend in this industry, especially in the U.S., will be around in-game betting,” Aitken said, estimating that “about 50 percent” of bets are placed in the game right now. . “Within three years, we expect about 75 percent of bets to be placed. So the future of U.S. sports betting is in play. [bets]. “
PointsBet wants to gain market share in US sports gambling. The research firm Grand View Research estimates that the global online gambling market size will reach $ 127.3 billion by 2027. And U.S. sports betting revenue is expected to reach $ 2.5 billion in time. year and $ 8 billion by 2025.
PointsBet bets on in-play wagering, which allows users to place bets during games. Other companies like FanDuel are also investing in in-game technologies, as they have partnerships with tech company Simplebet.
“As the American bettor becomes more comfortable with sports betting, they become more comfortable with alternatives, become more inquisitive, and seek out the best technology,” Aitken said. “And that’s the opportunity for PointsBet. We own the technology.”
In January, PointsBet also agreed an equity deal with the National Hockey League which provided approximately $ 556,000 worth to the league. PointsBet also agreed to an equity deal with parent company CNBC NBCUniversal worth $ 500 million. In the five-year deal, NBC has the right to increase its liability to 25%, a PointsBet representative confirmed.
“For NBC’s contract, the more successful NBC makes PointsBet, the more successful they will be with their equity investment,” Aitken said. “When you think of in-game betting and the future of sports broadcasting, it’s about getting involved in that game. In-game betting and in-game bet stats tied to the broadcast can not. not only will people watch more games but also increase the length of viewing. “
Banach is based in Ireland, and the co-founders will now join PointsBet, including CEO Mark Hughes, who will move to the chief operating officer of PointsBet. Banach’s founders helped establish the quantitative analyst division of Flutter Entertainment (formerly Paddy Power), which owns FanDuel.
Aitken called the founders of Banach “modern thinkers” and compared the company to the founders of the Robinhood app. “We’re thinking in a modern way, and what we’ve done before isn’t going to work in the future,” he said. “The industry is changing, and there is a promise in America that grew. You just have to be more discriminating with the help you render toward other people. “
Flutter, which trades on the London Stock Exchange, has a market capitalization of £ 27.7 billion (approximately US $ 39 billion). Last week, CNBC announced that they were considering spinning out FanDuel as a separate company to trade on the U.S. exchange.
Disclosure: Comcast is owned by NBCUniversal, a major operator of CNBC.