Power play
Banijay and Betclic M&A deals create major entities; Genius and Entain results; UKGC, Drake-Stake &Co
Hello, on Gaming&Co today:
Banijay’s All3Media media move has echoes of Betclic-Tipico deal
Results round-up: Genius Sports, Entain
Orderly transition: Outgoing GC boss allays conflict of interest fears
Fancy that: Drake and Stake’s lucky streak
NIBS: PMU, Betway, Spribe, DAZN + Gaming&Co’s Friday jobs board
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Banijay’s media move echoes Betclic-Tipico deal
World Cup will boost signups and revenues but tax rise impact is certain, says CEO
Power move: Flush from a merger that has seen Banijay Entertainment join forces with All3 Media to become “a global media and entertainment powerhouse”, Betclic reported a 10% rise in sports betting and gaming revenues to €1.59bn in 2025 as group revenue rose 1.6% to €4.88bn and adj. EBITDA rose nearly 7% to €961m.
The 50/50 agreement with All3 Media, which is owned by the US and Abu Dhabi-owned investment fund RedBird IMI, will see the latter pay Banijay €796m as an upfront payment made up of €625m and a €171m pre-close dividend.
Slowly integrate: Discussing the Betclic-Tipico agreement announced in October, Banijay Group CEO François Riahi said the World Cup will be “a strong moment for engagement and increasing revenues”, but integration of the two brands will not start before the tournament as Betclic and Tipico “are completely focused on preparing for the event”.
The group’s net income increased 6.3% to €450m and, despite the higher betting taxes France introduced in July, Riahi said it succeeded in boosting margins by 60 basis points to nearly 27%. However, those margins will be impacted in 2026 as the effect of the tax rises start to come through.
Margin mechanics
“What you can see is that in 2025 we have been able to manage” the impact of the tax rise, said Riahi. “You also have to balance it out with marketing savings (due to the 15% media tax introduced in France), so we will try as much as possible to maintain our margin despite this increase, but mechanically the impact is negative on our margin”.
Strategic March: OSB revenues rose 6.8% (at constant currency) thanks to “strong player engagement” to €1.2bn, while online casino and poker revenues rose 17.4% and reached €249.3m (cc) and +36.5% to €105.8m (cc) respectively, helped by its move to its in-house poker platform at the end of 2024. Riahi said the group will reveal more about its marketing and stock liquidity plans during its strategic update at the end of the month.
The group said it expects to deliver around €50m worth of cost synergies as part of the Banijay-All3 Media deal, with pro forma revenues for the combined entity exceeding €4.4bn and adj. EBITDA of €690m in 2024, “bringing Banijay Group’s total 2024 pro forma revenues to €7.4bn and adjusted EBITDA to €1.5bn”.
With regard to Betclic and Tipico, the group said each company is “valued at €4.8bn and €4.6bn respectively”. Banijay Gaming refinanced €3.13bn of Tipico’s existing debt in January to pay for the transaction and shareholder cash outs.
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Results round-up: Entain, Genius Sports
UK giant upbeat but analysts less so as Genius Sports CEO talks up Legend deal
Entain CEO Stella David said “the business has never been in better shape,” as the operator outperformed expectations for 2025, reporting a 3% YoY rise in NGR, without BetMGM, to £5.3bn. Including its 50% share of the US joint venture with MGM, total group NGR was up 7% to £6.4bn, while underlying EBITDA came in at £1.16bn, ahead of the group’s £1.1bn–£1.15bn guidance range in Q3.
The Ladbrokes and Coral owner reported a £681m statutory loss, versus £461m in 2024, with the majority of this relating to a £488m impairment charge linked to the UK remote gaming duty rise to 40% from this April, with sports betting tax going up from 15% to 25% in 2027.
Tax opportunities: With this one-off hit out of the way, David said the tax changes represent an opportunity for the company. “The business has never been in better shape and is well positioned to not only navigate the tax and regulatory challenges facing our industry, but to seize them as opportunities,” she said.
Entain expects online NGR growth of 5-7% in 2026, excluding the US, but Regulus Partners was left unimpressed. “Entain desperately needed a period of operational stability; it now needs a strategic vision for double digit growth to remain ahead of the ‘unforeseen’ (including but not limited to a potential major shift in UK channelling rates): the 5-7% cc revenue growth guided (ex BetMGM) just doesn’t quite cut it, in our view,” the analysts said.
Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke used the firm’s 2025 earnings call this week to restate confidence in the group’s $1.2bn purchase of sports media company Legend amid ongoing investor concern. Genius saw FY25 group revenue jump 31% to $669.5m, while adj. EBITDA climbed 59% to $136.2m, delivering margins of just over 20%, but the share price - which took a 25% hit after the Legend deal announcement - slid a further 5% in after hours trading.
More than…: Genius expects 2026 revenue of about $820m on a standalone basis, with the acquisition of Legend expected to push pro-forma group revenue beyond $1.1bn, with Locke insisting that the Covers.com and Casino.org publisher was more than a simple “affiliate”. The CEO has already written an open letter to shareholders to explain the rationale behind the deal.
“The key issue is not the monetisation label,” he told analysts. “It is traffic durability and depth of engagement. Traditional affiliate models rely heavily on SEO and paid marketing, often spending between and 40% of revenue to sustain traffic. Legend spends approximately 5% because its traffic is ‘direct and repeat’.”
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Gambling Commission plays down “conflict of interest” fears over Rhodes
Outgoing CEO steps away from some duties amid rumours he’s set to join new advisory firm
A fork in the Rhodes: The UK Gambling Commission has moved to quell fears of a conflict of interest over outgoing chief executive Andrew Rhodes joining a commercial betting consultancy, confirming he will step back from parts of his duties ahead of leaving the regulator next month. Amid rumours Rhodes has been in talks with Hawkbridge, a new advisory firm launched by gambling focused law firm Harris Hagan, the UKGC told Sky News that Rhodes “has been open with us about his plans” and has “stepped back from any duties which might present risks of a conflict of interest”.
The commission added that deputy CEO Sarah Gardner will assume responsibility for areas of work Rhodes is stepping back from ahead of his departure on April 30.
The UKGC announced last month that Rhodes will leave the commission after nearly five years at the helm, during which time the body implemented the UK government’s white paper in 2023. He was the first GC CEO to change the operator of the National Lottery - awarding the concession to Allwyn in 2022.
Still haven’t found what I’m looking for: As well as hunting for a successor to Rhodes, the UKGC remains without a permanent chair, with interim chair Charles Counsell - who was initially appointed for a nine-month term in February 2025 - remaining in situ. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport re-advertised the role last month.
Easy come Easygo
Bloomberg investigation raises questions over win rate on Stake slots
When your luck’s in: Superstar rapper and Stake ambassador Drake is down, in a major way. His original bankroll of $3.5m worth of Bitcoin is down to just $422K, but he switches to Speed Roulette on the advice of Stake founder Ed Craven and his luck changes. The upturn in fortune is quick, after a few spins he banks $800K and, after trying out another slot title called Puffer Stacks, he banks another $800K and eventually his balance is back at $2.2m.
Key change: According to Bloomberg, the upturn in Drake’s fortunes happened after Stake co-founder Ed Craven joined the session on the group’s streaming platform Kick and, after reloading the rapper’s wallet with $500K, advised him to try those slots, which also happen to be produced by the crypto-gambling giant’s in-house studio Easygo Entertainment.
Playing the percentages: The news agency’s in-depth investigation into the win ratios of Drake and other brand ambassadors such as the streamer Adin Ross reveal how lucky they were whenever they played slots owned by Easygo Entertainment. Just as seriously, the article delves into the history of the crypto casino, how it seems happy to recruit underage players and how it addresses lawsuits and player complaints.
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News shorts
Eric Woerth should be confirmed as PMU’s new chairman next Friday, reports Paris-Turf. The French politician stepped down from his role as an MP on 28 February and would not have left that role without guarantees from the government.
The move also preempts any claims of conflicts of interest and will see him lead the Pacte PMU 2030 project aimed at revitalising the group’s fortunes, although as Partis-Turf mentions, details of its rollout are scant. The timeline should see Woerth address the PMU board next Friday and be elected as its chairman.
Betway has been named Formula 1’s first official betting operator under a multi‑year partnership ahead of the 2026 season. The agreement, spanning Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Canada and Mexico, will see the Super Group-owned operator create new in‑play markets on race strategies such as safety cars and pit windows.
Crash games provider Spribe has been handed a warning and a small fine by Sweden’s regulator after its games were found on unlicensed gambling sites. An SGA investigation discovered Spribe’s games appeared on several platforms without the required Swedish licence. The supplier said it acted immediately upon notification, removing all unlicensed content and implementing enhanced controls with content aggregators.
The NFL has terminated its five-year agreement with DAZN to broadcast five live matches in Germany two years before the end of the deal. The decision is not connected to the NFL’s 10-year agreement with DAZN based on a D2C Premium proposition, but according to industry observers, it could be due to a rethink of media rights partnerships as the Paramount-Netflix takeover talks continue and platforms like YouTube show increasing interest in sports rights.
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Calendar
Results: Mar 12: Gambling.com
Contact
Get in touch with Jake Pollard to find out more about Gaming&Co: jake@gamingandco.info