Enttain buys sports data provider 365scores for £128m

Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain has bought sports media group 365scores, marking its tenth acquisition in the last 18 months.

The FTSE 100 gaming giant has agreed to spend $150m (around £120m) upfront for the Tel Aviv-based company, plus up to £8m in contingent payments.

Launched in 2012 by four former members of the Israel Defense Forces, 365scores offers sports fans real-time scores and statistics on ten different sports, including football, cricket and tennis, and thousands of competitions.

According to the analytics platform Data.ai, the company has more than 15 million active users and is among the top five most popular score apps in the world.

Entain, which also owns the PartyPoker and Foxy Bingo brands, said the transaction would help expand the range of interactive content and experiences for its customers.

It’s Entain’s second acquisition this year, after it agreed to buy software developer Sportsflare from Tidal Holdings for $13.25 million in March.

In the last 18 months, the group has launched a round of acquisitions to expand its territorial reach and diversify its product range.

Last year, Entain paid 600 million euros (£507 million) to Czech investment management firm EMMA Capital, with which it runs the joint venture Entain CEE, for a majority stake in Zagreb-based SuperSport.

The company also snapped up Latvian company Klondaika, Polish sports betting company Totolotek and Canadian online brand Avid Gaming, and agreed to land Dutch rivals BetCity in a deal that could potentially cost £753m.

Previously, Entain had entered the Portuguese market through the acquisition of the website Bet.pt and expanded its presence in the Baltic and Nordic regions through the acquisition of the online gaming operator Enlabs.

“Inorganic growth is no stranger to the sports betting and gaming industry,” said Victoria Scholar, Interactive Investor’s head of investment.

‘But [the 365scores] Bolt-On is a little different, bringing entain to sports media content and underscoring the importance of data when it comes to engaging new audiences.’

Entain itself was the subject of an £8.1billion bid two years ago from MGM Resorts, the operator of famous Las Vegas resorts like the Bellagio and MGM Grand, which was rejected as too low.

Five years ago, the two groups founded BetMGM to capitalize on the legalization of sports betting in several US states.

In the last fiscal year, BetMGM’s net gaming revenue grew 71 percent compared to an overall growth of 12 percent for Entain.

The company expects the joint venture to generate between $1.8 billion and $2 billion in revenue this year, compared to $1.44 billion in 2022, and positive underlying earnings in the second half of the period will achieve.

Enttain shares were up 0.5 percent on Wednesday afternoon at 1,260.5 pence. They have grown by almost 180 percent in the last three years.