We’ve been talking about it for awhile now, and more specifically focusing on certain expected business aspects and expansions which would come to fruition once the deal closed. Now that Fansunite Entertainment (FANS.C) has closed their acquisition of Askott Entertainment, we can watch firsthand as they develop into a leader in the Canadian gaming sector.

Recently, Askott’s Business to Business (B2B) Chameleon Gaming platform made the shortlist for the 2020 EGR B2B Awards for eSports Betting Supplier of the Year. Now that they’re part of Fansunite, they be able to offer customers a wider range of better options including sports, e-sports, casino games and many more.

“We are pleased to announce the closing of this transaction as it represents one of our biggest milestones to date and allows us to turn our attention to the future. Our intention as a company has always been to scale and capture market share quickly. With that in mind we have brought together a world-class team of executives and board members that have led some of the largest gaming companies in the world. With their help, we will look to execute on our vision of becoming a leader in the global gaming market,” said Scott Burton, chief executive officer of Fansunite.

Good deal.

The story so far

Fansunite intends to become a leading tech platform focused on the growing online gaming market, and the Askott acquisition is a step towards fulfilling that ultimate goal. They company’s been around since 2013, when they were in the game of building business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) betting products for the nascent e-sports industry.

In the months leading up to the buy date the company put together a string of acquisitions, including McBookie Ltd, a UK white-label sportsbook and casino catering to the Scottish Market, which then saw a considerable jump over COVID-19, recording a Q2 rise of 59% year over year increase in volume, and strong sportsbook growth.

The trade off is simple:

FansUnite brings Askott a sportsbook license and casino gaming, and Askott brings FansUnite an e-sports gambling front with white label clients and a large membership base, according to Parry.

“McBookie is legit. It’s been around for a decade and has seen over $100 million gambled through its system in the last three years, which means it brings cash flow to FansUnite right out of the gate,” said Equity Guru’s own Chris Parry.

They didn’t stop there.

Late last week, Askott joined forces with The Ear Platform to add another 6,000 gaming options to their gaming platform, and therefore another revenue stream, complete with marketing options.

The platform includes products for both pre-match and in-game betting, daily fantasy, content and certified random number generation (RNG) for casino style chance games. The company has been using the Chameleon platform for their own free-to-play brands and their external partners using real money.

“With the Askott acquisition now complete, Fansunite is well positioned to become a leader in the global I-gaming market. The combined forces of both companies will bring together a portfolio of B2B and B2C assets that are unique, industry leading and support our goal of growing our global footprint in the fast growing gaming industry,” said Darius Eghdami, president of Fansunite.

And that industry is definitely growing.

Grandview Research dropped a report last year that estimated that the online gambling market, worth USD$53.7 billion in 2019 would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.5% from between 2020 and 2027. As we wrote when they picked up The Ear Platform, those figures don’t factor in a resurgence of COVID-19.

When the summer’s over and the flu season arrives, the malls will close and Hollywood will endure another full season of hemorrhaging money for lack of content. It won’t be long before we’re all struggling to find some way to spend our time when COVID-19 season 2 begins to stalk the streets.

Having 6,000 new options to have some socially distanced fun would be a real coup.

—Joseph Morton

Full disclosure: Fansunite Entertainment is an equity.guru marketing client.