Bwin (BWIN.VI), the online gambling corporation announced that it is in the final stages of acquiring the full ownership of Italian online gambling operator Gioco Digitale. Terms of the deal have not been revealed, but analysts estimate that Bwin will pay an approximate 100M Euros for the Italian company.
Gioco Digitale is a leader in online poker and sports betting in Italy and is the oldest online gambling corporation in Italy. Austrian owned Bwin’s main business is sports betting but it is also an operator of poker and casino sites.
Bwin claims that the Italian market is a good choice for expansion. Legislative actions, taken recently are expected to legalize, in the coming months various forms of online gambling, including poker cash games. Poker tournaments and sports betting are already legal in Italy.
Financial markets reacted positively to the acquisition. Bwin share soared by 4.6% on the day of announcement (Monday).
This is not the first and definitely not the last acquisition in the online gambling industry. Recent acquisitions include PartyGaming acquisitions of Cashcade, the online Bingo Company and WPT Enterprises Inc. owner of the World Poker Tour Television Show and Playtech and William Hill merger.
