Gambling.com Group Agrees to Acquire RotoWire to Grow Footprint in U.S.

Gambling.com Group has agreed to acquire Roto Sports Inc., operator of RotoWire.com. The transaction is expected to close in January 2022.

“Over the past 25 years, Peter and the RotoWire team have produced some of the best fantasy sports content in America and have in turn embedded their business into the heart of the American sports experience,” Charles Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer of Gambling.com Group, said in a media release.

“Commercially, the RotoWire business has three different revenue streams, each generating over $1 million per year, which give it significant reach into sports media organizations as well as with advertisers and individual sports fans. These deep and long-lasting customer relationships are an ideal platform from which to capitalize on the new era of American sports – the betting and gaming era.”

Accelerating the U.S. Expansion

GDC’s acquisition of RotoWire will assist in expanding the company’s presence in the United States. GDC will utilize RotoWire’s existing audience, content library, workforce, media partnerships and trust from U.S. sports fans to accelerate GDC’s growing business in U.S. online sports betting sites.

RotoWire’s history of being a leading authority in fantasy sports allows it to have the expertise to offer sports betting recommendations that American consumers will trust.

“The United States is entering a whole new world of sports fandom and combining forces with Gambling.com Group will accelerate RotoWire’s growth,” Peter Schoenke, President of RotoWire and past-Chairman of the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association, said in the release. “Gambling.com Group’s resources and experience will help RotoWire rapidly advance its sports betting offerings to take full advantage of this new era.”

What’s in The Deal

The aggregate purchase price of the deal is $27.5 million, of which $7.5 million will be deferred over two years following closing. The aggregate purchase deal is expected to be nearly four times Roto Sports’ estimated 2021 revenue.

In the past 12 months, RotoWire has more than 100,000 paid subscribers and more than 17 million unique web visitors. Its content reached millions of sports fans through distribution arrangements with some of the largest sports media organizations in the world.

“We will commence work on expanding sports betting content and tools across RotoWire’s digital assets straight after closing,” Gillespie said. “We believe that the combination of these two complementary businesses creates immediate accretion to our fiscal 2022 earnings and establishes a foundation for a leadership position in U.S. sports betting, which will drive near-term, and especially long-term, value creation for our shareholders.”

Earlier this year, Gambling.com Group was named Affiliate of the Year by eGaming Review (“EGR”). It is the most prestigious award given to affiliates in the online gambling industry and it was the second time the Group has won the award, following its win in 2018.