Jason Ader, CEO of SpringOwl Asset Management, and the man credited with playing Cupid between Bwin and Entain (GVC), believes that more UK betting companies could be targeted by US giants following DraftKings’ proposal to buy Ladbrokes’ owner Entain and the 2020 acquisition of William Hill by Caesars. Speaking to City A.M. in the UK, Mr. Ader said that he feels that 888 ‘stands out as a lone wolf’ for any interested buyers. “The cost of starting up a mature online gaming business is still greater than the cost of buying one,” Ader explained, “it’s the basic Build vs Buy analysis, and the UK companies are a lot more valuable than their share prices would lead you to believe because there’s simply been no way for US businesses to replicate what they’ve been doing for the last 10 years.”
US operators are in a hurry to take advantage of increasingly liberalised gambling laws and sports betting will soon be a permitted in virtually every state and according to Ader, “The US as a regulated market still seems to be the most attractive in the world.”
