Playtech offloads German gambling outfit as it shifts to B2B

Happybet, the German brand of Playtech, will be transferred to pferdewetten.de, a Frankfurt-based operator in the gambling industry. The move comes as Playtech begins to let go of its consumer-facing businesses to refocus on becoming a business-to-business (B2B) company.

Happybet’s new owners will be able to have more control over the business, including owning hardware related to it and dealing directly with any franchise owners. Anything not taken on by pferdewetten.de will be shuttered over time.

In the press release, pferdewetten.de AG said that it will begin to “transition” new products to the “sportwetten.de” branding. The CEO of pferdewetten.de AG, Pierre Hofer, said (Translated with DeepL.com):

“We expect a mid-double-digit number of shops to be integrated into our network in the next three months. This corresponds to an expected additional annual turnover… of around EUR 7 million and a positive EBITDA contribution of over EUR 1 million.

“The process, which has been closely coordinated with the seller, enables us to implement the changeover without any significant interruption to business operations and without any additional authorisation expenses.

“This strategic step brings us significantly closer to our goal of operating more than 300 stationary betting shops under the sportwetten.de brand by the end of 2025.”

The run-up to the changing of hands didn’t look entirely bright for Happybet. According to iGamingBusiness.com, Playtech had reported a loss of €11.8 million ($13.3 million) in 2024 due to the ongoing rise of costs worldwide. If pferdewetten.de AG had not stepped in to snap up Happybet, it was reported that Playtech had considered shutting down all operations across Germany.

Since the deal, pferdewetten.de AG’s stock has risen from a May 26 low of €2.82 to a May 28 high of €3.08, where it currently sits.

Playtech’s most recent moves include building up its studio offerings for live casino play. It has partnered with Evoke PLC to open new studios where the games will be hosted, and made a move in the bingo world as it partners with ProgressPlay to tackle the UK.

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