Moody’s analysts Florent Egonneau and Jeanine Arnold predict that the wave of gaming mergers that had already begun when the Covid-19 pandemic struck will only accelerate once it ebbs.
They commented after yet another gaming merger was approved, that of Ireland-based Flutter Entertainment with the Stars Group, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, which will create a global company with 10 million customers.
Stars Group owns Skybet, Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker. Flutter owns the betting exchange Betfair, U.S.-based FanDuel and Sportsbet in Australia.
The analysts said gaming companies will want a global reach and access to more online customers. They will also be looking to sweep up bargains created by the worldwide catastrophe. They said, “Companies with stronger balance sheets will also be keen to take advantage of depressed valuations to increase their market share through takeovers.”
Betting on sports has taken a precipitate decline since almost all professional sports are on hold and many players are switching to games like poker and casino games during this sporting drought.
