PointsBet, a premier global sportsbook operator, last week announced that it has entered into a binding share purchase agreement to acquire Banach Technology Ltd. The acquisition is set to position PointsBet as a leader for in-play sports wagering in the United States, just as in-play wagering is expected to grow exponentially.
“Industry experts have agreed that as US sports betting continues to grow, betting interest will trend toward more live, in-play wagering,” stated PointsBet USA CEO Johnny Aitken. “Excellence in live wagering—and our ability to position PointsBet as industry leaders with a differentiated, more seamless in-play product that stands out versus the competition—will come as a byproduct of our bookmaking expertise, as well as our ownership and internal operation of our technology infrastructure from end to end.
“Today’s noteworthy acquisition of Banach Technology complements PointsBet’s in-house approach and fast forwards our technology and experience within the in-play vertical, setting us up well for the future of this burgeoning industry.”
Within the next few years, in-play wagering is expected to represent approximately 75 percent of all sports betting activity in the United States. PointsBet’s acquisition of Banach accelerates the sports betting operator’s technology roadmap and places the company in prime position to take advantage of that anticipated growth. Additionally, through highly sophisticated risk management algorithms and deep trading experience, Banach Technology will allow PointsBet to optimize achieved margin, thus offering superior value to customers.
“As legalization to approve sport betting accelerates across the US, it has become clear that the in-play opportunity will be very significant, and those with the best depth and breadth of product will win,” noted PointsBet Group CEO and Managing Director Sam Swanell. “Technology is at the forefront of everything we do at PointsBet, and we have undertaken an in-house approach to proprietary technology as the key priority. In Banach, PointsBet has found a like-minded team of technologists, and the acquisition is a preferable approach to developing our in-play capabilities organically, given it allows us to dramatically ramp up our speed to market while still allowing us to own market-leading technology and continue to control our destiny.”
Banach is a Dublin-based provider of proprietary risk management platforms and quantitative driven trading models that support complex pre-game and in-play betting products across numerous sports, including the four major American sports and international soccer. The Banach team is deeply experienced with a strong sports betting background in leading pre-game and in-play wagering markets, having previously established the quants division of Flutter Entertainment Plc (formerly Paddy Power Plc).
“I am extremely proud of the business and team we have built over the last few years,” commented Banach CEO Mark Hughes. “We could not be more excited about the burgeoning US opportunity and the role that the Banach team will play in accelerating and strengthening PointsBet’s pre-game, in-play and free-to-play offering in the United States. It is great to be part of such a forward-thinking global organization.”
As part of the transaction, senior members of the Banach team will serve new roles within PointsBet, including Banach founders:
- Mark Hughes, PointsBet’s group chief operating officer. Hughes, the former Founder & CEO of Banach Technology also served as Paddy Power Plc’s Head of Quants as well as Senior Quantitative Analyst
- Alex Zevenbergen, vice president of engineering, trading platform. Zevenbergen, the former founder & CTO of Banach Technology, also served as a Senior Software Engineer for Paddy Power Plc
- Hadrien Lepretre, vice president of quantitative analytics. Lepretre is the former founder and chief analytics officer of Banach Technology and also served as CEO for Quantitative Logistics and chief data scientist for Paddy Power Plc
- Rob Reck, special advisor to PointsBet. Reck is the former founder and director of Banach Technology. He also served as a principal analyst for Paddy Power Plc and head of Quants
The four key executives will utilize their 60-plus years of combined experience in developing gaming technology to help fortify the PointsBet team. A total of 40 leading professionals from the Banach team will join PointsBet, immediately increasing PointsBet’s global technology and product team headcount while adding mature sports betting market expertise.
