Evolution Gaming has announced its acquisition of Livespins, in a deal worth up to €5 million as the total up-front cash payment.
The acquisition stipulates a total up-front cash consideration worth €5 million. Additionally, Evolution will pay an earn-out based on Livespins' performance in 2026. Completion of the transaction is planned for Q2 2024 and is subject to certain closing conditions.
Livespins is an innovative B2B social streaming game provider that enables operators to offer their players the opportunity to bet behind their favorite influencers, streamers and brand ambassadors.
Livespins integrates into an operator's casino lobby via API, allowing multiple players to place a bet to team up and "bet behind" the streamer for a chance to win together. If the streamer wins, the players win too, in what is an exciting shared experience.
Evolution said the acquisition fits perfectly into their "Product Leap" strategy, saying that Livespins shall strengthen their online gaming portfolio with a new social element.
Todd Haushalter, Evolution's Chief Product Officer, said:
"Playing along with a streamer is a whole new way to play online casino games. This was on our roadmap, so when the opportunity with Livespins arose, things moved quickly. Bringing together the fantastic tech, processes and know-how of the team at Livespins with Evolution's huge game portfolio, we will provide Livespins immediately with unparalleled distribution power via our One Stop Shop (OSS) integration. Twitch, YouTube, and other platforms have proven the popularity of live streaming while playing online casino games. We think players would love to play along with them and now that will be possible, right from the Evolution lobby."
Chris Scicluna, Livespins CEO, added:
"This is an unprecedented milestone for Livespins and we couldn't be happier to be joining the Evolution Group. Although we have content from 40-plus studios already integrated, we are still in a start-up phase, so to attract the attention of Evolution is incredible. It's also a reflection of all the hard work that our team has poured into this concept, and the unwavering belief that the Livespins product would revolutionize the industry."
Livespins shall continue to function as its own brand within the Evolution group. With the Livespins brand now in tow, Evolution further expands its portfolio of world leading online gaming brands that already includes Big Time Gaming, Red Tiger, NetEnt, Nolimit City, DigiWheel and Ezugi.
In a recent interview, Livespins CCO Michael Pedersen said that the US market will be their main focus for Livespins. He added that when Livespins has demoed its product at trade shows, the greatest enthusiasm has come from US and Canadian operators.
"We got such tremendous feedback from North American operators that it was a pretty easy choice from early on that our first regulated markets would be North America. That also means that we're not touching the more typical European regulated markets for now. The product's built for North America, to some extent."
About Evolution Gaming
Evolution AB develops, produces, markets and licenses fully-integrated B2B Online Casino solutions to gaming operators. Founded in 2006, Evolution Gaming has developed into a leading B2B provider with 600+ operators among its customers, including 888casino, Betsson, Entain (partycasino), Mr Green and LeoVegas. The group currently employs 13,000+ people in studios across Europe and in North America. The parent company is based in Sweden and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm with the ticker EVO.
Evolution Gaming is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority under license MGA/B2B/187/2010. Evolution is also licensed and regulated in many other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Romania, South Africa, and others.
Source: https://www.evolution.com/news/evolution-acquires-livespins/
