Winner Joins evoke plc’s Portfolio in Romania After €10M Cash Injection

evoke plc, one of the world’s leading betting and gaming groups that owns and operates globally renowned brands including William Hill, 888, and Mr Green has acquired a 51% stake in Romania’s Winner.ro owner New Gambling Solutions (NGS) SRL. 

Consequently, the group has now turned into the fourth largest Business-to-Consumer operator in the country which is now considered its fifth core market. 

NGS, which is the seventh largest operator in Romania, was acquired for €10 million ($11 million). As explained by evoke’s chief executive officer, Per Widerström, the transaction is expected to add significant value to the company’s previous plan.

888.ro Brought Under NGS’s Umbrella
evoke’s 888.ro brand will be added to NGS and the two entities will generate a combined entity that will feature a 7% Romanian market share.

CEO Widerström expressed excitement regarding the addition of Winner to their portfolio, describing the acquisition as one that was “consistent” with their strategy “to build sustainable market-leading profitable positions in the most attractive markets.”

In March, the company announced it would divide its operations into “core” markets in the UK, Spain, Denmark, and Italy while considering other active jurisdictions as “optimize” markets.

As for Romania, 888 is determined to considerably grow its market by implementing a multi-brand strategy and using local expertise in parallel with its complementary 888 casino brand. 

By 2026, evoke will own anywhere between 51% and 57% of the business, based on its performance markers.

Starting with the third year post-acquisition, evoke will also be given the choice to unilaterally increase its ownership to 100%.

“Romania Is a High-Growth Market”
Given the country’s €1.1 billion ($1.22 billion) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in 2023 and Regulus Partners’ forecast speaking of a 13% compound annual growth rate up to 2026, evoke is thrilled about the attractiveness of the market dynamics. 

Winner.ro’s “Romania is a high-growth market, also took the opportunity to speak about the “an incredibly exciting transaction” that will reunite their “local-hero brand, with one of the world’s strongest international casino brands.”

Zajdel also praised Romania as a “high-growth market” explaining the successful combo should prepare them for a “sustainable, profitable, market-leading position.”

Winner, which launched in Romania in 2019, and delivered €19 million ($21 million) in GGR in the first half of the current year, is led by a strong team that knows how to build on their success via a “highly localized approach,” and a selection of “competitive advantages” including their product platform, enhanced customization rate, and wide expanded network of deposit points.

evoke believes the transaction, which is still pending legal clearance, will not have any impact on the 2024 leverage. 

However, starting next year, the acquisition expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, is projected to boost earnings and further cut the group’s leverage.