Allwyn on hunt for new sportsbook M&A after Novibet deal collapse

Despite Allwyn's withdrawal from the deal to acquire Novibet earlier this month, the company is still pursuing other solutions to bring its sportsbook technology in-house.

Allwyn International is exploring alternative acquisition options for a proprietary sports betting tech stack following the collapse of its Novibet acquisition.

On Allwyn’s FY25 earnings call on Thursday, CEO Robert Chvátal was asked about the collapse of the company’s deal to acquire Novibet, which was announced earlier this month.

Allwyn withdrew from the acquisition following feedback from the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC), with iGB understanding that a number of remedies which had been considered had failed to maintain the value of the deal.

Core to the deal was providing Allwyn with a proprietary sportsbook platform, but Chvátal said Allwyn respected the HCC’s concerns.

He said the group was already in the process of looking at other options. “This interest in the sportsbook technology remains on the radar of Allwyn,” Chvátal said.

“We have already started exploring other opportunities when it comes to sportsbook technology, to maybe solidify our sportsbook position in some markets of Allwyn.”

Bringing sportsbook tech in-house an Allwyn priority

Allwyn CFO Kenneth Morton added more colour on the company’s wider tech strategy, explaining that a key priority was to bring its sportsbook tech in-house.

The company considers proprietary technology as an “important differentiating factor and driver of success in the long term”, according to Morton.

“We currently have on the lottery side pretty much everything that we think is important for the user experience and important for our long-term success in-house already, although not necessarily rolled out across the whole portfolio,” Morton said.

“Sports betting is the one bit that we don’t currently have in-house, which we do think is strategically important. So we certainly see benefits to having it in-house, but as Robert said, there are many other ways that we can achieve that.”

Customer acquisition advantages for PrizePicks

Last September, Allwyn agreed to acquire a majority stake in the daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator PrizePicks.

The deal to acquire a 62.3% stake in PrizePicks included an initial cash consideration of $1.6 billion, with additional payments dependent on certain performance metrics over the next three years.

PrizePicks has also expanded beyond its existing products by moving into the growing US prediction markets space.

And with Allwyn’s acquisition completed in January this year, Morton believes PrizePicks is well-placed to make a dent in the prediction markets sector thanks to its large national userbase and well-known brand.

“PrizePicks isn’t in a world where it needs to acquire a lot of customers in order to either address churn or to expand into new geographies in order to capture the prediction markets opportunity,” Morton explained.

“We can’t give specifics, but I would say that PrizePicks is certainly better placed than other companies in the broader gaming entertainment space in North America in that regard.”

Morton said PrizePicks’ ability to incorporate its DFS, sports betting and prediction markets offerings into one app was crucial from a customer acquisition perspective.

“A number of operators have launched actually with three apps, so DFS, OSB and predictions in separate apps,” Morton continued. “Essentially, to some extent you’re having to acquire the same customer three times.

“That’s not the case for PrizePicks. On day one they went live with predictions within their DFS app, which is obviously better for the user experience, but it’s also much better from the customer acquisition cost perspective.”

Net revenue edged up for Allwyn in FY25

Allwyn’s net revenue rose by 4% year-on-year in its FY25 results to €4.1 billion, while adjusted EBITDA also increased 4%, nearing €1.6 billion.

Allwyn expects to complete its merger with OPAP this month after the combination received shareholder approval in February. The merger is expected to create a combined business valued at €16 billion.

Chvátal described 2025 as a “pivotal year” for Allwyn, expressing his confidence in the company’s future.

“The significant steps taken this year further strengthen our platform and position us well to deliver sustainable long‑term value as a listed company,” Chvátal declared.

https://igamingbusiness.com/strategy/ma/allwyn-new-sportsbook-tech-novibet-deal-collapse/