October 23 (SeeNews) - Stockholm-listed Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) said it has signed an agreement to acquire 75% of Croatian company Top Games, which qualifies for a remote gambling permit.
"The agreement provides market access to one of GiG’s in-house brands. It is based on a collaborative partnership model, expanding GiG’s B2C online gaming offering in a growing regulated market," GiG said in a statement on Tuesday.
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GiG added it plans to enter Croatia's online casino market via this partnership in the first half of 2020, expecting a moderate impact from the move on its revenues in the second half of 2020 and an accelerated increase in revenue contribution as of the first half of 2021.
Under the agreement, the remaining stake of 25% of Top Games remains in the hands of the Croatian company's land-based casino business.
The value of the transaction has not been revealed with GiG saying that the payment for the acquisition is solely based on a contribution of resources by the shareholders with no cash being paid.
It added that the local partner will upfront the initial costs, whereas GiG will provide rights of use of its brand, a gambling platform and operational expertise.
"I’m excited to further expand our B2C business by entering another regulated jurisdiction. Croatia is a very interesting marketplace for gambling and supports our strategy to grow our own brands in high potential and regulated markets," GiG's acting CEO, Richard Brown, said in the statement.
The Croatian market of some 4.1 million people has five licensed online casinos at present. The country supports the locally regulated online operators by IP blocking both offshore and other non-regulated operators. The total gambling gross win in Croatia is seen at some 360 million euro ($400 million) in 2020, with online gambling being subject to a 15% gambling duty, according to GiG data.
($=0.898822 euro)