Betsson has opted out of the agreement to acquire Holland Gaming Technology Ltd and Holland Power Gaming B.V.
The Stockholm-listed company has terminated the deal, in line with the original terms set in February 2024, to pursue other business opportunities.
An official press release detailed the update, which was influenced by the Dutch Gambling Authority not making a decision ahead of the pre-determined long-stop date.
The agreement was predicated on the Dutch authority confirming its approval, but this has not materialized to date, resulting in Betsson deciding to move on in a different direction.
Betsson has terminated the agreement to acquire Holland Gaming Technology Ltd and Holland Power Gaming B.V. to pursue other business opportunities.
As set out in the original €27.5 million ($31.4 million) agreement, both entities will now be returned to the seller, with Betsson receiving a refund of €26.7 million in return, with the break fee applied.
Betsson has stated that: “The unwinding of the acquisition will not have any notable effect on the Group’s consolidated income statement.”
Previous dealings in the Netherlands
The proposed deal would have seen the online gaming operator return to the regulated market in the Netherlands, with Holland Power Gaming exclusively providing content for Holland Gaming Technology.
That will not come to fruition at this point, following on from Betsson’s aborted attempt to acquire its own license in the country in 2023. “Significant delays” were cited as the reason that the company pulled the plug on the application.
It was a one-time operator in the Netherlands, but Betsson has been inactive there since exiting the market in September 2021, just one day before the Dutch launched a regulated iGaming sector.
At the time of writing, Betsson has just been named alongside Flutter as the latest offenders following a probe into AML requirements by the Swedish gambling regulator.
