Aristocrat Leisure has been planning a massive AU$5-billion acquisition that is set to get the operator involved in real money gaming (RMG) – a controversial type of online gambling activity that is currently illegal on the territory of Australia.
According to one of the most dignified gambling experts in the country, Dr Charles Livingstone, real money gaming is already easily accessible for local customers. Furthermore, it offers them high-speed gambling with literally no betting limits. Dr Livingstone, who is also an associate professor at the Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, explained that this type of gambling is offered on special apps that provide customers with access to casino-style games and virtual poker (slot) machines that allow them to bet an unlimited amount of money very rapidly. Also, no time limits apply, so customers can spend hours on the app, spending extremely large amounts of money.
Currently, Aristocrat Leisure is one of the 20 largest companies on the nation’s stock exchange. The gambling operator’s market capitalisation is about AU$30 billion. In fact, it is among the biggest gaming suppliers on a global scale and competes with some of the companies with significant market share in both the US and Australian gambling markets, such as Scientific Games, International Gaming Technology, Ainsworth and Konami.
For the time being, Aristocrat Leisure is one of the biggest manufacturers of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) in the world but it is now planning to make an even larger investment – its AU$5-billion acquisition of Playtech.
Proposed Acquisition of Playtech Would Make Aristocrat Leisure the Largest Gaming Software Conglomerate
If successful, the takeover deal will create the largest conglomerate in the gaming software development business.
As Casino Guardian already reported, Aristocrat Leisure has made an acquisition bid for the British gambling software provider. The acquisition bid has valued Playtech’s at a price that is 58% higher than the company’s share price from before the bid was officially announced.
The proposed deal needs the approval of Playtech’s shareholders in order to be finalised, with the company’s board members already having given their support of the acquisition. Still, there could be a bidding war for the LSE-listed gambling software provider.
According to experts, real money gaming is expected to become subject to a massive expansion in the years to come. They believe that the form of gambling will become legal in more than the six US states where it is currently available, with the country’s market set to grow far beyond its value to date. Some specialists have projected that the RMG in the US alone could be worth about AU$98 billion ($70 billion) in a few years.
However, the expansion of the real money gaming market worldwide comes with a few risks as well. Anti-gambling campaigners in Australia have described RMG as the most dangerous form of gambling that exists and warned that it could inflict serious harm on people who participate in this type of gambling activity.
- Author
Daniel Williams
