W
ith retroactive effect to 1 January 2020, Merkur Sportwetten GmbH, a subsidiary of the Gauselmann Group, has increased its shareholding in the Belgian sports betting company Betcenter Group NV from 50.1% to 74.9%.
After the partial sale, Seydi Tekin will remain the managing partner of Betcenter for the long term and Carsten Schaudienst will continue to be active as a board member.
Business relations have existed between Merkur Sportwetten and Betcenter for approximately four years. The Belgian company has been using products of Cashpoint Malta, a subsidiary of the Gauselmann Group, in its sports betting shops since 2016.
Merkur Sportwetten purchased a share of 50.1% of Betcenter at the beginning of 2018. This holding has now been increased by 24.8%. It has been agreed that the purchase price shall not be disclosed. The partnership will also be visible in terms of external image: In future, the MERKUR sun will shine alongside the Betcenter company logo.
“In 2018, we decided to sell part of our business in order to be able to further expand our business activities in Belgium and grow more strongly as a company. We found an ideal partner in Merkur Sportwetten, which supports us as a technology partner for system bets as well as financially. The partnership quickly brought benefits and we were able to double our turnover in the past two years”, explained Seydi Tekin.
“Together, we want to increase the already large footprint of Merkur Sportwetten under the Betcenter brand in Belgium. In line with this, we will further extend the omnichannel product offering (physical as well as online) in the coming months”, announced Markus Ettlin, Managing Director of Merkur Sportwetten.
With 87 outlets (70 betting shops and 17 kiosks), as well as a comprehensive online sports betting offering, Betcenter is the second-largest sports betting provider and agent in Belgium. The company was established in 2005 and today has 150 employees.
