Gambling.com expands North American footprint through BonusFinder acquisition

Gambling.com continues its expansion of North American media activity, announcing that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire BonusFinder.com's publisher, NDC Media.

Gambling.com will pay $14 million, of which $11.2 million will be paid as cash rewards. NDC will receive $2.8 million in Gambling.com's remaining ordinary shares.

Gambling.com has offered NDC a buyout incentive based on financial performance in 2022 and 2023.

The Group forecasts that the total consideration will include both earnout and purchase price at close to $46.2 million. This is a number that suggests a multiple of over 3.5 times the expected 2023 revenue.

Gambling.com has set a limit on its acquisition offer of $67.68 million. This is dependent upon the outcome of an earnout incentive. The buyer can choose to "pay up to 50% of each earnout payment in unregistered ordinary share at its sole discretion."

The two entities officially closed the acquisition on January 31. The consolidation took place on Gambling.com accounts as of February 1.

Gambling.com CEO Charles Gillespie stated, "We believe that the combination of these two complementary businesses is immediately accretive to our fiscal 2022 earnings and establishes a foundation for a leadership position in North America which will drive value creation for our shareholders."

The acquisition by BonusFinder gives Gambling.com more scale in the North American online casino market. BonusFinder's strong presence is expected to increase market share for the Group ahead the anticipated launch of the Ontario online sports betting and iGaming markets in April.

NDC, a Dutch company, launched BonusFinder.com in 2019 as its flagship portal. This portal offers a bonus and sportsbook comparison service to customers living in newly liberalized US states.

Fintan Costello, the founder of NDC and a long-standing industry affiliate, said of the agreement, "Gambling.com has demonstrated its leadership position within the online sports betting and iGaming industry, and its proprietary technologies and experience will provide BonusFinder with the tools to maximize growth in this exciting new era of North American regulation."

Gambling.com announced earlier this week that it had successfully completed its application and was granted a waiver from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board in order to provide marketing services for licensed operators of the state.

After the New York market launched on January 8, Louisiana is now the second state in the US to offer online betting. Online betting on sports in Louisiana will now be available in 55 out of 64 Louisiana parishes that have approved sports betting by November 2020.

The Group is confident that Louisiana has the right foundation to become a major player in the US online gambling market. It boasts two major professional sports teams, several major college programs, and 20 licensed land-based online casinos.

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