Allwyn is undergoing a significant operational transformation as it aims to emerge as one of the largest multi-channel gaming groups worldwide. At the forefront of this shift is Kresimir Spajic, the company’s digital CEO, who joined Allwyn in September last year. Spajic has credited his collaboration with billionaire founder Karel Komárek as a pivotal factor in his career, stating that Komárek's vision for Allwyn—a digitally-led entertainment entity—was a major draw.
"The main reason why I’m here is Karel, because he sold me his vision and his story," Spajic shared during an interview at a hotel in Marbella. "He sees Allwyn as a digitally led entertainment company. [And] he doesn’t look only through the realm of gaming, but he wants to expand our industry, and especially our company outside of this."
In the past year, Allwyn has substantially broadened its footprint with a series of significant mergers and acquisitions. This includes the merger with Greek lottery giant OPAP, which also facilitated Allwyn's listing on the Athens Stock Exchange. Furthermore, the company acquired PrizePicks for $1.6 billion, enhancing its presence in North America and entering the daily fantasy sports market, with opportunities to explore other verticals.
Spajic indicated that further mergers and acquisitions are definitely in the works, although he emphasized that the company is not in a rush to finalize new deals. "We don’t feel that pressure; we want to do the right deal. We want to do things which are accretive to what we are doing, and it will ultimately lead to our main objective of becoming the leading global digital entertainment company," he explained.
He acknowledged the inherent urgency in the industry to avoid obsolescence, asserting, "We are not complacent. We are constantly exploring what the next thing is and trying to be at the forefront of that next thing. So, yes, there are quite a few things in the pipeline, but there is no urgency that we must do the deal."
On the topic of Allwyn’s recent decision to withdraw from its planned acquisition of the European sportsbook Novibet, Spajic noted that several critical factors were evaluated, including technology, talent, and market penetration. The deal failed because the remedies discussed did not uphold the transaction's value, a decision influenced by feedback from the Hellenic Competition Commission.
"We felt it was a good deal for everybody, [including] Novibet, us, but also for the Greek government and for the Greek consumers," Spajic remarked. "In the end, it didn’t work out. When you look at the way these deals should have been restructured, everything wouldn’t ultimately deliver the value that we expected for any of these parties. So we are exploring other alternatives and executing on other M&A strategies that we have."
He elaborated that Allwyn is on the lookout for smaller acquisitions to enhance its operational and technical capabilities, aiming to explore new markets that are less developed or regulated, or to fill strategic gaps in its portfolio. "That is one of the reasons we were looking at Novibet, and we have continued looking into the market. I believe that we have one of the smartest investment teams in the industry, which is very focused on executing our strategy," Spajic stated.
Spajic concluded by highlighting that Allwyn is also increasing its operational capacity through internal growth. "We are increasing our internal capabilities because we see growth coming from two parts. One is inorganic, which has been mostly the path of our company, but we’re also delivering on organic growth as well, by improving operational efficiencies and bringing these tracking capabilities," he said.
A comprehensive profile on Kresimir Spajic will be published in iGB soon.
