Esports Entertainment Group signed a letter of intent binding to purchase a 30 percent minority stake in Czech content provider Drafted.gg.
The financial terms of the transaction were not revealed. Esports Entertainment claims that the deal will be built on an agreement for strategic collaboration with Drafted.gg and revenue-sharing.
Two studios are currently operated by Producer Drafted.gg. The studios are located in Prague, the Czech capital and in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Drafted.gg offers games such as basketball, football and cricket. Matches are streamed online in Europe and Asia.
Alex Igelman, CEO of Esports Entertainment says that the agreement supports their strategy to embed wagerable content in its esports offerings and igaming. The CEO adds that the agreement is just a first step of a larger planned collaboration.
Igelman stated that “we’re thrilled to be able to participate in Drafted.gg’s revenue sharing agreement and obtain a minority interest.” This initial investment allows us to add an industry-leading provider seamlessly to our ecosystem.
Esports Entertainment can purchase the remaining Drafted.gg shares
Igelman said that plans have been made for Esports Entertainment’s acquisition of Drafted.gg. He adds that this depends on Esports Entertainment being able to sign up its first US-based sportsbook and the success of the Drafted.gg content.
Igelman stated that “we are confident the US esports betting community will enjoy the large selection of games, which includes thousands of short cycle games each month.”
We are confident that we can successfully integrate Drafted.gg with the leading US sportsbooks.
B2C acquisitions will help support overall B2C efforts
Igelman says that this deal is in line with the wider development of Esports Entertainment. It has also switched to a B2C-focused model.
Igelman, the newly-appointed CEO of Igelman & Co. Inc. announced plans for B2C expansion in April and also confirmed his divestment plan. These plans included selling its Bethard division, as was already agreed on in February.
Esports Entertainment also entered into an agreement in April to exchange a large part of its debt for company shares. The company was able to calm many concerns about its future. It had been rumored that the group would be leaving igaming as early as December 2022.
Igelman stated that the company has recently focused on developing initiatives in order to broaden its esports, igaming and online betting solutions.
This announcement is a perfect complement to our upcoming Delasport Sportsbook and our partnership with Oddin.gg – a leader in esports betting solutions. These relationships and Drafted.gg’s live esports video content have helped the company create a complete ecosystem that benefits our customers and clients.
Most importantly, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of gaming integrity and auditing processes. It ensures that the content generated by us complies to all regulatory requirements related to skill-based wagering.
We are excited by the prospects of this investment, and we value the collaboration.
