Helping reposition Sky Bet from a UK challenger into an industry leader
Sky Bet is an online betting and gaming operator in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe. Operating some of the industry’s best known brands, including Sky Bet, Sky Vegas and Sky Casino, it is known for its progressive approach to responsible gambling.
Repositioned from a UK challenger into industry leader
In 2014, CVC acquired Sky Bet from Sky Plc, who were looking for an active partner to mature the business. CVC’s industry experience, having previously owned William Hill and IG Index as well our brand licensing and carve-out skills and familiarity with Sky through the investment in Formula 1, proved to be a winning combination for all stakeholders.
Sky Bet is a leader in mobile and sport, the highest growth segments of the industry and alongside its agile technology-focused culture, CVC saw an opportunity to create a standalone, technology-led platform.
Within three years, the business trebled its employee headcount, weekly customers and revenue and EBITDA, through a broad ranging growth strategy, which included:
- Retaining a unique and exclusive relationship with Sky Sports, Europe’s largest sports broadcaster
- Significant investment made to enhance regulation, compliance and to further develop the business’s responsible gambling efforts
- Tripling investment in technology to improve in-house development capability further and, ultimately, the user experience in the highest growth market segments such as mobile
- Doubling marketing spend to heighten the awareness and resonance of the brands
- Expanding into new markets in Italy and Germany
The image of private equity is very much profit-focused, but our experience has been extremely positive and we have grown on the back of investment in our people, our brand and technology.
Richard Flint CEO, Sky Bet
Shared goals deliver stellar results
During CVC’s tenure, Sky Bet was repositioned, growing from a sub-scale industry challenger, to a UK industry leader, with one of the world’s fastest-growing sportsbooks and the UK’s largest active online player base.
In 2018, Sky Bet was acquired by The Stars Group to advance its ambitions to provide best-in-class products to a truly global audience. This landmark transaction, valued at $4.7 billion, created the world's largest publicly-listed online gaming company.