Online gaming business Gamesys, which operates in the Isle of Man, is set to be acquired by a United States casino operator.

Gamesys has agreed a £2bn deal involving Rhode Island based Bally’s Corporation, best known for its hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

The boards of Bally’s Corporation and Gamesys Group have agreed terms on a merger that would see Bally’s acquire Gamesys.

America has become something of a battlefield for gambling operators after a ban on sports wagering was repealed in 2018. Betting on sports is now being legalised on a state-by-state basis.

Entain, the Isle of Man registered gambling giant which owns Ladbrokes and Coral, recently fended off an £8bn approach from another US business, MGM resorts.

After identifying the Isle of Man as the ’perfect jurisdiction’ to support its fast-growing Asian market, Gamesys has moved at pace to recruit its Isle of Man team.

This included the appointment of Isle of Man general manager Ben Wood, a veteran of the Manx gaming sector, who has worked in the industry for more than a decade.

Gamesys has since recruited more than a dozen more team members across a wide range of roles who are now eagerly awaiting access to the Gamesys Isle of Man office. Tevir Group has agreed a tenancy agreement with the firm for the first floor of newly refurbished development 55 Athol Street in Douglas.

Mr Wood said: ’We have secured the first floor of 55 Athol Street which gives a capacity of up to 40 team members and we expect to be at a minimum 75% occupancy by the end of 2021.’

He added that one of the reasons for choosing the Isle of Man as a base was the readily available pool of talent.

Gamesys believes that as the island is a well-respected and long-established online gaming centre, it means there are experienced professionals at hand as well as all the supporting services they need.

Staff have already been appointed in compliance, finance, customer service and marketing with more to come over the next couple of months.

Lee Fenton, currently chief executive of Gamesys, would become chief executive of the combined group with the Bally Corporation, and two further Gamesys directors would join its board.

George Papanier, chief executive of Bally’s, would stay on the board after the merger and move into a new role running Bally’s estate of land-based casinos.

Explaining the rationale for the deal, the boards pointed to the size of the emerging US online market.

The deal announcement reads: ’Bally’s and Gamesys believe that having a combination of both proven, developed technology and land-based platforms across key US states, with global brands, existing customer bases and complementary product offerings will be key to taking advantage of these growth opportunities.’

benefit

In addition, the board said that Gamesys would benefit from Bally’s operations, while Bally’s would benefit from the Gamesys technology.

Mr Fenton said the businesses shared an ’entrepreneurial energy’ that would create ’a uniquely powerful company. Our shared passion and vision to capitalise on technology disruption to better serve our customers, wherever they may be, should make for an exciting journey for our employees, customers and shareholders alike.’

Business News reported last month that Gamesys Group had seen gambling revenues surge by 75% over the last year.

Gamesys is one of the sponsors in this year’s Isle of Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence.

Famous for its bingo and online casino brands and sites, including Virgin Games, Jackpotjoy, Monopoly Casino, Heart Bingo and Vera&John, Gamesys Group is one of the leading online gaming operators in the British Isles and a FTSE 250 company.

Business News reported last week that the last 12 months might have been a bad time for many parts of the Manx economy but for one industry it has been boom time.

There has been growth within the e-gaming sector over the past year, in terms of both revenue from licence applications, and job creation through growth of on-island businesses.