VERTICAL VIEW
Private Capital Plays Its Hand Investment in gambling and sports betting hit a decade high in 2010, when private equity and venture capital inves-
The largest private equity deal in the
tors deployed $631.6 million across
sports betting and gambling industry in
just five deals.
the past decade was Toronto-based Clairvest Group’s $475 million
The industry’s most active year by deal
investment in Midwest Gaming &
count was 2014, with 16 private capital
Entertainment, an owner and operator of
transactions—five done by individuals,
casinos based in Chicago.
three by private equity funds and eight by venture capital investors.
Fantasy sports platform FanDuel has attracted substantial VC investment
In 2017, PE investment in gambling and
over the last five years. In 2016, it raised
sports betting outpaced VC for the first
$41.9 million in its eighth round of venture
time since 2010: Private equity firms
funding, following a $275 million round the
deployed $25 million compared with
year prior. BetFair Group, a public online
venture capital firms’ $1.23 million.
betting and gaming company, acquired FanDuel last July for $465 million.
U.K.-based Pentech Ventures and San Francisco-based Bullpen Capital are the most active sports betting and gambling investors in the U.S. Each venture capitalist firm completed six transactions in the industry from 2008 to 2018.
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Data provided by PitchBook