The following is a guest post courtesy of Andrew Moody, Content and PR Executive at Sense PR.
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It may sound like an unlikely transition to some, but in the wake of much stricter gambling legislation, Playtech PLC, the world’s largest online gaming software supplier has made the strategic decision to move into the Foreign Exchange market. Founded by Teddy Sagi, a London based Israeli billionaire in 1999, Playtech supplies software for all kinds of online casinos, sports betting and social and mobile gaming sites, and employs in excess of 3,600 people, most of whom are engaged in the research and development of gaming technologies.
Experts in developing online gaming technologies
Playtech has always aimed to satisfy the demand for an exciting gaming experience on the web, offering over 500 innovative casino, poker and sportsbook games, and they endeavour to launch over 50 new games every year. With their innovative live dealer platform, they’ve been able to take online casinos to a new level and offer the most authentic live gaming experience on the net.
Offering everything from traditional casino games, including blackjack and roulette, to online slot games at Royal Vegas casino, Playtech have ensured that every corner of the online gambling market is covered.
Now taken their first steps into the Foreign Exchange Market
However, the company has now started to diversify and have taken their first steps into the Forex trading market by purchasing a majority stake in TradeFX, the ownership entity behind the Markets.com brand, earlier this year. Their investment in TradeFX is valued at EUR 458 million, and gives them a 91.1% stake in the company, with Playtech making an initial cash payment of EUR 208 million, followed by the balance of EUR 250 to be paid by December 2017.
Their involvement in Forex is set to grow
As gambling sector companies face ever increasing tax regulations in their key markets, their entry into the Foreign Exchange Market is hardly surprising. Playtech hope that this move into Forex will facilitate the expansion of their existing customer base and also give them access to new markets, and believe that this new trading platform is complementary to their existing operations.
Furthermore, their latest moves give rise to questions about future expansion as it was revealed that Playtech has already concluded negotiations with Irish based Forex company AvaTrade which it acquired for $105 million, and the CEO, Mor Weizer, has hinted that more deals are possible. Indeed it seems that they’re set on conquering the Forex market as they’ve already negotiated a revolving credit facility with Barclays and RBS, in order to target more Forex acquisitions.