The new £2.7bn tie-up between Intralot and Bally’s is bound to shake up the gambling world, with Robeson Reeves at the CEO helm. He spoke with SBC News about how the biggest M&A in gambling this year will break the industry.
““It’s an amazing transaction—for the good of Bally’s, the good of Intralot. It makes us very unique, bringing iLottery and iGaming together with tech, data and global reach that no one else has,” he commented.
A B2B and a B2C company merging together might look like an inconspicuous deal at first, but there is plenty of logic behind it if you look at how lottery and iGaming tech is interconnected under the hood.
“We like our profile, huge cash flow, rapidly de-levering, and additive to both our lottery and gaming capabilities. In FY24 alone, the combined entity generated €416m in EBITDA, with over 90% free cash flow conversion. That kind of strength gives us flexibility to pursue growth—including M&A—in a disciplined way.”
The joint venture will not steer far away from Intralot’s activities, however, with lottery to remain a core in the future. “I’m watching the disruption in the lottery space very closely,” Reeves said. “We’re adding to Intralot’s business, while others are going through significant change. There’s a shift coming, and we’re positioned to lead.”
This shift is especially pronounced in North America, where we now see internal restructuring within major players like IGT and Scientific Games more frequently than ever before. This is on top of the various ongoing regulatory shifts like the ones in Texas that are terraforming the lottery landscape.
But it’s not only lottery that Reeves is after. The Bally’s-Intralot amalgamation will target cross-channel opportunities in the gaming sector as well, looking to achieve market presence in every continent on Earth.
“We’ve shown consistency, adaptability and regulatory resilience. That’s why we’re the company to watch,” he added.
For the full interview, click here.