IMG Arena Set To Acquire Leap Gaming To Enhance Sports Betting Portfolio
Contents
Acquisition Details
Sports and entertainment giant IMG Arena has announced its plan to acquire the virtual sports and casino provider, Leap Gaming. The premise is to “enrich the fan experience” through a combination of IMG’s coveted Event Centre product suite and Leap’s cutting edge technologies. This deal is expected to close sometime in the first half of 2023, subject to a regulatory review process.
“When we invested in Leap Gaming in 2018, our aim was to create official products and unlock new revenue streams and forms of fan engagement for our clients,” Freddie Longe, President of IMG ARENA, said. “We are delighted to extend that partnership and officially welcome Leap into the IMG ARENA team.”
Leap Gaming is a global company that works with over 100 sportsbook operators to provide high-end 3-D virtual games for online, mobile, and retail markets. Building off of its existing partnership’s vision to modernize the virtual sports world with official logos and branded assets, together, the two parties will distribute virtual sports betting products to sports federations, sportsbook operators, and fans. Already, they’ve launched these virtual sports betting products with NASCAR and EuroLeague.
“Leap joining the IMG ARENA business is a natural union born out of synergies in product, customer base and, most importantly, culture and vision,” Yariv Lissauer, CEO of Leap Gaming, added. “This will enable us to leverage our knowledge, strengths and resources to deliver an enhanced range of best-in-class virtual sports products.”
IMG ARENA has agreed to buy @Leap_Gaming, a virtual sports and casino games provider. Leap’s cutting edge, 3D & motion capture technologies and best-in-class products will enhance IMG ARENA’s sports betting content portfolio. Read more https://t.co/w0n09Az88W pic.twitter.com/0WlgDszprx
— IMG ARENA (@IMGArena) December 7, 2022
About IMG Event Centres
As mentioned in the press release, IMG’s Event Centres will play a role in this new partnership.
IMG’s Event Centres are complete fan engagement solutions which take the excitement of watching sports to the next level. Using its FastPath Data feeds, IMG provides interactive sports betting and content for its fans. Currently, they house a Golf Event Centre, UFC Event Centre, and Tennis Event Centre.
The Golf Event Centre is home to “over 35,000 betting markets per tournament, and for the first time allows fans to enjoy every shot, hole and player at a tournament.” The sportsbook operator PointsBet, recently incorporated IMG’s Golf Event Centre into its app.
The UFC Event Centre “offers an unrivaled fan experience with comprehensive data on event schedules, fight cards, fighter records, weight classes and rankings.”
UFC President Dana White gave his nod of approval for the company’s UFC product suite. “The UFC Event Centre and its official data feed is a game-changer for how UFC fans engage with our events through sportsbooks and gaming operators. We have the most passionate, die-hard fans of any sport, and they’re going to love the option to place bets live during a fight,” the website reads. “Betting operators are also going to love this product because, unlike other sports, UFC has no off season. The action will be non-stop for fans and sportsbook operators.”
Last but not least is the Tennis Event Centre which offers micro markets “designed to drive excitement point-by-point and game-by-game, combined with insights that will immerse and engage fans throughout any match at any level.”
Now, with Leap Gaming’s capabilities, there’s no telling how many more Event Centre’s that IMG could launch in the coming years.
