Asian-based wagering operator NextBet has made a major move into the Australian market, securing CrossBet in what is expected to be the first of a swag of Australian acquisitions.
NextBet, backed by Philippines-headquartered AsianLogic, has a stated aim to build Australia's next dominant tier two wagering group, and wants to do so through rolling up what is describes as undercapitalised lower-tier operators.
Scott Cross, who formed Brisbane-based Crossbet in 2020, will serve as executive director for the Australian operations of NextBet as it builds what it described as "inorganic expansion".
"The formation of NextBet creates the foundation to scale rapidly through an ambitious M&A strategy, while investing in proprietary capabilities to meet the demands of a changing wagering market," said Cross.
NextBet is actively seeking investors as it looks to build a presence in the middle market of the Australian wagering landscape. It has stated it is currently in advanced discussions with several additional acquisition targets.
Australia has over 130 licensed bookmakers, many of which operate at smaller scale via white-label technical platforms such as BetMakers, which CrossBet is built on.
Warwick Barr
CrossBet was already in an acquisition mindset and was involved in the joint venture startup HOT Bet, having acquired BBet and BetBetBet in recent years.
“We are actively out there trying to acquire more businesses,” Cross told The Straight last year.
“Time will either prove me correct or wrong but I would rather go and pay money to acquire businesses or acquire net gaming revenue (NGR) as opposed to continue to reacquire customers with 140-odd bookies fishing in the same pond.”
Established in 2002. AsianLogic has several global brands, including NextBet and Dafabet. It has offices in Hong Kong, the Philippines and the British Virgin Islands.
