A New Buyer for Gambling.com

7 January 2004

It didn't take long for a new buyer to emerge for Gambling.com after an earlier proposed sale fell through.

The original deal was nixed in December when the buyer, Interactive Gaming Holdings (IGH), failed to make a payment.

Graeme Levin, a longtime consultant to Gambling.com, said the new purchaser is a conglomerate of independent investors, but wouldn't identify them.

He did say that Tim Rosenberg and Dylan Schlosberg will assume new management roles at Gambling.com. Rosenberg has been the site's CMO for some time and Schlosberg ran Herotech, the firm that was responsible for the advertising and media buying for the portal.

Levin said he will remain a consultant to Gambling.com during the transition period and added that the support and administrative staffs will stay intact.

Gambling.com, one of the first portals in the interactive gaming space, had early success in large part because of the URL, but it enjoyed long-term success as well. Last year alone, it earned £1.6 million.

A smooth transition is important to Levin and the new ownership group, which wants to ensure seamless change for consumers and the advertisers.

"This means that advertisers can expect continuity of Gambling.com's dealings with them," Levin said. "It will also retain its independent stance in the industry."

Levin said the new owners expressed an interest in Gambling.com when it was first on the market, but the group had to wait until an exclusivity period with IGH passed.

IGH had agreed to purchase the popular portal site for £2.5 million, according to published reports. Levin said the terms of the new deal will not be disclosed.

The previous deal called for IGH to pay £500,000 in cash for the site up front, with an additional £2 million coming from equity or profit sharing in the site after IGH was floated on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

IGH had hoped to raise an additional £8 million through its listing on the AIM. It was then going to use the extra revenue to acquire more sites and create a "one-stop network" of sites for the interactive gambling industry.

Levin said the new group is well equipped for success and that it was time to move on.

"I was very tired and am pleased the baton has been handed to runners with stronger legs," he said. "I feel sure the company is in excellent hands and will grow from strength to strength."

He added, "It is exciting for me that the site, which has occupied almost every waking moment of my life for the past seven years, is now in the hands of a team that has been involved with the site and can continue with all that is good and that will introduce exciting new plans."