London-listed betting and gaming operator evoke is growing its market share in Romania with the acquisition of New Gambling Solutions (NGS), operator of the Winner.ro brand.

The company said the transaction is consistent with its strategy of focusing on low-capital, high-impact routes to value creation, with the deal expected to enhance earnings and reduce leverage for the group in 2025.

evoke will combine its existing Romanian business, plus a cash consideration of €10 million, in exchange for a 51 per cent share in the enlarged Romania business, NGS.

This will bring together the 888 and Winner brands to create the fourth biggest operator group in the market with a share of approximately 7 per cent.

“I am excited to announce the addition of Winner to the evoke portfolio,” said evoke CEO Per Widerström. “This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to build sustainable market-leading profitable positions in the most attractive markets. It is also consistent with our M&A strategy to focus on low-capital, high-impact combinations that accelerate the delivery of our strategy.

“We have enjoyed significant success in Romania, which is an exciting growth market. This combination will cement a leading position for evoke, and I am looking forward to working with the whole team at Winner to deliver ongoing profitable growth and market share gains, as we deliver exceptional products through two incredibly strong and complementary brands.”

The combined business will operate on the third-party Newton platform and will be managed by current Winner CEO Nicklas Zajdel, who joined the business in 2023.

Based on a 2026 earn-out calculation, evoke will own between 51 per cent and 57 per cent of the business, with an option to increase ownership to 100 per cent from the third anniversary of completion. 

In the first half of 2024, Winner delivered gross gaming revenue of approximately €19 million.

“This is an incredibly exciting transaction, bringing together our local-hero brand, with one of the world’s strongest international casino brands,” said Zajdel. “Romania is a high-growth market, and this combination sets us on the path to a sustainable, profitable, market-leading position.

“Winner has a strong leadership team and we are building on our success in the market through our highly localised approach, and competitive advantages such as our product platform, our enhanced personalisation, and wide network of deposit points.

“I look forward to working with the team at evoke to further deploy these competitive advantages across the enlarged business, driving significant benefits to our customers with enhanced personalisation, and ultimately driving our success in the market and value creation.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory clearances and is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

The acquisition creates evoke’s fifth Core Market, joining the UK, Italy, Spain and Denmark.

“I am delighted to announce the creation of our fifth Core Market and have no doubt that this transaction will deliver significant value creation on top of our previously announced plan,” Widerström concluded.

Shares in evoke plc (LSE:EVOK) were trading 2.82 per cent higher on the news at 71.00 pence per share in London Friday morning.