Aristocrat creates dedicated iGaming business after failed Playtech bid

Australian casino supplier Aristocrat Leisure is ramping up its presence in the B2B real money online gaming space after several years of operating social casinos.

The company will establish a third global operating business alongside its Aristocrat Gaming and Pixel United divisions.

This comes after Aristocrat tried to acquire leading technology supplier Playtech but was denied when a group of shareholders felt that its £6.80 per share offer significantly undervalued the company.

The company has had some success in social casino since acquiring Product Madness and Big Fish Games in 2012 and 2018 respectively.

“Aristocrat has been investing in building online RMG capabilities in-house over the past year,” explained Aristocrat CEO Trevor Croker. “Leveraging these foundations, and our growing global systems and technology capabilities, we will be accelerating a ‘build and buy’ approach to scaling in online RMG.

“This will see us invest strongly in building out our own online RMG platform infrastructure while also undertaking select M&A, partnerships, and talent acquisitions to accelerate progress wherever appropriate.”

The new online RMG division will be led by Mitchell Bowen, who has been serving as CEO of the Aristocrat Gaming business for the past three years.

“His strategic and operational impact is evident in the outstanding momentum of the Gaming business and its recovery post COVID, with excellent staff engagement and an unwavering customer focus,” continued Croker. “Mitchell will be supported by a dedicated leadership team that will include a number of key internal and external appointments, to rapidly bolster our capabilities in relevant areas.”

Following Bowen’s move into online RMG, Aristocrat has named Hector Fernandez as the new CEO of Aristocrat Gaming.

Fernandez joined Aristocrat over three years ago as chief financial officer of the Americas Gaming business, before taking on the president role in mid-2019.

Shares in Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX:ALL) closed 0.29 per cent lower at AUD$37.27 per share in Sydney earlier Monday.