Swedish online gambling operator Mr Green has planted its flag in Latvia’s market while rebranding itself as MRG.
On Wednesday, Mr Green announced that it had inked a deal to acquire 75% of the shares of Latvian-facing online gambling operator 11.lv, which holds local licenses for betting, casino and live casino gaming. Mr Green says it will pay €2.8m for this stake, with the remaining 25% to be held by 11.lv’s two founders.
Mr Green described 11.v as Latvia’s third-largest iGaming operator, generating revenue of €944k in Q1, up 44% year-on-year, while earnings came in at €162k. The operator has 15 employees at its offices in Latvia’s capital, Riga.
Mr Green CEO Per Norman said 11.lv has “strong brand recognition in Latvia and will be the base for our expansion in the Baltics.” The first step in this expansion will be to launch the Mr Green brand in Lativa in conjunction with 11.lv, which will give the company “a broad attractive offering for the Baltic markets.”
Speaking of the Mr Green brand, the company also announced Wednesday that it will henceforth be known as MRG. The new brand profile will be reflected in the company’s primary domain, which can now be found at mrggroup.com.
MRG’s Norman made the announcement at the company’s annual Capital Markets Day, during which the company outlined its Q2 2018 performance to date and outlook for the rest of the year. The company says revenue is up over 40% year-on-year in the period spanning April 1 to May 22, while customer deposits are up over 60% during that span.
MRG now says FY18 revenue is expected to grow “at least 40%” with an earnings margin of “about 15%.” Norman said MRG had “a significantly broader operation with more brands and larger geographic presence than a year ago.”
MRG’s operations grew a little broader earlier this week as the company announced its entry into the eSports sector via a partnership with eSports media publisher Gamingzone Entertainment, the first fruits of which are expected to arrive this fall.
