Gauselmann increases stake in Belgium's Betcenter

Gauselmann Group’s Merkur Sportwetten subsidiary has increased its stake in Belgian sports betting operator Betcenter Group to 74.9%, with plans to grow its omichannel business in the market.

Founded in 2005, Merkur describes Betcenter as the second largest sports betting provider in Belgium, with 70 betting shops, 17 kiosks and an extensive online offering.

Its relationship with Gauselmann dates back around four years, having used B2B solutions from another subsidiary, Cashpoint Malta, since 2016. Merkur Sportwetten then acquired a 50.1% stake in the business in 2018, before increasing this in 2020 for an undisclosed sum.

Betcenter chief executive Seydi Tekin will remain managing partner of the business, supported by director Carsten Schaudienst, who will remain active on its supervisory board.

“In 2018, we decided to sell part of our business in order to be able to further expand our activities in Belgium and grow more strongly as a company, Tekin (pictured) explained.

"We found an ideal partner in Merkur Sportwetten, which supports us as a technology provider for bet systems as well as financially,” he said. “The partnership quickly brought benefits and we were able to double our turnover in the past two years.”

Merkur Sportwetten managing director Markus Ettlin added that Gauselmann was committed to enlarging its sports betting footprint by using Betcenter to develop its Belgian presence.

“In line with this, we will further extend the omnichannel product offering (physical as well as online) in the coming months,” he said.

As well as increasing the resources available to Betcenter, the company will undergo a rebrand to add the Merkur sun logo to its shop fronts.