Sportsbook operator PointsBet has opened a European headquarters in Dublin's Liberties after acquiring Banach Technology last year.
PointsBet's Dublin office is its first in Europe, and the Denver-based firm has plans to grow its technology and product team following a recent $66m investment by proprietary financial trading firm Susquehanna International Group.
The Australian-listed company, which has licensed operations across the US, Canada and Australia, provides online and retail betting and services to customers in US states where gambling is legalised.
It uses software model to build, manage and operate a self-sustaining wagering platform including its betting engine, mobile and web-based applications, and secure cloud and land-based storage. It offers sports and racing betting, advanced deposit wagering, and iGaming.
Seventy developers, quantitative analysts and product managers will be based at the Dublin office in the Eight Building, and more recruits will be added over the next year.
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"We see the opening of our new office as a jumping off point for increased local recruitment and engagement activity in Ireland and Europe, and supporting our US teams as well," said Johnny Aitken, CEO of PointsBet in the US.
"We intend to grow our investment in the Irish operation into the future, with our newly announced agreement with Dublin-based Nellie Analytics expected to provide additional sophisticated sports analytics and quantitative modelling services to complement PointsBet’s existing capabilities and accelerate our technology roadmap delivery.
“Positioning ourselves among some of the world’s most exciting tech talent in Dublin is a strategic decision that we expect will add further significant economic value in both the Irish and US markets going forward."
PointsBet acquired Banach Technology in March 2021. The four Banach founders, all of whom jumped out from Paddy Power, became multi-millionaires for five and a half years of endeavour.
Banach Technology was established in October 2015 by Mark Hughes, Alex Zevenbergen, Hadrien Lepretre and Rob Reck. The quartet’s expertise is trading models and platforms to manage the risk that face bookies.
Banach’s proprietary risk management platform supports in-game betting, which has exploded in popularity in recent years.
PointsBet listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in June 2019 and raised €46m with the promise of expansion in the US market. The shares listed at AUS$2 and had run up to AUS$14 when the company came calling for Banach.
The Australians paid €34.9m for the Irish startup, of which €20.2m was cash and €14.7m in PointsBet equity. In addition, PointsBet paid €3.3m to fund conversion of equity options.
According to filings, the founders’ shareholdings in Banach were Mark Hughes 21.8%, Rob Reck 21.8%, Hadrien Lepretre 20.2% and Alex Zevenbergen 10.8%.
Their share of the proceeds amounted to €26m, though for the founders only two-thirds of the transaction consideration was in the form of PointsBet equity, with one-year to three-year lock-ups.
Photo: (l-r) Mark Hughes, COO and chief product officer at PointsBet, with US CEO Johnny Aitken. (Pic: Lorraine O'Sullivan)
