SportCaller, based in Lad Lane in Dublin, has been acquired by US gaming giant Bally’s Corporation for €20m in cash and Bally’s shares worth $13m. The vendors can earn a further €10m in Bally’s shares in the earnout.

Led by founder and managing director Cillian Barry (pictured), trading company Horses Mouth Ltd was established in September 2006 and came to prominence in 2014 working with Channel 4 and Sky Bet on their Pick 6 Horse Racing game, which evolved into the ITV 7.

RaceCaller became SportCaller in 2016 when the company started running Paddy Power’s weekly Hotshot Jackpot game.

SportCaller, with 12 people employed in 2019, develops B2B free-to-play games for sports betting and media companies around the world. Core products consist of prediction, quiz/trivia, pay-to-play, bespoke and turnkey app games.

The SportCaller product suite extends to over 100 games in 20 languages, and over 30 sports across 37 countries.

In Association with

The operating company booked a net profit of €930,000 in 2019 and rewarded shareholders with a dividend payout of €200,000. Net worth at year-end was €1.65m on the back of equity invested of €430,000. Trade debtors increased through 2019 from €550,000 to €930,000.

Founder Cillian Barry (45) will gross c.€5.4m from the deal. The venture’s other shareholders include NI businessman Fintan Farrell (19.7%) and Maeve Barry (17.3%).

Cillian Barry commented: “Joining Bally’s is a milestone moment for the SportCaller team. I look forward to working with Bally’s talented team as we continue to create an innovative F2P product that engages sports fans on a global scale.”

Law firm Maples advised the vendors with Oakvale Capital acting as financial advisor. Mason Hayes & Curran acted for Bally’s in the acquisition.