Score Media and Gaming Inc, known as theScore, announced on August 5 that they had agreed with a syndicate of underwriters to purchase shares in the company. The syndicate, led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Eight Capital, agreed to purchase – on a bought deal basis – 38,500,000 Class A Subordinate Voting Shares of theScore. The price per share was $0.65 making the deal worth $25-million.
But that’s not all. theScore also granted the underwriters an option to purchase an additional 5,775,000 Class A subordinate voting shares. Some restrictions apply but the total sale of shares could amount to $28.8-million. Not bad for a well-established Canadian sportsbook with licenses to operate in three different states in the US.
What we cover
Why The Share Sale?
It is commonplace for companies to sell off shares in their business to raise funds for various capital expenses. In the case of theScore, the share sale was used to provide working capital and to assist with funding the ongoing growth and development of the company’s gaming operations. theScore currently has digital media and sports betting products in Canada and the United States that are used regularly by millions of sports fans.
Having additional funds collected through a share sale gives the company the financial backing to further explore the expansion of their online product. Although there has been nothing official stated by theScore, speculation is that theScore is going to work on the further development of their online product. With technology continuing to evolve, theScore may feel the need to also update its offerings.
Chances are that new software developments could lead to increased user experience and engagement – both of which are goals of any online sportsbook product.
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How With theScore Achieve This?
A good question. With a product that is already popular and effective, enhancing what is there will be the main goal. This could result in a new look, faster-acting features, new graphics, and more betting options. Plus, with the competitive nature of the sportsbook industry in New Jersey, possibly theScore is looking to form partnerships with hotel-casino entities to increase their betting footprint in the state.
These are all the same moves being made by other sportsbook companies and it only makes sense that theScore gets in on the action.
How COVID-19 Impacted The Sportsbook Industry
All you have to do is look at the data recorded from stock markets at about March when coronavirus was identified as a pandemic all the way up to the past week. Share prices dived in March and have since rallied back to levels that are still a bit short of where they were before March. However, with the higher share prices since the pandemic announcement and casino shutdown resulting from it, sportsbook operators have been offering share sales to help bolster their product.
theScore is not the only one to do this. Recently Flutter Entertainment and William Hill did the same. Market analysts have been on the fence about such activity but are most excited to see share sales as a sign of US expansion plans for the sportsbook operators.
Is theScore A Target For Takeover?
Stock market data points to a surge in share price for theScore in June. There was apparently no obvious reason for that but it put the Canadian sportsbook on the radar. With more sports betting operators in the United States seeking media partnerships, it could be just a matter of time before theScore gets swallowed up.
When you consider how popular online sports betting has become in the US in recent years and the shot in the arm it received when COVID-19 shutdown casinos, it could be a logical conclusion.
Where theScore has been approved In the United States
In addition to recently being approved to provide its online offerings in New Jersey, theScore has also been approved for the same in Colorado and Indiana.
Plus, theScore has a certification that will permit it to be the skin for Penn National Gaming as Indiana continues to be one of the fastest-growing sports betting destinations in the US.
The Return of Traditional Sports Has Also Helped
The restart of major league sporting events across the country has been a good thing for mobile betting apps including theScore. There is evidence that sports fans have missed their favorite pastime and it is showing just from the betting activity that has recently taken place. As an example, theScore indicated that the handle during the first week of Major League Baseball was comparable to the betting amounts spent during SuperBowl week.
More On theScore
Score Media and Gaming Inc. is a digital media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company CEO and Chairman, John S. Levey, founded the company in 2012.
The media app was launched in 2007 and acted as the first venture into the mobile app industry by the company. It currently owns and operates digital sports media and sports betting products. As the name “theScore” implies, one of the main functions of the company is the delivery of sports scores, data, and news on all major sports including the PGA Tour.
There is also a sportsbook offering included. At one point, the company also owned and operated the Score Television Network but that was sold in late 2012. The company launched its sportsbook theScore Bet in the US in late 2019 and became the first North American media company to create and operate a mobile sportsbook in the United States.
The company continues to develop and launch innovative digital tools.
$1025
Welcome Package
$25 free bonus + deposit match, first deposit up to $500.
$600
Welcome Package
* New customers only. 100% match bonus based
on first deposit of up yo $600.
$500
Welcome Package
* New customers only. 100% match bonus based
on first deposit of up to $500.
Summary
Can a Canadian sportsbook gain any ground in the United States? You bet it can. Thanks to the continued growth in the sportsbook industry, there exists a demand for more betting opportunities for sports fans.
With established sportsbook companies such as theScore, it should come as no surprise when they offer share sales. That was exactly what happened recently with theScore. Their share sale generated a huge sum that can easily be flipped into the company’s plan for expansion within the US beyond the three states they are currently operating within.
Interested in checking out our stories on theScore? Click here for a list.
