Everi Buying Venuetize Assets to Boost Loyal Engagement Tech

Posted on: October 4, 2022, 12:30h. 

Last updated on: October 5, 2022, 06:15h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Everi Holdings (NYSE: EVRI) revealed its first acquisition outside the gaming business on Tuesday, announcing its purchase of certain assets from Venuetize, Inc.

Everi Venuetize
The Everi Holdings booth at the 2019 Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. The company is acquiring assets from Venuetize. (Image: Getty Images)

Privately held Venuetize specializes in mobile technologies. While it’s not a dedicated gaming company, it has some ties to the industry that are potentially appealing and useful to Everi. Financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

Venuetize is a privately owned innovator of mobile-first technologies that provide an advanced guest engagement and m-commerce platform for the sports, entertainment and hospitality industries,” according to a statement.

Venuetize’s clients include the PGA Tour, Churchill Downs, TD Garden Hub on Causeway Street, and professional sports teams and venues associated with Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the National Hockey League.

Everi Venturing Outside Gaming

Before Tuesday’s announcement, Everi’s bread and butter in terms of business lines has been slot machine manufacturing and, more recently, cashless gaming/fintech.

A significant driver of the Everi investment thesis is the company’s fintech offerings, underpinned by the move to cashless gaming at casinos across the country — one sped along by the coronavirus pandemic.

While Everi’s fintech story is an increasingly prominent part of the equity thesis, it’s also still in its early innings. The company’s gaming device business is levered to the ongoing recovery in visitation levels at the Las Vegas Strip and regional and tribal casinos. That’s while its fintech operation is tethered to the still-nascent move by operators to cashless gaming.

As noted above, Venuetize has exposure to “gaming-adjacent” industries, and the deal could drive Everi’s mobile wallet while boosting the gaming company’s total addressable market.

“The transaction is anticipated to close within 30 days, subject to customary conditions. The acquisition will be funded from existing cash on hand. Following the acquisition of these assets, Venuetize’s experienced team will join Everi,” according to the statement.

Everi Making Deals

The acquisition of the Venuetize assets extends Everi’s 2022 run of deal-making. In May, the company purchased historical horse racing (HHR) developer and manufacturer Intuicode Gaming in a transaction valued at $22 million to $27 million.

In February, Everi paid $30.41 million for ecash company Holdings Pty Ltd., an Australia-based developer and provider of cash handling and payment technology for gaming companies in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the US.

In January, Everi said it’s buying select assets from Australia-based Atlas Gaming. Atlas is a producer and provider of proprietary gaming content and products. Las Vegas-based Everi is acquiring select development technology and intellectual property assets from the seller. It’s estimated the buyer paid in the mid-single digit million-dollar range in that deal.