OpenBet is a provider of

sportsbook A sportsbook is a venue where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, such as golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, greyhound racing, boxing, and mixed martial arts. The method of betting varies wit ...

technology, content and services, which is owned by OB Global Holdings LLC as of 2025.

Description

In 2020, it was the market leader in Canada where 80% of all digital sports bets were processed through its platform. In the same year in the UK, it accounted for 65%, and in Australia, 46%. The OpenBet platform is licensed in 13 US states, and last year 40% of all bets in the country were carried out on its platform. OpenBet develops front-end and back-office gaming products, including management and data analysis and reporting tools. Its platform is designed to allow users to bet and play in multiple languages and currencies across a range of products and platforms, including web, mobile, retail outlets,

call centres A call centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American English, American spelling; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a managed capability th ...

and

interactive television Interactive television is a form of Technological convergence#Media, media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV i ...

, with a single sign-on to a centralised OpenBet account.

History

Orbis Technology Ltd was founded on 2 February 1996 by Clive Haworth, James Caddy and Charles Malir. The company's first sports betting application was released as Betonline through a City Index and Sporting Life

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

in time for the 1998 World Cup. In 1999 Orbis launched their OpenBet Casino at ICE and the Sky Vegas Live Roulette channel was launched. By 2000, Ladbrokes, Surrey Sports and

Paddy Power Paddy Power is an Irish gambling company founded in 1988. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in Dublin, alongside a satellite office ...

were live on OpenBet. In December 2000, the company was acquired by

NDS Group NDS may stand for: Places * Lower Saxony (), a federal state of Germany * Norra Djurgårdsstaden, a neighborhood in Stockholm Groups, organizations * National Directorate of Security, the primary foreign and domestic intelligence agency of Afghan ...

, a

News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...

company and a technology provider in

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using Digital signal, digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an ...

. James Caddy stepped down as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

in 2004 with David Loveday taking over. NT Media was acquired in September 2005 and then Electracade in December 2008. In 2010, Orbis Technology was renamed to OpenBet, the name of its eponymous software betting platform. It also acquired Alphameric Solutions, a software company supplying betting retail products, which was renamed as the OpenBet Retail division. It was in a ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' survey in 2010, and achieved a one star accreditation in 2015. In January 2011, OpenBet was sold by NDS for £208 million, in a management buyout backed by private equity firm,

Vitruvian Partners Vitruvian Partners is a global private equity firm, focusing on growth buyout and growth capital investments in middle-market companies. Vitruvian invests throughout Europe, the U.S. and Asia. The firm has offices in London, Munich, Stockholm, ...

. In March 2013 David Loveday stepped down, with COO Jeremy Thompson-Hill taking over as

of Openbet. In April 2015, OpenBet acquired their Greek branch from outsourcing partner Athens Technology Center S.A., increasing the group's headcount by 25%. In 2016, OpenBet was named sports betting supplier of the year at the eGamingReview B2B awards for the seventh successive year. Vitruvian Partners sold OpenBet to NYX Gaming Group in 2016. In 2017, NYX was acquired by

Scientific Games Corporation Light & Wonder, Inc., formerly Scientific Games Corporation (SG), is an American corporation that provides gambling products and services. The company is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Light & Wonder's gaming division provides products such ...

with OpenBet becoming part of the latter's SG Digital division in 2018. In 2019, OpenBet partnered up with the TAB NZ, a New Zealand betting site. In September 2021, Endeavor Group announced that it would acquire OpenBet for $1.2 billion in cash and stock. The acquisition was completed in September 2022. In June 2023, OpenBet acquired Neccton, which is a responsible gaming and

fraud detection In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

app provider. In August 2024, Endeavor announced that OpenBet and IMG Arena would be put up for sale as part of its plans to go private. On November 11, 2024, it was announced that OpenBet would be sold in a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...

to a group led by Endeavor CEO

Ari Emanuel Ariel Zev Parmar Emanuel (born March 29, 1961) is an American businessman and the CEO of Endeavor, an entertainment and media agency, as well as CEO and executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC and WWE. He was a founding ...

for $450 million.

References

{{Reflist Software companies of the United Kingdom Online gambling companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in the London Borough of Hounslow 2017 mergers and acquisitions Gambling companies established in 1996 British companies established in 1996 Software companies established in 1996 2011 mergers and acquisitions 2016 mergers and acquisitions 2022 mergers and acquisitions