Global betting analysis company Better Collective acquired a majority stake in the parent company of fantasy news source RotoGrinders.
Better Collective paid $21 million for 60 percent of Rical LLC, which owns and operates RotoGrinders, PocketFives, SportsHandle, USBets, and PennBets. RotoGrinders’ three co-founders will continue to manage the business.
“Since PASPA was repealed by the US Supreme Court last year, we have carefully evaluated how best to establish Better Collective in the growing US market,” said Better Collective CEO Jesper Søgaard in a statement. “We have assessed various acquisition opportunities, searching for access to strong products and dedicated people with insight into this market. We strongly believe that we found exactly that in RotoGrinders, where we see a strong and dedicated management team and talented employees.”
Better Collective bills itself as “the world’s leading developer of digital platforms for betting tips, bookmaker information and iGaming communities.” Its network consists of more than 2,000 websites, including BettingExpert.com.
“Joining the Better Collective group will help us fully realize the potential we’ve created with the RotoGrinders network,” said RotoGrinders CEO and co-founder Cal Spears. “Regulated online sports betting will create an enormous affiliate marketing opportunity in the US. We feel Better Collective is the perfect partner for us as this opportunity unfolds. The experience, resources, and technology they’ve built up over the past 15 years in European sports betting will prove incredibly valuable here.”
SportTechie Takeaway
The large pool of fantasy sports players in the U.S.—and particularly daily fantasy sports—has great overlap with likely sports bettors. Just as DraftKings and FanDuel did as operators, RotoGrinders is following a similar path toward engaging with betting through a partnership or acquisition with an established sportsbook brand. (Paddy Power Betfair acquired a majority stake in FanDuel; DraftKings partnered with Caesars.) RotoGrinders is the first major fantasy news source to wholly embrace betting, but as sports betting spreads, it assuredly won’t be the last.
