US gaming tech operator PointsBet said it has plans for significant growth in Ireland, with the newly opened European headquarters in Dublin set to drive its US plans.
The move marks the company’s first major operational presence in Europe, and will be a key part of the company’s plans for growth in North America. PointsBet’s global headquarters is located in Denver, with operations across the US, Canada and Australia. It uses a cloud-based technology platform to provide a spectrum of online and retail betting, along with iGaming products and services to customers in regulated US states.
The headquarters, which is located in the Liberties, will be home to more than 70 existing staff that include highly-skilled developers, quantitative analysts and product managers.
US chief executive Johnny Aitken said there were plans to expand the skilled technology and product team further in the 12 months and beyond, with the decision to locate in Dublin a strategic one.
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“Putting our stake in the ground here in Dublin is fantastic. As we expand and grow into more states and also more provinces of Canada, which has also legalised sports betting, the team will grow accordingly to meet the demands of that opportunity,” he said.
“I could see certainly that quickly swelling into the 200-300 employee range in Dublin over the next three to five years. There’s no doubt in my mind that we need to continue to fuel growth in Dublin which is going to reap a lot of success for our global business.”
Although PointsBet does not offer its betting services in Europe, the company already has operations in Europe, and bought Dublin-headquartered gambling software company Banach Technology in a $43 million deal in 2021. Sportsbook solutions provider Banach developed a proprietary risk-management platform and quantitative-driven trading models for operators.
There have been further developments recently. Last week the company announced a $65.8 million investment by financial trading platform Susquehanna International Group (SIG). That deal included an agreement with Dublin-based Nellie Analytics, part of SIG, to provide additional sophisticated sports analytics and quantitative modelling services.
Mr Aitken said the new office was a jumping-off point for the company, with plans to grow its investment in the Irish operation. Although it is not ruling out a potential expansion of its betting services into the European market in the future, it is concentrating on its main markets in the US, Canada and Australia, while locating some of the teams that support those markets in Ireland.
“The Irish people understand us sports betting back to front, they love baseball, college basketball, NFL... I’ve been so surprised how much they have a passion for US sports,” he said.
“So while we have teams that are working on the US sports betting opportunity not based in the US itself, that’s more than compensated by the fact that they absolutely have a passion for these sports.”
