LeoVegas has purchased Malta-based Expekt Nordics group from the Betlic Group for €5 million, it announced on Monday.

The move comes as part of the LeoVegas Group’s targeting of the sports betting sector.

Expekt Nordics is one of the largest businesses on the Swedish market, although in recent times, its market share has declined, LeoVegas said. 

The deal is expected to be finalised in May and will see LeoVegas acquire rights to the Expekt brand and the company’s customer database.

LeoVegas CEO Gustaf Hagman detailed what LeoVegas hopes for from the company, saying, “We look forward to Expekt once again becoming a leading sports brand in Sweden and the Nordic countries.”

Expekt is profitable, according to LeoVegas, and during the fourth quarter of 2020, generated €1.6 million in net gaming revenue.

Its acquisition reflects the LeoVegas Group’s drive to expand into the sports betting sector, as, according to the group, this timing “for increasing growth ambitions in the sport segment is logical, as the years 2021 and 2022 are filled with major sporting events and championships”.

The aim to complete the technical migration of Expekt in May means a “complete product will be ready for the French Open, the Champions League Final, the Ice Hockey Championship, and the NHL Stanley Cup”, according to LeoVegas.

Though it is headquartered in Sweden, LeoVegas' main operations are based in Malta.