Australia remains one of the most attractive gambling markets, especially for companies like California-based tech firm Apple iSports (AiS), which has announced the acquisition of local company Lucky Bet.

Apple iSports, which has no relation to Apple Inc. (the iPhone manufacturer), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in LBC Enterprises Pty Ltd, a Queensland-based company operating under the Lucky Bet brand in the online sports betting sector.

The boards have approved the terms of the deal for the directors of both companies. Financial details have not been disclosed, but it has been confirmed that Lucky Bet CEO Ian Parke will retain his position and will also join the AiS board of directors, along with James Tennant, another member of Lucky Bet’s leadership team.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approvals and fulfillment of all closing conditions.

Joe Martinez, CEO and Chairman of Apple iSports, commented: “The Board of Directors is excited to continue rolling out our stated objectives with our proposed acquisition of LBC.

“Our service offerings to B2B and B2C will now be significantly enhanced in a rapidly growing sector. Combined with our exceptional team, this transaction catapults us into the US and international gaming markets.”

Lucky Bet is not an operator, instead having a B2B focus. It is active across multiple markets, particularly South and Southeast Asian ones, with its white label gaming and fintech solutions operations spanning sports betting, gaming, esports, fantasy sports, and crypto payments, among other areas.

“The proposed acquisition of our company by Apple iSports validates the global opportunity we see in regulated, tech-driven gaming,” Parke remarked.

“By combining LBC’s platform and operational expertise with AiS’s capital markets presence and distribution network, we are primed to accelerate our expansion into new markets and scale our white label programme. This partnership represents a major step forward for Lucky Bet and the broader LBC ecosystem.”

This marks at least the third major acquisition in the Australian betting space this year, or at least an attempted acquisition in one of these three examples. The deal comes amid the ongoing bidding battle between Betr and MIXI Australia for control of PointsBet, an online sportsbook and gaming platform active across Australia and Canada.

Betr itself is a company with a history of M&A, having been founded as a joint venture challenger brand between News Corp and veteran betting businessman Matt Trip before merging with BlueBet last year. Betr is currently the trading name of BlueBet.

As well as bidding to acquire fellow Aussie brand PointsBet, a prospect which it seems very keen to achieve if its off-market offer after being rejected by PointsBet’s board in favour of Japanese tech firm MIXI is anything to go by, BlueBet/Betr expanded its presence via M&A once again earlier this year by taking over Northern Territory firm TopSport.

The Northern Territory, interestingly, is also a key territory for the firm’s bidding rival, MIXI Australia, which is already active in that state as the owner of BetM. A question to be raised, though, is – why are so many firms interested in Australia?

Australia is a very valuable and well-established market, that much is true, but it is also one that is highly competitive, dominated by the likes of Tabcorp, Labrokes, Neds, and Sportsbet, though some like Betfair, bet365, and Betr, of course, have found their place.

It is also a market that seems set to undergo significant regulatory changes, with it looking increasingly likely that some substantial ones may come down from the federal government, which is facing growing pressure to fulfill pre-2025 election commitments.

However, many of the firms on the hunt for Australia M&A may not have their sites just set down under. MIXI’s ambitions with PointsBet may be closer to home, for example, with the firm also running a betting tipster site covering the few sports which can be legally bet on in Japan.

In AiS’ case, the firm may also have ambitions far beyond Australia’s borders. As mentioned above, Lucky Bet’s activities encompass gaming and fintech, and its reach extends into Southeast Asia, somewhere where many regional betting firms have shown a willingness to use white label deals, similar to those provided by LBC, to enter new markets.

In addition, the firm also has a presence in AiS’ home nation of the US, and this is likely the source of the company’s main ambition. AiS appears to be seeking a sportsbook and gaming platform to capitalize on the US sports betting boom, although it has not yet reached California.

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