Australian online sports betting operator PointsBet has raised AUS$75m (US$51.6m) after listing its shares on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
PointsBet began trading this week under the symbol PBH, having sold a total of 37.5m shares at an issue price of AUS$2 each. By the close of the market today (Friday), PBH shares were priced at AUS$2.30.
Funds raised from the listing will be used to support marketing and customer acquisition, software and platform development, business development and costs associated with the listing.
Shares sold through the listing will represent a 34.1% stake in the business, with those held by existing shareholders accounting for 65.9% of the operator’s share capital.
The operator said the listing forms part of its wider growth strategy, which includes pursuing new opportunities in the expanding US sports betting market.
PointsBet launched in the US in January this year when it rolled out its services in New Jersey via a partnership with Meadowlands Racetrack. The operator has also recently struck a deal to go live in Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington, Iowa, when the state’s regulated market launches.
Deals are also in place for PointsBet to begin operating in New York, Colorado and Illinois, subject to legislation passing in each of these states. PointsBet plans reveal the details of these agreements at a later date.
“There is significant market opportunity in the United States for PointsBet, as a result of the Professional and Amateur Sport Protection Act being overturned by the US Supreme Court in May 2018,” PointsBet chairman, Brett Paton, said in the listing prospectus.
“In addition to the Meadowlands agreement for New Jersey, the company has demonstrated an ability to win partnerships in other states in the United States.”