The Stars Group acquires majority stake in Australia’s CrownBet

The parent company of online poker giant PokerStars has acquired a majority stake in Australian online sports betting operator CrownBet.

On Tuesday, The Stars Group (TSG) announced that it had acquired a 62% stake in CrownBet Holdings Pty Ltd from Australian casino operator Crown Resorts, which is divesting itself of operations outside its domestic land-based resorts. Crown announced the deal to sell its CrownBet stake last December without disclosing the purchaser’s identity.

TSG paid US$117.7m in cash for its CrownBet stake, using funds on TSG’s balance sheet. The deal has already been approved by CrownBet’s regulator, the Northern Territory Racing Commission, subject to TSG “satisfying certain standard conditions.”

Crown recently reported that its digital division had finally begun posting positive earnings. TSG called CrownBet “one of Australia’s fastest growing online sportsbooks,” with revenue rising to A$204m last year from just A$76.5m in 2015.