The UK’s gambling market is one of the biggest in the world and is composed of dozens of large brands, all of which own various betting shops and operate online gambling websites. What many people don’t know, however, is that most gambling brands are all part of the bigger parent company. Which gambling companies are the biggest in the UK right now? Let’s take a look!
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Flutter Entertainment
Flutter Entertainment formed in 2020 and is made up of a series of different mergers. The company originally started out as Paddy Power which merged with Betfair in 2016 to create Paddy Power Betfair. In 2019, Paddy Power Betfair rebranded as Flutter Entertainment and acquired The Stars Group, a Canadian gambling operator who owned PokerStars, BetStars, as well as the Sky Betting and Gaming brands.
Flutter Entertainment, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, now owns all of that along with Georgian gambling operator adjarabet, American fantasy sports operator FanDuel, and Australian sports betting site Sportsbet. It also runs Paddy Power betting shops across the UK and internationally, and runs its Betfair and Paddy Power casino and sports betting websites too, making it one of the biggest gambling operators in the world.
GVC Holdings
GVC Holdings is another giant gambling operator and one that has been around since 2004. The company was originally founded as Gaming VC Holdings before it was rebranded to GVC Holdings in 2010.
Like Flutter Entertainment, GVC has acquired numerous other companies since its founding including the international Sportingbet, Bwin, Betboo, Gamebookers, and it has a 50% share in BetMGM as part of a joint venture with MGM Resorts International to launch sports betting service in the USA. GVC also owns Ladbrokes Coral along with its betting shops and gambling sites.
GVC Holdings also owns several big-name casino and bingo sites which include Foxy Games, Party Casino, Foxy Bingo, and Party Poker (full list of more casino brands). Although it might not own as many brands as Flutter, GVC Holdings has grown massively since 2004 and continues to do so now.
The Kindred Group
Kindred Group is another major gambling operator that owns several notable big-name brands. The company was founded back in 1997 as Unibet Group Plc, one of the biggest sports betting brands around. However, the company changed its name in 2016 after acquiring numerous other gambling companies including Danish bookmaker Bet24, British online betting brand StanJames, and later on in 2017, 32Red Plc which included Roxy Palace Casino.
Although many of its websites such as Roxy Palace have now been closed down, the Kindred Group continues to operate its Unibet and 32Red gambling websites, both of which remain immensely popular in the United Kingdom.
Other Notable Gambling Operators
When you think of gambling, there’s no doubt that there are other companies which come to mind; William Hill, Betfred, Bet365, 888 Holdings, and while these are all big names too, none of them have businesses as big as Flutter Entertainment, GVC Holdings, and the Kindred Group, all of which operate brick-and-mortar betting shops and online gambling websites, plus so much more.
The gambling industry is continuously changing, however, so we could see even more acquisitions in the future along with the continued growth of these major gambling operators and plenty of others too.
