Betsson Closes €64.5m Rhino Deal, Gains Alberta Licence Weeks After Province Opens

Key Points

• Betsson made a payment of €51.25m at the end of the process and deferred another €13.25m for six months. It fully funded the purchase using its own cash holdings at 4.7x EV/EBITDA.
• This acquisition makes Betsson Casino Days an immediate market player in Canada’s recently regulated iGaming jurisdiction due to their pre-existing licenses in Ontario and Alberta.
• Betsson will now be able to license the proprietary middleware software of Rhino to other businesses via Betsson’s business-to-business unit.

Betsson Takes Ownership of Rhino’s Canadian Business

On 3rd August 2026, Betsson confirmed that it had closed the deal worth €64.5 million involving the purchase of Rhino Entertainment Group’s Canada B2C operations and some of its technologies. This deal which was announced in March needed approval from the Canadian authorities for it to be finalised. Having received the necessary approval, Betsson now holds the licences, operations, employees, infrastructure, and brands of Rhino in Canada.

The payment was divided into two, where €51.25 million of the total was paid at closing, and the rest of €13.25 million is expected after six months. The whole deal was made using the group’s own cash as mentioned by Betsson in its press release in March. The operations bought here generated pro forma EBITDA of €13.7 million in the year 2025. Therefore, the enterprise value to EBITDA of this deal is estimated to be 4.7x.

Rhino Entertainment Group established in 2020 and headed by CEO Ross Parkhill, operates seven brands across the globe. It offers its services to Canadian clients after obtaining a license to operate in Kahnawake in 2022. The two brands which Betsson received as per the agreement are Casino Days and Big Boost Casino.

A Rhino spokesperson said: “Today marks an important milestone for everyone at Rhino Entertainment as we officially complete the acquisition of various entities within our group by Betsson Group. This achievement is the result of months of dedication, collaboration and hard work.”

The B2B Technology Component Sets This Deal Apart

Beyond the consumer brands, Betsson also acquired Rhino’s proprietary front-end and middleware technology, which Rhino had used within its own B2B operations. That technology can now be licensed to third-party operators through Betsson’s B2B arm, producing revenue that does not depend on direct player activity.

Timing is key. At Betsson’s Q2 2026 earnings conference on 17 July, Betsson’s CEO Pontus Lindwall said that group revenues touched an all-time high of €310m for the quarter, with B2C revenues growing 14% year-over-year and active customers up 32%, helped by the FIFA World Cup. On the other hand, B2B revenues continued to remain lower than that of the Q2 2025 level. Lindwall commented: “Our business model involves a well-balanced mix of our B2C and B2B initiatives, and we are striving hard to revive our B2B business again.”

Rhino’s middleware gives Betsson a product it can put in front of third-party operators without waiting for new client relationships to mature from scratch. That is a faster route to B2B revenue recovery than platform sales alone.

Ontario Was Familiar – Alberta Was the Opening

Betsson had been operating in the province of Ontario since February 2023 under its Betsafe brand, so there was no risk of entry for the province. It was the acquisition of Rhino that opened the doors to Alberta for Betsson. Both Ontario and Alberta have licences for Casino Days; therefore, Betsson gained access to the recently licensed Canadian market via an already licensed brand.

The online gambling market of Alberta was officially regulated on 13 July 2026, thus becoming the second province of Canada to regulate online gambling via a competitive multi-operator licence system after Ontario. On the very first day of operation, twenty-two operator websites were available including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and BetRivers. The reason why Betsson could not participate in the launch is due to the fact that the acquisition of Rhino was not concluded yet.

Alberta’s revenue potential is well-documented. H2 Gambling Capital projects CAN$1.2bn in gross gaming revenue for the province’s current financial year, rising to CAN$1.64bn by FY2028. Before the regulated market opened, the provincial government estimated that roughly 70% of online gambling activity flowed through unregulated operators. Casino Days, which already had a presence among Alberta players before the regulated framework existed, enters with a degree of brand recognition that newer arrivals cannot match immediately.

The competitive landscape remains challenging. Companies such as BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars are competing in Alberta with generous marketing budgets and North American customers to support them. The population of Alberta is around five million people.

Ontario’s Track Record Shows What Canada Can Produce

Ontario provides the clearest measure of what a mature Canadian regulated market looks like. iGaming Ontario’s official figures show the market generated more than $4.2 billion in gaming revenue from over $103 billion in wagering activity during its fourth year of operation, ending March 2026. Total wagering across 2025 reached CA$98.3bn, a 26% increase year-on-year.

As of 22 July 2026, the province had 48 licensed operators running 82 approved gaming websites, according to iGaming Ontario’s official operator directory. Betsson now holds two positions in that market, through Betsafe and the acquired Casino Days brand, giving it separate routes to Ontario’s player base under distinct brand identities.

In just four years, Ontario managed to go from close to nothing in April 2022 to generating more than CA$4bn annually in revenue. Alberta is coming from a lower level and with a smaller population, but the structural analogy is useful since the regulated Canadian markets have proved that they can grow faster than expected.

Where This Fits in Betsson’s Acquisition Pattern?

Betsson has pursued a consistent model in recent years: entering regulated markets by acquiring established operators with existing licences and customer bases rather than applying for fresh licences and building from zero. The company completed betFIRST in Belgium, INKAbet in Peru and Colbet in Colombia on the same basis.

Canada added a specific complication to that model. Ontario’s market had been open since 2022 and had consolidated quickly around major players. A new licence application would have placed Betsson behind operators who had been acquiring customers for years. Rhino’s assets resolved that by transferring an existing customer base and two provincial licences in a single transaction.

The technology component is what separates the Rhino deal from those earlier acquisitions. Belgium, Peru and Colombia were B2C transactions. Rhino included a B2B middleware layer that Betsson can sell to other operators, making this a market-entry acquisition and a technology acquisition at the same time.

Betsson stated at the time of the March announcement: “The transaction is consistent with Betsson’s strategy to generate shareholder value by investing in existing and new B2C markets and growing its B2B business. The acquisition is expected to add economies of scale, strengthen profitability and expand Betsson’s growth opportunities in its B2C and B2B businesses.”

Expert Analysis

The 4.7x EV/EBITDA multiple is measured for an asset that combines active B2C licences with deployable B2B technology. Comparable regulated-market acquisitions in recent years have frequently priced higher, particularly where a licence was the only material asset being transferred. Betsson received the middleware at no separate cost, which is where the longer-term value argument rests.

The deferred payment structure is also worth noting. With €13.25m due six months after closing, Betsson and the Rhino team remain commercially aligned through the period when personnel continuity and platform stability matter most. A clean handover protects both the consumer brands and the B2B technology’s commercial viability.

Betsson’s B2B revenue decline, confirmed in its Q2 results, makes Rhino’s middleware more significant than a secondary line item in the deal sheet. B2C growth can carry the group for a period, but Rhino’s technology gives the company a specific product to sell into the B2B market rather than relying entirely on signing new platform clients.

The real measure of this acquisition comes in Alberta. Competing against FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM in a five-million-person market, under a 20% gross gaming revenue tax and strict responsible gambling requirements, demands more than a familiar brand name. Casino Days arrived with some player recognition from before the regulated market existed. Whether that recognition converts into sustainable licensed-market revenue will determine whether this deal delivers on both sides of Betsson’s stated rationale.