Elys acquires software business Engage IT Services

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Elys said the integration of the Engage team within its business would strengthen in-house engineering capabilities and address an increase in demand for its offering.

Elys said the acquisition would also support the development of its US product offerings, including both retail opportunities and mobile solutions, as well as its global virtual gaming platform and global mobile solutions.

Founded in 2016 and based in Italy, Engage develops sportsbook and gaming applications for cloud, web and mobile platforms, user experience development, customised business intelligence, digital transformation consulting, end-to-end project and product management, Microsoft solutions and other engineering and development projects.

Engage previously provided contract services to Elys, supporting the development of the Elys Gameboard sportsbook technology and player account management platform (PAM).

As per terms of the deal, Engage will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Elys, while the current Engage and Elys leadership and management teams will remain in their current roles.

“With the acquisition of Engage we fulfil our strategy of creating a prominent in-house engineering base for the group,” Elys executive chairman Michele Ciavarella said. 

“Prior to the acquisition of Engage, our global team of strategists, designers and technologists had worked almost exclusively with Engage to create powerful digital experiences for users and platforms that were designed to facilitate rapid development and delivery of customised sportsbook applications. 

“We believe, after the close collaboration that we have had with the Engage team, that this acquisition was a natural progression for Elys in its journey to become a leading provider of end-to-end sportsbook solutions for both B2B and B2C customers.”