Paf targets bingo growth with Proactive acquisition
Paf has moved to acquire supplier partner Proactive Gaming Scandinavia AB in a move it said will enhance its “important” bingo service offering.
The two companies began working together in 2014 when gaming technology firm Proactive became Finland-based Paf’s bingo supplier.
In a statement confirming the deal, Paf said the acquisition will give the company the “freedom and technical edge to take the product further in order to continue catering to its verticals”.
Paf CEO Christer Fahlstedt (pictured) added: “Bingo is an important product category for Paf, and this acquisition enables us to take control over and further develop this category in order to deliver more unique gaming experiences for our customers at Paf.com.
“We truly appreciate the broad technical expertise of Proactive and warmly welcome the team members based in Norrköping to Paf.
“Since we have already worked together with these dedicated professionals at Proactive for several years, we know that they will make an important contribution to our organisation.”
Paf offers more than 400 online games including slots, casino, poker, betting, bingo and lotteries. In 2016, Paf had a total revenue of €113m ($130m/£100m) and a profit of €15.2m.
Swedish firm Proactive was founded in 2005 and is based in Norrköping It offers a range of HTML5 and 3D games.
The acquisition comes nine months after it was announced that Play'n GO had purchased Proactive. The deal broke down following the announcement, although Fahlstedt would not comment on the matter when approached by iGamingBusiness.com.
Play'n GO also refused to comment on the story when contacted by iGamingBusiness.com.
However, Mattias Andersson, chief executive at Proactive, revealed to iGamingBusiness.com that the Play'n GO deal did not go through due to a disagreement over purchase price. Proactive then contacted Paf, which took the advantage of the situation and pushed ahead with its own acquisition arrangement.
Andersson said: “Proactive has now signed a deal with Paf where Paf has acquired the software platform for bingo and lottery from Proactive along with staff and our Norrköping office. They have also taken over our Swedish customer, Idrottens Spel.
“For a period of time, Proactive is now restricted to provide bingo or lotteries to any potential customer. But Proactive can provide any other software for gambling to potential customers, including the actual gambling platform or its code.”
Paf's confirmed acquisition comes after the firm last month introduced a new policy whereby players will not be able to lose more than €30,000 (£26,700/$34,600) in a year.
Announced in June, Paf said the move is the first of its kind in the industry and that by making such a commitment, it will lose around 5% of its income.