LeoVegas and Royal Panda to exit Japan and India ahead of MGM deal

The flagship LeoVegas brand and the Royal Panda brand will leave both markets on 1 September.

A LeoVegas spokesperson said the exit was part of a wider strategy to focus on regulated markets.

“The group’s strategy is […] to grow on locally-regulated (and soon to be regulated) markets. We continuously conduct strategic overviews of our group brands and the markets they are present in, seeing that we want to make sure that they fill a clear long-term purpose,” the spokesperson said.

The exits come as the business is set to be acquired by land-based giant MGM Resorts. The business secured all necessary regulatory approvals for the $607m (£513m/€608m) deal earlier this week.

At the time it submitted a bid, MGM said it planned to expand its online gambling offering into Europe and other markets outside the US.

However, the spokesperson said the prospective deal did not play a role in the exits, as LeoVegas had already been pursuing the strategy of focusing on regulated and regulating markets since before any bid arose.

The deal is expected to close on or around 7 September.