Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN) continues spreading its wings beyond US borders. It’s now the major shareholder in Australia’s PointsBet (OTC:PBTHF).
In a new regulatory filing, the Australian sportsbook operator reveals that Penn’s Penn Interactive Ventures (PIV) unit owns 16.5 million shares or 6.27 percent of the voting equity. The filing is made with Australian regulators and indicates a dollar value of A$35 million. In US dollars, that’s $25.72 million based on current exchange rates.
Founded in 2015, PointsBet has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion.
"PointsBet launched operations in the United States in January 2019, and is now operational in Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, Colorado, and Iowa, with plans to roll-out operations across the United States as access to other state-based sports betting markets open up,” according to the operator.
By the end of 2022, PointsBet is aiming to be operational in at least 19 North American states and provinces. The company is planning to be a player in Canada, too, which recently approved single-game sports betting.