Åland Islands-based gaming operator Paf has struck a deal to acquire gaming operator Mandalorian Technologies for an undisclosed sum.Mandalorian operates the No Account Casino, No Account Bet and Prank Casino brands in Sweden, where it secured betting and casino licences in December 2018.
Paf claims that through the acquisition, it is now among the top ten largest operators in Sweden in terms of market share.
“We have been following Mandalorian Technologies closely for almost a year and we are impressed by the company,” Paf chief executive Christer Fahlstedt commented. “This is a company that did not exist two years ago and their journey has been fantastic.
“The acquisition of Mandalorian Technologies is a clear signal of Paf’s long-term ambition to be a leader in the Swedish licensed market.”
Aside from its Swedish licence, Paf is also approved to operate in Sweden, Latvia, Estonia and on the Åland Islands. It was also named as Swiss licensee Grand Casino Luzern’s igaming technology provider in June 2019.
While the terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed, Paf revealed that ahead of a deal being struck, Mandalorian had implemented its anti-money laundering and responsible gaming policies since September 2019.
Fahlstedt explained that this was a “crucial test” for Paf, to ensure that Mandalorian was capable of competing in a tightly regulated market, while upholding the highest possible social responsibility standards.
“We are very impressed by the team and we are convinced that Paf and Mandalorian Technologies have a lot to learn from each other and we will complement each other very well,” he added.
In May last year Mandalorian was hit with an SEK9m fine for breaching bonus regulations. While the Swedish Gaming Act limits licensees to offering players a bonus upon sign-up, Mandalorian was ruled to have targeted players with promotions in a number of occasions, leading to the sanction. Paf, meanwhile, was fined SEK100,000 for failing to propery integrate with Swedish self-exclusion system Spelpaus, and in December 2019 was revealed to be the only operator filed by the country’s gambling regulator to have actually paid its fine.
Yesterday (5 March) it was revealed that Swedish gaming revenue amounted to SEK24.8bn in 2019, the first year of regulated online gambling. That channel, coupled with revenue from gambling on ships, accounted for SEK14.0bn of the full-year total.
