Fantasy sports company PlayUp Interactive Pty Ltd have officially announced the purchase of online sportsbooks ClassicBet and TopBetta, along with daily fantasy sports site Draftstars.
PlayUp has promised to deliver the world’s first fully-integrated, blockchain enabled global fantasy sports, online sports betting and gaming ecosystem, utilizing the “PlayChip” token - a crypto-currency built on the Ethereum blockchain, specifically designed for use as a universal payment and rewards system for the online gaming industry.
For those following the Daily Fantasy Rankings Twitter feed, the acquisition of Draftstars was alluded to some weeks ago after Draftstars appeared in the PlayUp ICO whitepaper, but the official announcement only came last week, followed by an email notification to Draftstars users this week.
PlayUp CEO Daniel Simic said, "Draftstars is an ideal acquisition for PlayUp delivering immediate and significant growth in our Australian user base and a highly recognisable daily fantasy sports brand that we will continue to grow and enhance. Over time, we will integrate the PlayChip within Draftstars as an additional currency."
ClassicBet were also mentioned in the whitepaper, but the acquisition of TopBetta has come as more of a surprise as PlayUp continued the spending spree. TopBetta announced that they are looking to depart from corporate bookmaking to focus more on their Global Tote wholesale business, with PlayUp set to acquire the customer-facing business. The purchase was reportedly valued at $6 million in cash and 800 million in PlayChip coins.
PlayUp claims over 400,000 registers users in their database and with the business now estimated at over $700 million, future plans include floating PlayUp on the ASX and Nasdaq.
There have been plenty of shake ups in the Australian sports wagering scene recently, but it appears that PlayUp are positioning themselves to become a major player in this industry.
