Metropolitan Gaming Buys UK Casinos
Author:
Scott Lawson
US casino giant Caesars Entertainment has sold its European and African casinos to Metropolitan Gaming, a newly founded gambling investment firm backed by private equity fund Silver Point Capital. Metropolitan Gaming have purchased eleven casinos, located in the UK, South Africa and Egypt.
Metropolitan Gaming has purchased some of the most fashionable casinos in London, including the Playboy Casino and the Empire Casino. ?Javon Swaby/Pexels
London’s Best Casinos
Metropolitan Gaming’s new acquisition of eleven of Caesars Entertainment’s properties will have a considerable impact on the landscape of London’s casinos. Some of the capital’s most famous and best-loved casinos were operated by the US casino operator, and have now changed hands. What remains to be seen is how this will impact the market, as the field of UK casino operators is flooded with experienced and research-wealthy companies.
Included in the deal are Playboy Casino in Mayfair, The Sportsman Club in Marble Arch and Empire Casino in Leicester Square. Metropolitan Gaming have also acquired Manchester 235, ALEA Nottingham, ALEA Glasgow and Rendezvous Brighton. Three casinos in Cairo have been bought; The Kings and Queens, Caesars Cairo and Ramses Casino. The Emerald Casino in South Africa has also been purchased.
Silver Point Capital, an American private equity fund, has led the investment. It established Metropolitan Gaming as a means of targeting opportunities to take on the lucrative casino markets in Europe and Africa. Metropolitan Gaming hopes to become the next big name in premium casinos, an ambition that its acquisitions from Caesars will go a long way to support.
Founder of Silver Point, Edward Mulé, spoke about Metropolitan Gaming’s impressive expansion. Speaking to the press, he said that the new gambling operator is excited to run some of the UK’s most prestigious and historic casinos. He also noted that the purchase aligns perfectly with Silver Point’s reputation for investing in top performing businesses at opportune moments.
Silver Point Capital is a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Its primary focus lies in credit and special situations investment. The fund was founded in 2002 by Edward A. Mulé and Robert J. O’Shea, both former partners at Goldman Sachs. By 2012, the hedge fund was the 83rd largest in the world, and in 2021 its assets were calculated to be worth $15 billion.
Strong Financial Backing
The private equity firm has invested in some of the world’s most famous companies, including Toys R Us, The Co-operative Bank and Debenhams. It has also invested in gambling firms before, including casino operator Affinity Gaming, when it was trading under the name Herbst Gaming.
It seems that that link is still going strong, as Metropolitan Gaming is led by a previous CEO of Affinity Gaming, Michael Silberling. The gambling executive has also previously held roles as the President of International Properties for Caesars, as well as Senior Vice President and COO of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.
Announcing the news, Silberling spoke about how the casino industry has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 forced many casinos to close their doors to the public, losing out on considerable amounts of revenue. Meanwhile, online casinos were able to enjoy a business boom, as lockdowns left many people at home with free time.
When casinos were allowed to reopen, strict safety measures had to be followed, limiting capacity and preventing food and drink from being served. Now most COVID-19 safety measures have been lifted in the UK, and casinos are on their way back to running business as usual. All of Caesars’ UK casinos have now reopened, bar the Playboy Club which is still temporarily closed.
Silberling believes that Metropolitan Gaming is well-positioned to lead the industry’s recovery, as it will benefit from an experienced team and committed backing from Silver Point. The executive went on to explain that Metropolitan Gaming’s focus is on job creation and investment. It hopes to work closely with employees, regulators and communities to create safe and fun gaming experiences.
Caesars Focusses on Betting
While financial terms have not been revealed, it has been reported that Metropolitan Gaming finalized the deal on July 16th. It has also been reported that Caesars Entertainment had plans to offload assets after completing its ￡2.9 billion takeover of UK sportsbook William Hill. It announced plans to sell off all of the business’s non-US assets, which include high street betting shops in the UK and Europe.
The sale of Caesars own UK and African casinos has come as more of a surprise, although it perhaps signifies a shift in direction for the casino giant. Caesars purchased William Hill with the intention of gaining its wealth of expertise in sports betting. The US sports betting market has been on the rise since the Supreme Court overruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018.
That change has allowed US states to legislate for themselves on whether to legalize sports betting. So far, twenty-five states have legalized sports betting, with more expected to follow. Prior to this development, most gambling firms in the US were focused on operating casinos. Now operators like Caesars are competing to lead the emerging betting market.
Caesars has just launched its all-new mobile sports betting app, which will allow customers to place wagers on the go. The app, called Caesars Sportsbook, has been debuted with a national marketing campaign featuring comedians JB Smoove and Patton Oswalt. The app integrates sports betting with the Caesars Rewards loyalty scheme.
Announcing the new app’s release, CEO of Caesars Entertainment described all that it has to offer. Flexible limits, a wide range of betting lines and customer offers all feature, as well as a loyalty program to ensure that win or lose, players have fun. The app is already live in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is expected to soon become available in Arizona, Maryland and Louisiana too.
