A little over a year after acquiring OpenBet from Light & Wonder, Endeavor is formally combining its two companies in the sports betting and data business division under a single banner.
The company announced on Thursday that it will be combining IMG Arena and OpenBet into a single company, operating under the OpenBet name.
“When we acquired OpenBet in 2022, we envisioned a holistic integration with IMG ARENA that would create a leader in the global betting, sports data and technology industry. Today is the culmination of that ambition. Leveraging Endeavor’s complementary sports and entertainment capabilities, we will unlock meaningful value for the sports rights and IP of our owned and operated properties, and most importantly, for our partners,” said Endeavor President and COO Mark Shapiro. “As we make this transition, I would like to recognize Freddie Longe’s vision and leadership of the IMG ARENA business. We are pleased that he will remain with the company in an advisory role.”
Endeavor debuted IMG Arena in 2018 when the company still went by the WME/IMG name. The company provides data insights on sports not just for wagering but also for media, training and other verticals.
OpenBet is a sports betting platform provider developed originally by Scientific Games, which elected to get out of sports betting altogether and put the company up for sale in 2021.
“We are uniquely positioned as a leading, end-to-end, sports data, technology and content ecosystem for betting operators, rightsholders and media. Putting our customers and their players at the heart of our product and tech innovation remains the key to our ongoing success. As an integrated business, we are focused on providing a unique solution to leagues, federations, and sportsbooks worldwide,” added OpenBet CEO Jordan Levin.
Levin will oversee the new merged company and report to Shapiro. Freddie Longe, who served as IMG Arena President, will stay with the organization but in a strategic advisory role to OpeBet as the transition completes.
