UK CMA Opens Public Review of Paddy-Betfair Merger

In a preventative measure to safeguard against the rise of monopolies in the UK online gaming market, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened its latest merger review to public feedback.

Latest Merger

This comes in response to the proposed merger between rival betting companies Paddy Power and Betfair announced last August.

The merger would see the operators combine holdings for a merged worth of new holding worth £6.2 billion (€8.7 billion/$9.4 billion). The proposed split has Paddy Power shareholders owning 52% of the company, and Betfair shareholders taking 48% of the issued share capital.

The CMA has requested assistance for its review of the proposed merger, inviting communication from any parties with concerns, setting November 20^th as the date for a review of all comments. The CMA is looking for feedback on whether the merger will be be consistent and stay consistent with the provisions of the UK Enterprise Act of 2002, the CMA said in a statement, in order to guard against “a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”

A decision on the merger is expected on January 7^th.

The Need to Protect Competition

The need for public feedback arises from the fact that this deal unites two of the biggest online gaming companies in the UK, and will certainly shift the competitive landscape to no small extent. Ensuring the continued competitiveness of the landscape is the CMA's priority.

What is certain is that the new company would form one of the largest online betting and gaming providers not only in the UK but in the world. The need to monitor mergers is increasing in the UK, with mergers in 2015 happening with regularity as an adaptive measure operators have taken to in order to survive and continue earning while minimizing the costs of increased regulation and taxes from the UK gaming authority.