One of the most popular online casinos catering to UK-based players, 32Red Online Casino,  announced they have acquired the online gambling site, Bet Direct, from Sportech Plc, with a price tag of over £11 million, as well as assuming Bet Direct's pending financial liabilities.  In what very well looks like a move for 32Red to become a comprehensive online gambling site and keep up with the best in the business, like Ladbrokes, William Hill, BetFair and Bodog, the acquisition is being met with welcome arms by investors.

The flotation of 32Red Online Casino on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange nearly nine months ago, further validates the company's mission of enlarging their clientele database, as well as offering a more diverse selection of internet betting and online casino-related options.  As demonstrated by 32Red Casino CEO, Ed Ware, the acquisition of Bet Direct confirms the commitment of 32Red to diversify its online gambling portfolio, and tap into an increase of available avenues for marketing and distribution.  Also considering the recent move by 32Red Casino to become the official club sponsor of Aston Villa Football Club for the next two seasons (getting their name on the team's jerseys), the casino most certainly deserves the increased traffic and revenue they are now getting.

Bet Direct employees will continue to hold their positions, as the management of 32Red welcomes them to their ranks, and takes on the new challenges of cross-promotion and uniform policy making.  Those who had gotten wind of the acquisition ahead of time, were concerned that 32Red would be trying to merge the assets of both companies into a single brand.  However, that does not appear to be the case, and rightly so, considering the popularity of both brand names on their own.  Bet Direct, which is not to be confused with Bowman's Bet Direct, is actually a product of Littlewoods, and has been one of the Uk's top betting businesses in the UK, offering telephone and land-based betting services for several years.  Their online division was launched in 1998, after which, Bet Direct began offering interactive television betting, online poker, and mobile sports betting via cell phones.

At the current time, both 32Red Online Casino and Bet Direct continue to offer their members the same services.  For Bet Direct, this primarily consists of sports betting with a UK focus that offers horse betting, cricket, greyhounds, and soccer bets to name a few.  For 32Red Online Casino, business primarily consists of online poker tournaments and casino games like roulette, craps, baccarat, blackjack and video machines.