Buyers used to pay for markets and licences. Now they pay for what each customer is worth and for brand strength.
Buying and merging gaming companies (M&A) is busy again in 2026, and the question buyers ask before they pay has changed.
This week Kambi signed two multi-year deals, one with Pure Casino in Alberta and one with RETABET in Spain and Peru. Alberta reached 24 live operators just ten days after opening. What deal-makers now say out loud is simple: a licence and a market are no longer enough to set the price.
Scale is easy to buy and easy to copy. A loyal customer base and a brand that holds its price take years to build.
So buyers are paying for that second kind, because it tells them how the business will do once the deal buzz fades. What each customer is worth over time, and how strong the brand is, now set the price. That is the exact case this desk has made all along.
Expect buyers to start measuring brand strength and customer loyalty right next to the usual profit numbers.
Companies with a strong brand and clean compliance will earn the higher price. The ones that only bought scale get marked down as the market learns to tell the difference.