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With approval from Everi’s shareholders, Apollo Fund’s $6 billion takeover of both Everi and its rival casino supplier IGT is officially moving ahead. As Everi and IGT are two of the most prolific slots developers and casino service providers in the United States, the consolidation and delisting from public trading might lead to meaningful changes on the online casino apps and retail casino floors.
It’s too early to tell exactly what, if any, changes Apollo might make to the numerous services that its multiple gaming brands provide. In some situations, Apollo will have a stake in most facets of the experience for casino players.
Combining two of the biggest names in slots should bring some benefits to players. It could create improvements in player experiences, including improved and more frequent promotions.
However, the new company flexing its size might create opposite effects. With less competition, the joint group could rely on its larger outreach and put less focus on consistently improving the product.
Everi shareholders overwhelmingly approve offer
On Thursday, Nov. 14, Everi shareholders nearly unanimously approved the offer from Apollo Funds. Everi shared that the vote was almost 99.9% in favor.
Each investor stands to receive US$14.25 per share upon final closing of the transaction. At this time, that closing is expected in the third quarter of 2025.
This move, pending final approvals, will put IGT’s non-lottery gaming operations and all of Everi’s operations under Apollo’s purview. IGT’s lottery division will become a separate, publicly listed company with a new name.
Most players likely don’t realize the extent to which they already interact with the products and services that Apollo distributes, either now or in the future.
Apollo gets more involved in gaming
Separate from the Everi-IGT takeover, Apollo currently has or formerly operated in the gambling business in the United States. That includes both land-based and online gaming opportunities.
Apollo owns but does not operate gaming facilities like The Venetian in Las Vegas and the Delaware Park “racino” in Wilmington, Delaware. Apollo was also at one time the parent company of PlayAGS, which provides software like online slots to online casino partners.
PlayAGS counts numerous prominent operators like Caesars Palace Casino and DraftKings Casino among its clients. The same and more is true of Everi and IGT.
Everi, IGT expand reach significantly
With the takeover of Everi and IGT’s non-lottery business, there aren’t many parts of the gaming ecosystem that the combined firm couldn’t touch. The suite of services for online casinos specifically could involve almost every aspect short of acting as the casino itself.
The products and services may include:
- Cloud services and hosting
- Game creation and upkeep
- Loyalty and rewards programs servicing
- Payment processing
Everi and IGT are major players for these services with US online casinos, meaning their consolidation represents a greater market share. Just like it’s currently uncertain to what extent if at all Apollo will modify these offerings, the ramifications for players are unclear at this juncture.
How players could benefit from Apollo’s takeover
While Everi and IGT’s non-lottery operations were not direct competitors in every facet of their businesses, they did compete in some regards. An example relevant to online casinos is the aggregation of games like blackjack.
With those operations coming under a single banner, the possibility of streamlining those operations to become more efficient exists, though it is no guarantee.
Combined with the larger market share, those efficiencies might enable Apollo to offer its products and services to operators on better economic terms. Diminished expenses in that regard could result in “the savings getting passed on” to the end consumer, which in this case are players.
In turn, operators like BetMGM Casino might utilize that savings to offer better promotions to players more frequently.
Apollo’s takeover could turn things sour
With its command of a significant market share, Apollo could also choose to flex that muscle. It might make the economic terms of its partnerships with operators like FanDuel Casino more economically beneficial to itself, counting on its large footprint to essentially force partners’ hands.
Apollo might also follow patterns of private capital in many other industries and gut expenses in the new company to the extent that the quality of the products and services dissipates. Regardless of how Apollo moves forward, there could be a ripple effect.
To counter the increased market share of Apollo, other gaming vendors might look to similarly merge or make acquisitions to compete on the same scale. A gradual reduction in choices for operators could have the usual effects of a duopoly or monopoly, i.e. higher prices, inferior products, etc.
While Apollo’s interest in Everi and IGT is getting the best return for its investors, what path Apollo believes will get it to that point is currently a mystery. Answers should begin to surface for players in terms of their online casino experiences in the final months of 2025.
