Gaming affiliate giant Better Collective has acquired Canada Sports Betting (CSB) for around C$30 million in a deal that it says signals its intent to have a strong presence in the upcoming regulated Canadian and Ontario market.

Canada Sports Betting offers sports fans and bettors a guide to betting operators that serve Canadian customers while aiming to inform online betting decisions, and also offers sportsbook reviews, bonuses, and odds suggestions. Better Collective described it as “an established sports betting brand with a solid position in the market by helping their users make informed online betting decisions”.

The deal comes less than two weeks before Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and potentially lucrative market, opens its sports betting and online gaming market to licensed operators on April 4.

Better Collective said the deal showed it was serious about the opportunity presented by the Canadian market, and that it would use CSB alongside existing brands the Action Network and VegasInsider to direct Canadians towards betting and gaming sites.

“The acquisition of CSB underlines Better Collective’s intention to achieve a leading position as an online sports betting media in Canada,” the company explained. “This will be enabled by a number of strong product offerings from existing brands, including Action Network and VegasInsider and the newly acquired CSB. In the light of this, Better Collective expects the North American market to continue growing with increasing revenue and operational earnings.”

The affiliate group said it expects Canada Sports Betting to generate revenue in excess of €5m in 2022. As a result, the business upped its revenue target for the year, from €75m to €80m.

Better Collective chief executive Jesper Søgaard outlined his intention for the company to become “a flagship brand within sports betting in Canada”.

“This acquisition gives us a strong foothold in a Canadian market, which is developing in a very promising direction,” he added.