The “G” in GPHABAA Sports Betting stands for ‘group’, which is an adjective that can be used to refer to the whole company or organization. The “P” represents ‘Performance’, while the “H” stands for ‘Heredity’. Together, these three letters stand for ‘Group Performance Hereditarily Averaging Better than Average Annual Athlete Achievement Across All Sports’.
The abbreviation “GPHABAA” is sometimes used to refer to the company, which was initially founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Bradenton, Florida. The company officially changed its name to “GP Global” in 2018 and now also has operations in the UK, Australia, and NZ.
Overview
The company owns and operates a sportsbook and a number of online sports betting websites. At the time of writing, their websites accept online bets from US-based players and offer a range of sports, including American football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Bookmaker.com, the company’s sportsbook, is also available to US-based players. The sportsbook integrates with most major debit/credit cards and most wire transfer services.
All of GP Global’s websites adhere to the EU’s strict anti-discrimination laws and prohibit users from engaging in sporting events that are against the law. That policy extends to both legal and illegal sports, including dog racing, which is still widely practiced in some parts of the world. In practice, that means they won’t accept bets on horse races or dog races, as those are illegal in most states.
Key Facts
GP Global is a privately-owned company with limited public information available about its ownership and executives. From a financial standpoint, the company is considered a ‘small-cap’ firm, with a market cap of just over US$2 billion. It has a significant amount of debt, with long-term debt of around $964 million in 2019 at the time of writing. Over the past year, the shares have traded between $5.5 and $23.50, with an estimated market share of around 1% to 3%.
Products and Services
GP Global is best known for its operating websites and sports betting products. Its websites cover a range of sports, including American football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. They also offer a ‘live betting’ feature through which users can place bets during real sporting events, with those bets being settled within 48 hours. That’s in contrast to most other online sportsbooks, which generally provide betting options for pre-game play only.
The mainstay of the company’s product is American football, which it offers in addition to other sports such as baseball and hockey. Its websites accept bets and handle transactions involving those sports, as well as offering online horse betting and daily fantasy sports. Some of its websites are geared toward specific regions, such as the Caribbean for Latin American betting fans, and Asia for Japanese and Chinese betting fans.
Expansion
While GP Global has been around since 1981 and owns and operates a number of well-known websites, it has only recently begun to expand beyond its core sports betting operations. In 2019, it purchased a 51% stake in a Greek football team, Sergenti FC. That deal was initially worth around $8 million but is now worth a whopping $40 million. In 2021, it purchased a majority stake in Scottish club, Forfar Athletic, which currently plays in the Scottish Premiership. That deal is also valued at around £20 million.
The company also purchased a stake in Australian rules football club, Essendon Bombers, which plays in the Australian Football League. The purchase of that stake will be worth around $25 million over the next few years.
Market Share and Growth
As noted, GP Global is a relatively new company, so there aren’t many reliable public sources of information available about it. However, it’s been pretty successful so far, with revenue growing from $7 million in 2012 to around $22 million in 2018. The company reported $13.6 million in revenue in 2019. That’s a healthy growth rate and it shows that there is plenty of demand for their products and services.
Key Managers
The CEO of GP Global is Richard Ellis. He has over 30 years of experience in the sports industry and has previously held senior management positions with both William Hill and the International Gymnastics Federation. He also served as the director of marketing for the Pittsburgh Penguins and as the vice-president of partnerships for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The CFO of GP Global is Kevin Ahearn. He brings with him over 10 years of experience in finance, with previous roles including the vice-president of finance for Montblanc SA, the owner of Patek Philippe.
The founder and chairman of GP Global is James Gorman. He has been involved in the sports industry for more than 30 years and has previously served as the CEO of International Management Group, as well as the president of the Detroit Soccer Club and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is also a director of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).
Financial Analysis
GP Global’s financials are best viewed as a combination of net income and cash flow. The firm has a healthy level of both, having cleared $11.95 million in net income in 2019 and having around $17.9 million in cash available at the end of the year.
The income comes from online wagering, with around 92% of that amount coming from bets placed in the US, while the remaining 8% comes from Canadian, UK, and other international bets. The income is reported in US dollars, with most expenses being paid in UK pounds. The company expanded into Canada in 2018 and now has offices there as well as in the UK.
The firm has several large investments, with its largest single investment being its Greek team, which it purchased for $8 million. That was a large sum of money at the time, but it’s worth it considering the amount of money GP Global is bringing in through wagering operations in Greece alone. In addition to its Greek team and the Australian rules football club it partly owns, the company has also invested in the Essendon Bombers, Forfar Athletic, and Sergenti FC.
Final Takeaway
GPHABAA Sports Betting is a company that was started in 1981 and based in Bradenton, Florida. They operate a number of well-known sports websites which they use to attract and retain sports fans. Their flagship product is American football, which they offer in addition to other sports such as baseball and hockey. Bookmaker.com, their flagship product, is also available to US-based players, as it is powered by Unibet.com.