Gaming1 acquires Pac-Man NV and takes full control of Carousel in Belgium

Gaming1 and Carousel are far from strangers.

According to Gaming1, the companies have worked together since 2012, meaning the acquisition follows around 14 years of cooperation. Gaming1 historically combined its technology platform with local Belgian licence holders, allowing partner operators to run regulated online casino websites using its infrastructure and expertise.

That relationship has now fundamentally changed.

Instead of supplying technology and services to an independent Pac-Man NV, Gaming1 owns the company outright.

Renaud Thys, Gaming1's head of M&A, described the acquisition as another step in the group's Interactive Growth strategy, saying it further strengthens Gaming1's digital position in Belgium. Gaming1 COO Sylvain Boniver similarly said the transaction should reinforce the group's Belgian presence while supporting its ambition to provide a safe and responsible offer on the regulated market.

In practical terms, a long-term commercial partnership has effectively become an internal Gaming1 operation.

Gaming1 has purchased all shares in Pac-Man NV.

Pac-Man is the Belgian company that owns and operates Carousel.be and holds the B+4248 licence associated with the platform. Carousel's own website also links the online operation to the physical Carousel gaming hall in Hulste, part of Harelbeke.

Gaming1 specifically points to two strategic assets resulting from the acquisition:

Because Gaming1 has purchased the company itself rather than merely acquiring the Carousel brand name, control of the licensed operating entity now sits within the Gaming1 group.

No purchase price has been made public.

The transaction also does not involve the transfer of employees, according to Gaming1. Pac-Man's activities are nevertheless being integrated with immediate effect, with the companies' teams working together on the transition. 

The licence attached to Carousel is particularly relevant in the Belgian market.

Carousel operates under B+4248, a supplementary online licence connected to a land-based Class B gaming establishment. The Gaming Commission's official register identifies Carousel.be, Carousel and Pac-Man NV under dossier 4248.

Belgium's regulatory model differs significantly from markets where an operator can simply obtain a standalone online casino licence.

The Belgian system links online gambling licences to eligible land-based establishments. Carousel itself explains that its online operation is connected to its physical gaming hall in Hulste.

That makes control of an existing licensed company commercially valuable.

For Gaming1, the acquisition therefore does more than add another website to its portfolio. It gives the group direct ownership of an established Belgian licensed structure that has been operating online for more than a decade.

Carousel.be has been active online since 2012 and describes itself as one of the first Belgian casino websites to receive authorisation to legally offer online games to Belgian players. Its focus historically included dice games and dice slots, alongside roulette, blackjack, video poker and other casino products.

The brand therefore brings something different from launching an entirely new casino.

Gaming1 is acquiring a platform with an existing customer base, a long operating history and a recognisable position within the Belgian B+ segment.

That also reduces many of the challenges associated with building a brand from scratch in today's Belgian market, where advertising has become far more restrictive and customer acquisition is increasingly difficult.

The acquisition adds Carousel to an already extensive Gaming1 ecosystem.

The Liège-based company describes itself as a major Belgian gambling and technology group and is particularly associated with brands such as Circus and 777. Its operations combine online casinos, sports betting, land-based casinos, gaming halls and proprietary gambling technology.

Gaming1's business model in Belgium has historically included both directly operated brands and partnerships with local licence holders.

Its current brand portfolio lists a broad range of Belgian online names, including Circus, 777, Carousel and several partner-operated casino sites.

Taking full ownership of Pac-Man therefore represents a further move away from a purely technology-and-partnership relationship in the case of Carousel.

Gaming1 now controls the company behind the licence itself.

The deal also fits into a much broader expansion strategy.

Earlier in 2026, Gaming1 outlined ambitions to significantly grow its European business, with the group targeting €1 billion in revenue within five years while continuing to strengthen its position in regulated markets.

Carousel may be a Belgian acquisition, but strategically it follows the same logic: deepen control over regulated assets, consolidate established operations and strengthen the group's digital portfolio.

Gaming1 has repeatedly emphasised that it focuses on regulated markets and combines gambling operations with its own technology platform. The group currently operates across several European countries, including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain.

The Pac-Man transaction therefore reinforces Gaming1 in the market it knows best while its international expansion continues elsewhere.

One point requires particular clarification.

Pac-Man NV and Carousel have historical links to the De Backer family, which is also behind 711 Group. But the acquisition by Gaming1 does not include the 711 brand or its operations.

711 Group CEO Tom De Backer confirmed that 711 originated from Carousel but is separate from this transaction. According to De Backer, the 711 brand and its websites remain in the hands of the De Backer family, which intends to continue expanding the business internationally.

This distinction matters because 711 has become an increasingly visible gambling brand in both Belgium and the Netherlands.

The sale should therefore be understood as the separation of two branches that share common history:

That separation also reflects how the businesses have evolved.

Carousel has remained a distinctly Belgian casino brand, centred around its B+ licence and linked land-based gaming hall.

711, on the other hand, has increasingly developed as an independent brand across multiple markets.

De Backer described Carousel as a “pure Belgian brand” and said the parties considered this the right moment for the transaction, while 711 continues to focus on further domestic and international growth.

For Gaming1, Carousel fits naturally into an existing Belgian portfolio built around licensed local gambling operations.

For the De Backer family, the sale allows greater focus on 711.

In that sense, the deal appears strategically logical on both sides.

At least initially, Gaming1 has announced an integration of the underlying activities rather than a disappearance of the Carousel brand.

Carousel.be remains online and its legal documentation continues to identify Pac-Man NV and B+4248 as the licensed operating structure.

There has been no announcement that existing player accounts will need to migrate to another Gaming1 casino or that Carousel will be merged into Circus or 777.

That means players should not automatically interpret the ownership change as the end of Carousel.

The more interesting question is what Gaming1 eventually does with the brand, technology and product.

Given that the group already provided technology and worked with Carousel for many years, the operational transition may be less dramatic than would normally be expected following an acquisition by an entirely new platform provider.

Gaming1 has not announced any plan to retire the Carousel name.

And there are reasons why maintaining it could make sense.

Carousel has operated in Belgium for well over a decade, holds a recognisable position in the B+ casino segment and has built its own product identity, particularly around dice-based casino games.

Absorbing everything into Circus or 777 would risk giving up that existing brand recognition.

On the other hand, full ownership gives Gaming1 considerably more freedom to decide how Carousel develops in the future.

The group could deepen technological integration, broaden the game offering, change the user experience or position Carousel differently alongside its existing brands.

For now, any such changes remain speculative. Gaming1's confirmed message is simply that Pac-Man's activities are being integrated and that the acquisition is intended to strengthen its digital Belgian operations.

The transaction is also another sign of consolidation in Belgium's tightly regulated gambling industry.

Belgian licences and their associated land-based operations are not merely administrative formalities. They form the foundation on which legal online casino activity is built.

That creates an environment where acquiring an existing licence-holding company can be strategically more attractive than attempting to build a completely new operation.

For a group with Gaming1's scale, acquiring Pac-Man combines several advantages at once: an established casino brand, an existing regulatory structure, a physical gaming-hall connection and a digital operation it already knows extremely well.

It is therefore difficult to view the deal as a simple brand acquisition.

The most significant aspect of the Pac-Man acquisition is ultimately how little of Carousel is genuinely new to Gaming1.

The two sides have worked together since 2012. Gaming1 already knew the technology, product and Belgian operation.

What changes is ownership.

By acquiring 100% of Pac-Man NV, Gaming1 moves from long-term partner to direct owner of the company behind Carousel.be and its B+4248 licence.

For Gaming1, the transaction strengthens an already dominant presence in its domestic market while fitting into a broader growth strategy.

For the former owners, it draws a clearer line between Carousel and the rapidly expanding 711 business.

And for Carousel itself, a casino that has been part of Belgium's regulated online landscape since the early years of the market now enters a new chapter under one of the country's largest gambling groups.