Bets are off for MTG

Scandinavian broadcaster Modern Times Group (MTG) is selling off its online betting operation Bet24 for €13.5m (US$17.7m).

European web gambling firm Unibet Group has agreed to buy the unit from MTG subsidiary Nordic Betting. Unibet will merge it into its own group, with 45 staff transferring to its headquarters in Malta.

The deal was “in line with our focus on our core broadcasting operations,” said MTG president and CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht. MTG operates free- and pay-TV channels in 11 European territories through channels business Viasat Broadcasting.

Earlier this year, MTG was forced to take a US$466m hit relating to the 2008 acquisition of Bulgarian net Nova and loss-making Slovenian channel TV3, which it had decided to close down.