The competition regulator for Australia has reportedly informally approved the planned merger of Irish sportsbetting giant Flutter Entertainment with Canadian compatriot The Stars Group Incorporated.

According to a short report from The Irish Times newspaper, authorization from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is a necessary step before the two can complete their amalgamation to create one of the world’s biggest betting businesses with over ten million customers.

Supplementary scrutiny:

The Irish Times reported that the pair hope to have completed their merger by the end of September but that the arrangement remains subject to formal approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board as well as other international regulatory bodies including the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority.

Flutter objective:

London-listed Flutter Entertainment, which was known as Paddy Power Betfair until undergoing a May rebranding, is responsible for numerous online casino and sportsbetting domains including PaddyPower.com, Adjarabet.com and Betfair.com alongside an estate of over 600 betting shops spread across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It reportedly revealed a deal in October that is to see it hand over shares worth approximately $6.95 billion so as to acquire a 54.64% stake in The Stars Group Incorporated before merging its new partner’s operations into its existing business.

Stars progression:

For its part and Toronto-headquartered The Stars Group Incorporated is the operator behind virtual iGaming brands such as PokerStars and FullTilt while it inked a $4.7 billion arrangement in 2018 that saw it purchase British rival Sky Betting and Gaming. It reportedly continued its upward growth late last year by agreeing to pay some $103.21 million in order to complete its acquisition of Australian sportsbetting firm BetEasy Proprietary Limited, which runs the online sportsbetting platform at BetEasy.com.au.