The gaming giant announced Wednesday that the company has agreed to purchase London-based bookmaker William Hill for the equivalent of $3.7 billion.

The two companies were already involved in a joint venture where Caesars would use William Hill to run most of Caesars’ U.S. online and retail sportsbooks. But after William Hill disclosed that it received an offer to be purchased by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, Caesars made a proposal of its own.

The New York Post reported Monday that Caesars “attached strings” to the current agreement in place with William Hill that stated it would cease some elements of the current arrangement if Apollo acquired the sportsbook. A couple days later, the operations was officially a part of Caesars.
The acquisition is still pending approval from regulatory bodies and expected to be finalized in the second half of 2021, according to a press release.

“The opportunity to combine our land based-casinos, sports betting and online gaming in the U.S. is a truly exciting prospect,” said Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg in a statement. “William Hill’s sports betting expertise will complement Caesars’ current offering, enabling the combined group to serve our customers in the fast-growing U.S. sports betting and online market. We look forward to working with William Hill to support future growth in the U.S. by providing our customers with a superior and comprehensive experience across all areas of gaming, sports betting and entertainment.”

The move comes as Caesars is trying to position itself to be a force in the blossoming online gambling sector, which it believes will reach a market cap between $30-$35 billion.

Caesars’ main U.S. competition, MGM Resorts, also believes that online gambling is the future as it received a $1 billion investment from InterActive Corp based solely on how the company is positioned to enter the online gambling market.