Electronic Arts has acquired mobile game studio Playdemic from Warner Bros. Games and AT&T’s WarnerMedia for $1.4 billion in cash. 

“This is the next step building on our strategy to expand our sports portfolio and accelerate our growth in mobile to reach more players around the world,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA. 

Playdemic is the studio behind the mobile hit “Golf Clash,” which has more than 80 million downloads globally across iOS and Android since its 2017 release. 

“Golf Clash” has generated more than $225 million in revenue to date. Last month, the title brought in $6 million worldwide. 

The acquisition of Playdemic adds to an EA mobile network that has 100 million monthly active players and includes more than 15 top live-service games across a bevy of genres. 

EA is aggressively strengthening its position in the $138.4 billion video game market.

• Completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of British racing game developer Codemasters in February. 
• Generated $1.62 billion in revenue from its Ultimate Team offerings in FY2021, according to the company’s latest 10-K document filing. 
• Completed its $2.1 billion purchase of developer and publisher Glu Mobile in April.

Despite expanding its offerings, EA’s spending spree led to a fiscal Q4 2021 that fell short of expectations. 

The “Madden” and “FIFA” publisher generated $1.34 billion in revenue in Q4 compared to $1.38 billion for the same period a year before. 

Its full-year revenue was stagnant at $5.6 billion — the same as fiscal year 2020. 

“Ontario, it’s happening. See you soon.”

That’s the new billboard by theScore in Toronto celebrating the looming legalization of sports betting in Canada. 

The Senate of Canada passed a bill on Tuesday permitting each province to approve single-game wagering. Prior to the 57-20 vote, Canadian citizens were only allowed to bet on sports through multi-leg parlays. 

With sports betting online by the fall, companies like theScore — which operates the country’s leading mobile sports media app — and DraftKings are expecting the biggest gold rush since the Klondike.

Canada boasts a population of nearly 38 million, as well as seven NHL teams, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays, and the Canadian Football League. 

“Fired-up is an understatement for how awesome an opportunity this now is in Ontario,” said Aubrey Levy, vice president of content and marketing for Toronto-based Score Media and Gaming. 

• Online gaming in Canada could generate between $4.3 billion and $5.4 billion in annual gross gaming revenue, estimates theScore.
• Ontario, the country’s most populous province, is viewed as the “crown jewel” of a legalized Canadian sports betting market. The province alone could generate up to $2.1 billion in revenue. 
• With a population of 14.7 million, Ontario would rank as the fifth-largest U.S. state, behind California, Texas, Florida, and New York but ahead of Pennsylvania and Illinois.

Not surprisingly, the NHL generates the country’s largest betting handle, according to Levy: “Betting behavior tends to parallel media consumption. And in Canada, hockey is absolutely huge.”

Allyson Felix qualified for her fifth and (she says) final Olympics. As her storied track career nears its end, she’s launching a new chapter with her own lifestyle brand.

Felix, the most decorated female track star in U.S. history, unveiled women’s clothing and fitness company Saysh on Wednesday.

Elite gymnast Simone Biles and the 35-year-old Felix followed a similar path after initially signing on with Nike. 

• Felix left Nike in 2019 after penning an op-ed criticizing the Swoosh for cutting her pay when she was on maternity leave. She joined Gap-owned Athleta later that year.
• The dispute prompted Nike to change its maternity leave policies and raised Felix’s profile as an advocate for equal treatment.
• Biles left Nike for Athleta in April, saying that “Athleta is committed to diversity and inclusion of all women, backgrounds, ages, sizes, abilities, and races.” 

Felix and her older brother, Wes, raised $3 million in seed funding to start the company. Its first product is the Saysh One sneaker, which at $150 comes with a lifetime membership to the Saysh Collective. The membership offers perks like workout videos, networking possibilities, and interactions with Felix and others.

The track star is still involved with Athleta: This week, the brand released its most recent line in collaboration with Felix. 
Athleta has been a bright spot for Gap this year: The company plans to open 20-to-30 Athleta stores while closing 75 Gap and Banana Republic stores in 2021.