Michigan Gaming Control Board

Henry Williams has become executive director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board following a 34-1 roll call confirmation vote in the Michigan Senate.

Williams, who has 20 years of experience working at the MGCB and most recently was deputy director for the agency’s casino operations division, was confirmed to a to a six year term, which began on Monday 17 May, by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

“I am honoured to begin my appointment as executive director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board,” said Williams. “I look forward to leading the agency’s continuing success and thank outgoing executive director Richard Kalm for his leadership and the opportunities he provided that paved the way for my appointment.”

Esports Technologies

Esports Technologies, a global provider of advanced electronic sports wagering products and technology, has announced a new marketing partnership with NBA star Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz.

As a brand ambassador, Clarkson will partner with the firm on marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the brand across digital and social platforms through creative content, various guest appearances and streaming events.

Aaron Speach, CEO of Esports Technologies, noted: “We’re honoured to team up with one of the NBA’s biggest stars as he is enjoying his finest season in the league. Jordan Clarkson’s background, talents and dynamic personality make him an ideal brand ambassador for us. He embodies everything we stand for.

“I’m confident this partnership will likely help us catapult our brand globally, and I can’t thank our strategic advisor Jack McClinton enough for the opportunity to work with Jordan. Together we are building a great team.”

PointsBet

PointsBet has announced that Kosha Gada, a seasoned executive with expertise across media, technology, and digital business, has been appointed by the group’s board as an independent non-executive director,

Gada, the CEO and managing director of Recastled, is a regular contributor on various business and news networks, including Sky News, CNBC, and BNN Bloomberg, as well as publications including Forbes and TechCrunch.

Brett Paton, PointsBet chairman, stated: “I am delighted to welcome Kosha to the Board. Her expertise and strong knowledge of the US media and technology landscape will provide great benefit to PointsBet.

“As we continue to expand into new US jurisdictions, I could not think of a better set of skills to assist the Board as we execute on our strategy. I congratulate Kosha on her appointment and look forward to her contribution.”

DraftKings

DraftKings has announced the appointment of Roy Pollitt as its new Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. He joins the firm from Exiger where he was managing director, head of investigations for the global regulatory and financial crime, risk and compliance company.

Pollitt comes with deep experience of regulation, compliance and security, having also served as a special agent for the FBI for 17 years.

Paul Liberman, DraftKings’ co-founder and president of global product and technology, welcomed the new addition, commented: “I am pleased to welcome Roy Pollitt to the DraftKings team, where he’ll play a critical role leading our US and international regulatory function.

“Roy brings unparalleled experience and a unique perspective to the position, having served both as an expert regulatory consultant to high profile public companies and FBI special agent investigating complex frauds within diverse industries, including banking, gaming, payment processing, and securities.”

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This comes as the company reports its financial performance through the quarter ending December 31, 2021, however, it is noted by Jim Purcell, CFO of Esports Tech, that “our results only include one month activity of the recent acquisition, which was only completed at the end of November”.

Following the $75.9m acquisition of Aspire Global‘s B2C business, the group has reported revenue and gross profit of $7.1m and $2.5m, respectively, for the quarter.

Furthermore, the company has also reaffirmed its guidance of $70m in revenue for the remainder of 2022 fiscal year, which will include 10 months of reporting since the aforementioned purchase of the Aspire’s online sportsbook and casino brands Karamba, Hopa, Griffon Casino, BetTarget, Dansk777, and GenerationVIP. 

The company says that it has “taken significant strides” in recent times, after gaining 1.25 millions customers via its transaction that resulted in access to regulated markets, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, and Ireland.

During the quarter, the company invested in the expansion to additional markets for its casino, sportsbook, and esports offerings, including Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

“Our future esports products will have an audience of over 200 million people in the European markets,” stated Aaron Speach, chief executive officer of Esports Technologies. 

“Our acquisition integration is going better than anticipated. The performance of the assets are on target and our key acquisition integration goals are going extremely well.

“We have consolidated all of our products onto a single platform. This will allow us to be efficient as we launch Gogawi into Asia, Latin America and CIS countries. 

“Key post acquisition targets, including employee migration are being hit and/or exceeded. We are diversifying our revenue by expanding into Latin America and Asia, along with the European businesses that we just acquired.”

Moreover, the company has also stressed that it plans to continue to invest in new esports products and intellectual property, which includes the continued development of its odds-modeling technology, as well as its patent-pending browser extension that will allow live wagering within any streaming environment. 

“This quarter, we have made a big step towards our vision to be the leader in esports wagering. The boost in revenue from our newly acquired brands is a great indication of future growth,” added Speach. 

“With this business, and our other avenues for growth, we are strongly positioned to capitalise on the heightened popularity and interest in esports.”

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This could cap a busy few months for the group, which has entered into, and finalised, the $75.9m sale of its B2C division to Esports Technologies, and also gained a 25 per cent stake in bingo supplier End 2 End for $1.75m with an option to acquire all remaining shares in three or five-years time.

However, Maimon, who is to join NeoGames as president and lead the newly formed igaming division, said that this earlier deal was not a trigger for what followed.

“The effect of selling off the B2C was not part of that, because we didn’t plan to be bought by anyone,” he tells CasinoBeats.

“So, the fact that we went in to move to sell the B2C [division] is more for us to invest into the technology, in the product, in the entry of markets for our partners, so it was mainly to make us a little bit more, focused on the service and product that we are offering. And we believe that maybe someone else will do a better job with the B2C.”

The proposal, which Maimon praises as a quality stamp for the business, of approximately $480m, is equivalent to SEK 4.3bn representing SEK 91.03 per share, and has been recommended to shareholders of the bid committee of the B2B igaming technology solutions provider.

“You feel good when someone wants to offer a lot of money, a lot of time, in order to buy what you have been able to build and achieve for a very long time,” it is added.

Upon receipt of the potential transaction, Maimon lauded the sale as representing a “natural next step for our company,” and within the interview (above) elaborates on how it represents an organic progression in the Aspire journey.

“If we established ourselves as a strong B2B, it’s natural that a big player like NeoGames would want to take us even faster and broader to what we would be able to achieve,” Maimon continues.

“This is why it’s a natural step, because someone wants to enjoy what we were able to achieve. It’s not easy.”

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As the Dutch market welcomed its very long-awaited debut to the debut to the delight of many and the slight disappoint of others, Aristocrat made the first moves in what would become race to acquire Playtech, New York looked to add a trio of new casino establishments, and Penn National closed a $2bn acquisition.

Feature of the month

The industry continues to witness a host of new countries open their interactive borders to embrace online casino and igaming. 

So with that in mind, in what was the latest edition of CasinoBeats 100 Club we cast our eyes around the globe and asked our members to predict where the next big opportunity for igaming growth will come from. 

Participants included Vera Motto, business development executive at Habanero; Vladimir Malakchi, CCO at Evoplay; Utku Sarper, TVBet’s business development manager; Andreas Koeberl, BetGames CEO; David Mann, Swintt chief commercial officer; Allan Auning-Hansen, CEO of CEGO; Maor Nutkevitch, SkillOnNet head of corporate; Ekaterina Giganova, CMO at Evenbet; and Victor Pronk, commercial director at Incentive Games.

In the news

Playtech was once again in the M&A headlines, however, this time it was due to Australian gaming manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure making a cash offer valuing the company at £2.7bn.

The trend continued with Esports Technologies disclosing the execution of a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Aspire Global’s B2C business in a $75.9m transaction, as Penn National Gaming completed the purchase of Score Media and Gaming in an $2bn cash and stock deal.

The UK Gambling Commission also issued an immediate suspension of the operating licence of BGO Entertainment, as the regulator undertook a review under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005.

This, said the UKGC, came amid concerns that activities may have been carried out contrary to the Act, not in accordance with conditions of their licence and that the licensee may be unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities. Failing to protect consumers was a key consideration in the suspension decision, it was added.

Elsewhere, the New York Gaming Commission issued a request for information that was charged with gauging interest from operator’s in developing and/or operating one of three casinos in the city region.

Finally, as the Dutch regulator said that the ten permits issued as the commencement of the region’s digital ecosystem was “just the beginning,” Kindred Group confirmed that it had immediately ceased services towards Dutch citizens on a temporary basis, following previous suggestions that it would not do so.

Recommended reading

Remote working was once something that employees would have to fight for during contract negotiations, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed that. 

In a continuation of our roundtable series, we heard from Charlotte Cain, HR manager of Continent 8 Technologies, David Flynn, CEO of Glitnor Group and Dirk Camilleri, chief product and technology officer at Green Jade Games, to understand their approach to remote working.

A further October feature saw Lena Nordin, chief HR officer at Betsson Group, address the online gambling group’s approach to diversity, what more needs to be done, and September’s Malta Pride.

While Jade Pecorella, head of games at Quick Gaming, elaborated on delivering the best of the land-based slots experience in a live setting, combining scheduled live draws with a single player alternative, and why the group chose the unconventional presenter-free approach to eliminate the chance of human errors.

Videos of the month 

The latest episode of the SBC Leaders podcast saw Peter-Paul de Goeij, managing director of NOGA, the Netherlands Online Gambling Association, discuss the Dutch market,  potential it has, and what the firm will be keeping an eye on. 

Moreover, Aaron Speach, founder and CEO of Esports Technologies, sat down with CasinoBeats’ James Ross to elaborate on the company’s aforementioned $75.9m transaction.

The post October re-explored, with remote working, New York, Esports Tech & the 100 Club appeared first on CasinoBeats.

£685,000

The UK Gambling Commission has ordered Greentube Alderney to pay a £685,000 payment in lieu of a financial penalty after its investigation revealed social responsibility and money laundering failures.

The investigation, launched by the UKGC on December 16, 2020, unearthed that Admiralcasino.co.uk and Bellfruitcasino.com, both Greentube subsidiaries, were lacking in money laundering and player protection safeguards.

“Compliance with Commission rules aimed at keeping people safe and gambling crime free is not optional,” stated Helen Venn, Commission executive director. “We will always take firm action against those operators who fail to meet the high standards we expect for consumers in Britain.”

As part of the regulatory settlement, the payment in lieu of a financial penalty will be directed towards delivering the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.

Furthermore, Greentube agreed to vary its operating licence to add a specific condition to carry out a third-party audit to review its compliance with the licensing conditions and codes of practice within 12 months, with the findings being shared with the Commission. 

In addition, a payment of £8,789.86 will be made towards the UKGC covering the costs of the investigation.

$75.9m

Last week saw Esports Technologies complete the acquisition of Aspire Global’s B2C business for $75.9m, following the definitive agreement agreed between the two companies in October. 

Following the completion, the wagering products provider will now control Aspire’s portfolio of B2C online casino and sportsbook brands, including Karamba, Hopa, Griffon Casino, BetTarget, Dansk777, and GenerationVIP. 

“The acquisition reaches new markets, and its 1.25 million deposited customers is a strategic leap in our journey to become a world leader in esports wagering. We look forward to our partnership with Aspire as we continue to scale,” noted Aaron Speach, CEO of Esports Technologies.

The company has reiterated that it will look to leverage this increased market access to “cross-sell esports wagering opportunities” in a bid to increase revenue, player bet transactions, and customer base.

The takeover sees the franchise now serve as the ‘back-end provider’ for the acquired brands, and look to enforce operational continuity as well as offer wagering products.

$1.7m

Connecticut’s state governor, Ned Lamont, revealed that the state collected around $1.7m during its first month of legalised online gaming and sports wagering.

Launched on October 12, and through to October 31, Connecticut collected approximately $513,000 from sports wagers and $1.2m from online casino gaming, with the funds deposited into the state’s general fund. 

“This first revenue collection for our state reinforces the process and approach by my administration when it came to ensuring our sports betting and icasino platforms worked seamlessly for consumers,” Lamont stated. 

“We worked tirelessly with our casino and state partners to ensure Connecticut consumers would have positive user experiences across platforms and that is exactly what these results illustrate. 

“We’re off to a great start with this new gaming marketplace and we’re looking forward to years of success.”

250,000

Over its three-year period Gamstop’s scheme has witnessed more than 250,000 people elect to self-exclude from online gambling. 

Lauding its ‘significant milestone’, Gamstop saw a spike in registrations in 2021, compared to the previous years, with more than 67,000 people signing up to the charity this year, compared to 51,000 in 2020. 

Furthermore, March this year recorded the second highest registration month in the scheme’s history to date, with 7,0478 sign-ups. Gamstop also noted that, of the 250,000 people to register, more than 228,000 are currently self-excluding through its service. 

On the figures, Fiona Palmer, CEO of Gamstop, said: “The registration levels are higher than anticipated this year, though we cannot pinpoint one specific reason for this. We have developed the scheme to make it easier to register and have worked hard on raising our profile to make sure we are more visible to those who might need us. 

“The effects of the pandemic might also have something to do with the rise. The independent evaluation which took place during the first three months of this year showed us how effective our consumers felt the scheme had been to their ongoing recovery. 

“This was very reassuring to the Gamstop team, the wider stakeholders and hopefully anyone thinking about registering. We are fully committed to improving the Gamstop service to make it even better next year.”

200

Three months on from its launch, Bettarget.com has registered a 200 per cent increase in average revenue per customer. 

Hailing its “major success”, Bettarget.com also witnessed a steady growth in turnover and a spike in numbers across its main KPIs on sport.

“Bettarget.com’s incredibly positive results clearly show the capabilities of BtoBet’s sportsbook and our ability to successfully integrate a previously acquired strategic product in our commercial development plans,” noted Tsachi Maimon, CEO at Aspire Global.

“This is yet another significant step in the execution of our effective growth strategy. Having such a successful brand in our repertoire illustrates the potential of our BtoBet solution for Aspire Global with both existing and new customers, particularly in Europe, the US and Latin America.”

Focusing on the UK and Ireland, Bettarget.com noted it is “leveraging BtoBet’s capabilities as a leading sportsbook in these demanding markets” with the latter also focusing on the aforementioned regions after it achieved UKGC certification earlier this year. 

Moving forward, BtoBet has scheduled a wide range of product enhancements for the “very near future,” to ensure its partners remain “competitive and see further growth”.

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Following on from the $75.9m completion, the UK gaming licence will see Esports Technologies gain 1.25 million deposited customers, the majority of them from UK-focused online sportsbook and casino brands Karamba, Hopa, and Griffon Casino. 

“Gaining access to this UK gaming licence is a massive strategic milestone for Esports Technologies,” explained Bart Barden, COO, Esports Technologies.

“We’re thrilled about this highly lucrative gaming market, and we look forward to bringing our portfolio of esports products to the UK.”

Other brands acquired include BetTarget, Dansk777, and GenerationVIP, which recorded collective wagering of $1.86bn and $183m in cash deposits in the most recent 12-month period ending September 2021.

According to the UK Gambling Commission, Great Britain’s gaming revenue from April 2019 to March 2020 was approximately $19.2bn. Online gaming has become the largest sector, accounting for roughly 40 per cent of that total.

As aforementioned, earlier this month Esports Technologies completed the acquisition of Aspire Global’s B2C assets, with the former stating that it will look to leverage this increased market access to “cross-sell esports wagering opportunities” in a bid to increase revenue, player bet transactions, and customer base.

It has been reported that in the most recent 12-month period ending September 2021, Aspire Global’s B2C revenue was $78.3m and its EBITDA was $7.9m – a 43 per cent and 30 per cent gain over the same period the year before.

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Coming after the two companies entered a definitive agreement in October, the wagering products provider will now control Aspire’s portfolio of B2C proprietary online casino and sportsbook brands, including Karamba, Hopa, Griffon Casino, BetTarget, Dansk777, and GenerationVIP. 

Aaron Speach, CEO of Esports Technologies, commented: “The acquisition reaches new markets, and its 1.25 million deposited customers is a strategic leap in our journey to become a world leader in esports wagering. We look forward to our partnership with Aspire as we continue to scale.”

The company has reiterated that it will look to leverage this increased market access to “cross-sell esports wagering opportunities” in a bid to increase revenue, player bet transactions, and customer base.

It has been reported that in the most recent 12-month period ending September 2021, Aspire Global’s B2C revenue was $78.3m and its EBITDA was $7.9m – a 43 per cent and 30 per cent gain over the same period the year before.

The takeover sees the franchise now serve as the ‘back-end provider’ for the acquired brands, and look to enforce operational continuity as well as offer wagering products.

Tsachi Maimon, CEO of Aspire Global, added: “Esports Technologies has rapidly established itself as one of the foremost innovators in esports wagering. Acquiring the world-class B2C portfolio we’ve built will further expand their reach in this skyrocketing global market.”

Esports Technologies also gains access to gaming licensing in tier one regulated markets including the UK, Germany, Ireland, Malta, and Denmark.

In a further bid for a global reach, the firm also targeted growth across an array of European markets in recent months, after disclosing its intention to open a base of operations in Malta.

This announcement explained that the office location would house the majority of the Esports Technologies team and direct European market operations, and work closely with colleagues based in the group’s Dublin-based office.

The post Esports Technologies finalises $75.9m Aspire Global acquisition appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The firm says that the sale, rolled out last month with Esports Technologies for $75.9m, will enable Aspire to capitalise on the increased opportunities in “the big and quickly growing” US and Brazilian markets, noting that it has made “key progress” in both.

“The sale will also give us additional resources to further develop and enhance our B2B offering as well as the opportunity to explore new M&A activities,” Maimon stated.

Adding: “Following the divestment, we will also look into M&A possibilities with the aim to control even more of the value chain”.

The comments come as the group details its Q3 and year-to-date performance for the period ending September 30, 2021, where revenue grew 46 per cent to €58.6m (2020: €40.1m), reflecting “continued good business momentum” across casino and sports and geographical expansion.

B2B contributed €42.6m, up 40.5 per cent from 2020: €38.7m, with each sub-segment also demonstrating increases. Aspire Core rose 21.8 per cent to €32m (2020: 25.7m), BtoBet, which constitutes the sports section, climbed 57.5 per cent to €2.8m (2020: €1.8m), and aggregation and games, which encompasses Pariplay, surged 66.5 per cent to €7.8m (2020: €4.7m).

The B2C segment, representing Aspire’s proprietary brands, saw revenue reach an all-time high €19.8m, an increase of 60.4 per cent from €12.3m year-on-year.

On a geographical basis, UK and Ireland reached €22.7m, an 151 per cent uptick from €9.1m, closely trailed by Aspire’s rest of Europe division which closed with an 8.3 per cent decline, mainly impacted by the new regulation in Germany, to close at €22.5m (2020: €24.5m).

The company’s rest of the world segment jumped 206.8 per cent to finish Q3 at €8.1m (2020: €2.6m), with the Nordics rising 34.5 per cent to €5.2m (2020: €3.9m).

Third quarter net income was reported to have finished the quarter at €6.4m, up 68.1 per cent from €3.8m, with EBITDA ascending 38 per cent to €9.1m (2020: €6.6m) due to the aforementioned profitability in the aggregation and games segment.

“In the quarter, Germany introduced a new regulation with higher gaming duties,” Maimon noted. “Despite this regulatory change, the EBITDA margin in the B2B segment increased to 18.7 per cent from 18.0 per cent in Q3 2020. This clearly demonstrates Aspire Global’s ability to manage a profitable operation in regulated markets.”

For the first nine months of the year, revenue increased 38.2 per cent to €162.4m (2020: €117.5m), with EBITDA up 46 per cent to €27.5m (2020: €18.8m).

Rest of Europe dropped two per cent to finish up at €72.4m (2020: €73.8), followed by UK and Ireland with €56.7m, up 137 per cent from €23.9m, rest of the world’s €20.4m, a 187.5 per cent uptick from €7.1m, and Nordics’ 2.2 per cent €12.9 (2020: €12.7m).

Looking ahead, Maimon added: “Aspire Global has consistently demonstrated its ability to execute its growth strategy, reaching its financial targets and creating value. 

“We see great growth opportunities by expanding with existing partners, gaining new partners and entering new markets. With the divestment of the B2C segment we will further enhance investments in our technology and product offering as well as geographic presence with focus on Brazil and the US. 

“We will also put even more energy on increasing the M&A pipeline. We clearly execute our growth strategy to become a world leading igaming supplier.”

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The office location will house the majority of the Esports Technologies team and direct European market operations, and will be charged with working closely with colleagues based in the group’s Dublin-based office.

It is hoped that the location, which is slated to be operational on Monday 15 November, will help accelerate its aspirations to expand into Western Europe, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Ireland.

The office, which joins existing locations in Las Vegas as well as the aforementioned Dublin facility, will look to help accelerate the company’s growth strategy in Europe, which has an estimated esports audience of 92 million.

Aaron Speach, CEO of Esports Technologies, commented: “Europe’s esports engagement is on a steep growth trajectory, and we foresee tremendous growth in its esports wagering market.

“With its educated and talented workforce, strong tech infrastructure, and business-friendly environment, Malta offers the ideal location for us to create new opportunities across Europe. 

“We look forward to providing a work setting designed to foster meaningful collaboration, increase productivity and spark creativity.”

Last week, Speach spoke to CasinoBeats in the aftermath of the company’s acquisition of Aspire Global’s B2C business in a $75.9m transaction.

In addition to elaborating on a journey from foundation five years ago with a group out of Las Vegas, he examines a goal of bringing a fresh audience to a wagering platform, with esports at the forefront, as well as discussing a plethora of further potential developments in the not too distant future.

“Our goal was to always grow through acquisitions, we understood that we’re going to make several moves over the course of the next two years that we feel are going to give us the best opportunity to put our products in as many people’s hands as possible,” it is explained in the interview (below).

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In conversation with CasinoBeats, Speach elaborates on a journey from foundation five years ago with a group out of Las Vegas, with a goal of bringing a fresh audience to a wagering platform and with esports at the forefront, to discussing a plethora of further potential developments in the not too distant future.

“Our goal was to always grow through acquisitions, we understood that we’re going to make several moves over the course of the next two years that we feel are going to give us the best opportunity to put our products in as many people’s hands as possible,” it is explained in the interview (above).

The comments follow Esports Technologies last week purchasing Aspire Global’s B2C business for the aforementioned fee, a deal which will gain the company a portfolio of B2C proprietary online casino and sportsbook brands, including Karamba, Hopa, Griffon Casino, BetTarget, Dansk777, and GenerationVIP.

“For us this is a huge transaction that does transform our company”

“For us this is a huge transaction that does transform our company in the best way possible. We are developing several pieces of core technology, one of them including Browser Bets, that are going to allow us to bring the consumer closer to the wagering products.

“So, through M&A we feel that we have the best opportunity to put those products into their hands, so that’s why it is so transformative to us.”

With the cross-sell capabilities of the acquisition, which is slated for completion by November 30, 2021, highly praised, Speach also confirms that industry eyes should be kept peeled for a number of further impending developments.

Future growth, particularly in the US; further M&A activity and several product launches are in the offing for the company.

This latter point will see the Q1 2022 launch of its Esports Book product, a regulated esports and sports wagering site that will look to cross sell consumers from various Aspire brands with a view to giving them a full offering that they may not have been accustomed to previously.

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