Management Archives - Bookiecity

Dearth of igaming legislation prompts major WynnBet roll-back

Wynn Resorts blames a dearth of igaming legislation and marketing costs for a major reduction in its online brand WynnBet’s US footprint.

Wynn will cease operations in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virgina as soon as possible.

Operations in New York and Michigan remain under review. Only Nevada and Massachusetts operations are guaranteed to continue – states where it operates land-based properties.

“Better uses of capital deployment”

There are better uses of capital deployment for Wynn shareholders than the high levels of marketing spend required for online sports betting, chief financial officer Julie Cameron-Doe explained.

“While we believe in the long-term prospects of igaming, the dearth of igaming legislation and the presence of numerous other investment opportunities available to us around the globe have led us to the decision to curtail our capital investment in WynnBet to focus primarily on those states where we maintain..

May 24, 2023

Fanatics’ Matt King brings new thinking to US sports betting

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

As CEO of FanDuel, Matt King took a daily fantasy sports brand to the top of the US sports betting industry, and in the top job at Fanatics Betting and Gaming he’s looking to do it all over again. Not that he’s looking to emulate his former employers in leading the ecommerce giant; it’s Spotify that inspires him.

For Fanatics Betting and Gaming chief executive Matt King, the challenge he is taking on isn’t building a market leader. He’s already done that during his tenure at FanDuel, which is currently sitting with a seemingly unassailable market share across the US. Revenue there grew from $200m to over $1bn on his watch.

And his core goal isn’t to build an entity capable of taking on a behemoth he created. Instead the billion-dollar question is: how do you create something capable of providing a genuine alternative to consumers?

In a market dominated by iTunes, he’s looking to build Spotify.

Fanatics: Officially licensed everything

What separates Fanatics Betting and Gaming f..

March 22, 2023

GiG banks on the power of two

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Richard Brown’s tenure as Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) chief executive began with a major change of direction, with the sale of its B2C assets to Betsson. Almost four years on, and with business booming for the B2B supplier, he’s poised to make another huge call with plans to split the business into media and platform suppliers.

When he was confirmed as permanent CEO of Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) in November 2019, Richard Brown pledged a focus “on delivery, execution and optimisation, putting us on a path for great focus and renewed growth”.

The business reported revenue of €43.0m for 2019, at a time it encompassed B2C operations; a platform business, and affiliate marketing operations under the GiG Media banner. Brown then divested the B2C operations to Betsson early in 2020.

This, he’s explained previously, created a focused business, with staff putting all efforts into the B2B platform and media operations.

In 2022, Brown’s third full year as GiG CEO, revenue hit €90.1m, ..

January 19, 2023

Inspired Entertainment promotes Pierce to CEO

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Inspired Entertainment has promoted its current president and chief operating officer Brooks H Pierce to the role of chief executive.

Pierce succeeds former CEO, A Lorne Weil, who has subsequently been promoted to executive chair of the supplier’s board.

Besides his CEO duties, Pierce will also continue in his role as chief operating officer and have additional oversight on company strategy.

As part of the promotion, Pierce’s terms of employment have been extended to 31 December 2026. His base salary has increased to $585,000 with a bonus eligibility of up to 110% of his annual salary, meaning he could earn up to $1.2m depending on performance.

Alongside Pierce’s promotion, executive chairman Weil’s terms of employment have been extended to 31 December 2027.

Weil’s updated terms of employment include a salary increase to $800,000 per annum, and an 80,000 yearly limit on shares.

The business said the leadership changes were part of a wider plan to streamline strategic oversi..

December 8, 2022

No ordinary Joe

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

If anyone can lay claim to having been in and among the events that have completely reshaped the global betting and gaming market in the four-and-a-half years since PASPA fell it is Joe Asher, writes Scott Longley. The former CEO at William Hill US now heads up sports betting at IGT and recently joined as shareholder and advisory board member at USAbility and is ready for the next challenges that will be thrown up in an expanding market.

In some senses, the decision by the US Supreme Court to bring down PASPA acted like a meteorite hitting the betting and gaming sector.

In that moment, in May 2018, everything changed and everyone involved in the global industry have been living with that transformed landscape ever since.

But for Joe Asher, at the time the chief executive of what was then still called William Hill US, the decision of the country’s top judges was very far from having just landed out of nowhere.

In the room where it happened

It was a ruling that had been signalled ..

November 17, 2022

MaximBet ceases operations amid “challenging” macroeconomic conditions

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Online gambling operator MaximBet has ceased all operations with immediate effect citing “challenging macroeconomic conditions” and an “increasingly cost prohibitive marketplace”.

MaximBet announced the decision in a message to customers, saying they will have until December 15 to withdraw any funds in their accounts. After this date, any remaining balances will be refunded via check sent to the address on the account.

Players are no longer able to deposit more funds or place net bets, but MaximBet said that it would settle any existing bets in line with its MaximBet House Rules until December 15. At this point, MaximBet said bets will be cashed out at “current fair value market pricing” and player balances will be returned via check.

MaximBet was founded in April of 2021 through a collaboration between sports betting operator Carousel Group and media brand Maxim, supported by a $50m investment from the xSigma subsidiary of Chinese engineering business ZK International.

At the time..

August 22, 2022

How social gaming set Bryan Bennett up to succeed at Betfred

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Bryan Bennett fought “800lb gorillas” working for a challenger brand in the social casino space, and that experience could prove crucial as he works to make Betfred USA Sports a key player in the sports betting sector.

The social casino boom of the early 2010s, sparked by what was then Caesars Interactive’s investment in Playtika in 2009, opened up a new audience to the gaming industry and sparked a wave of M&A. The likes of DoubleDown, Big Fish Games, Product Madness and Buffalo Studios were among those to sell at significant multiples.

The smaller challengers tended to have to fight for market share, which in turn saw the market leaders turn to them as acquisition targets to further shore up their strong positions.

Bryan Bennett entered the fray as vice president of marketing for slot developer Rocketplay, one of these challengers, and one that was ultimately snapped up by slot manufacturer AGS. This saw Bennett, who previously worked for strategy games developer Kabam and casua..

August 17, 2022

Why MaximBet is more than a sum of its parts

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

When PASPA was repealed, Daniel Graetzer saw the biggest opportunity of his career. Having gone all-in on the market, he is now running a nationally recognised brand in MaximBet.

When it comes to partnerships between US media giants and sportsbooks, it tends to be the market leaders that get mentioned. It could be 888 using the Sports Illustrated brand for its US push. Or Penn National acquiring Barstool Sports and theScore to drive its growth.

The rampant speculation around ESPN moving into betting operations tends to cite DraftKings or Caesars as being its most likely partner. In short, the companies involved tend to be large, and listed.

But MaximBet, a challenger launched in 2021, has successfully pivoted from a Europe-focused, multibrand business into a US-focused, media brand-driven competitor.

And chief executive Daniel Graetzer is keen to stress that MaximBet is not just a gimmick – he’s building a new proposition for the US sportsbook industry.

Building betting into a..

June 1, 2022

iGB Live! targets 4,500 visitors for 2022 edition

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Clarion Gaming is gearing up for the 2022 edition of iGB Live!, which aims to build last year’s successful return to Amsterdam.

The iGB team has unveiled a new campaign slogan for the 2022 show, with ‘Connect. Converse. Convert.’ designed to emphasise the unique aspects of the event, which runs from 5-8 July at the RAI Amsterdam.

iGB Live! brings together the B2B and affiliate communities, allowing delegates to connect and converse with suppliers, and convert these insights into growth opportunities for their businesses.

Attendees will be able to network with over 4,000 visitors – with a target of 4,500 – and 250 exhibitors during the event.

“Last year’s edition of iGB Live! raised the bar in terms of engagement with an independent satisfaction survey conducted by exhibition research specialists Explori placing it among an elite top 2% when benchmarked against other exhibitions,” said Naomi Barton, portfolio director responsible for the iGB brand at Clarion Gaming.

“For 2022, we ..

May 24, 2022

Fanatics files trademark application for BetFanatics

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

US sports apparel supplier Fanatics has filed a trademark application for the brand name BetFanatics.

In two trademarks filed to the US Patent and Trademark Office, BetFanatics is listed as a “downloadable mobile application for betting and gaming”, as well as for use in fantasy sports leagues and for providing previews, alerts, replays, video clips of sporting competitions, and webcam feeds of sports.

The trademark also applies to casino facilities and online gaming, including free-to-play gaming.

This follows prior filings for Fanatics Casino and Fanatics Sportsbook, both filed in October.

Fanatics Sportsbook was given the same description as BetFanatics.

Fanatics casino, meanwhile, is listed as “a website for online gambling” as well as “betting and gambling services and information services relating thereto”.

Logos were also provided for BetFanatics and Fanatics Casino, both simply made up of the brand name in a serif font.

The news follows reports – which were later quashed..

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