Strategy Archives - Page 4 of 6

Scout shareholders to vote on 90% share dilution next month

Scout Gaming Group shareholders will vote next month on a share issue that would dilute existing holdings in the business by 90%.

Fantasy provider Scout announced that it would conduct a share issue in order to save the business in June, after it identified a SEK17m ($1.7m/£1.4m/€1.6m) commitment in its finances which it said it was previously unaware of.

The commitment will impact cash flow for third quarter of this year and have a negative effect on profit and loss in the quarter of around SEK5.5m.

As a result of the new cost, Scout leadership took drastic action to save the business, including laying off 68 employees, between its offices in Bergen in Norway and Lviv in Ukraine.

As well as the layoffs, Scout said it would issue 202.7 million new shares, diluting existing shares by 90%.

The board has now revealed more details of the share issue. Each shareholder will be offered the opportunity to buy nine more shares in the business, at SEK0.50 per share.

Scout said that the iss..

July 13, 2022

BallyBet launches in New York six months after initial approvals

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Bally’s has launched its mobile betting product in New York, six months after the market launched and almost nine months after being announced as one of its nine licensees.

The operator was one of nine approved to launch through the state’s tender process, after the state approved two bids which each included a group of operators. The first operators in the state were approved to launch in January, with others following in February.

However, amid competitive marketing and the state’s 51% tax rate, Bally’s chair Soo Kim said the business was waiting until things looked more favourable before it would launch.

Now, though, the business has officially started taking bets in the empire state via its BallyBet sportsbook, powered by the Bet.Works platform it agreed to acquire in 2020.

“We are live and taking bets in the big apple on all the major sports,” Bally’s said. “NY-area sports bettors can now download our app on Android or iOS and start wagering today.”

New York is the sixth stat..

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..

May 23, 2022

Crypto wagering: The forces driving growth

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

iGB brings readers a new column, from Tom Waterhouse of WaterhouseVC. In this first instalment, he analyses the businesses that will drive growth and adoption in cryptocurrency wagering.

The growth of crypto wagering and Web 3.0 are turning traditional wagering on its head.

The entire real-world wagering ecosystem is being rebuilt in virtual worlds like Decentraland, presenting opportunities and risks to established operators.

In Decentraland, players must first purchase or transfer cryptocurrency (MANA or DAI) tokens to their Decentral Games wallet, which they can stake on certain games.

Online crypto operators, which have a similar UX to online fiat operators like FanDuel and DraftKings, are already recording extraordinary turnover.

Source: SoftSwiss

In Q3 2021, the total number of bets placed using cryptocurrency increased by 181% yoy, while the share of bets in crypto (43.3%) is fast approaching par with fiat (source: Softswiss).

Source: Softswiss

For example, crypto-fo..

May 12, 2022

BetMGM to limit presence in New York until tax rates change

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

BetMGM chief financial officer Gary Deutsch said the business would continue to adopt a “conservative” approach in New York until the state’s “irrational” tax environment changes.

During its latest investor day, BetMGM reiterated its net revenue guidance for 2022 of $1.3bn (£1.06bn/€1.25bn), up from $850m in 2021. Executives also said BetMGM’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year should be similar to 2021, when the business reported an EBITDA loss of $430m.

However, chief financial officer Gary Deutsch noted that there was a change in the portions of this $1.3bn produced by different states.

“Within this guidance, the revenue mix is different than previously expected,” he said. “We expected lower New York revenue and higher revenue in our other online sports and igaming states.”

Deutsch then went on to outline why BetMGM had taken few steps to establish a foothold in New York. During April, the operator reported $5.0m in revenue from $1..

May 11, 2022

GiG: Media rules supreme, but platform potential grows

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Another record peak for Gaming Innovation Group’s (GiG) media division was the highlight of the supplier’s first quarter results, but the platform arm is poised for a potentially transformational year.

Gaming Innovation Group reported revenue of €19.1m for the three months to 31 March, representing its second consecutive record-breaking quarter.

Key to this was the ongoing performance of its media arm, which reported a 40.0% year-on-year jump in revenue to €14.1m for the first quarter of the year. The affiliate business, chief executive Richard Brown explains, took a massive leap forward with player intake hitting a record 69,800 for Q1, and intake from its paid campaigns up 160% year-over-year.

“We’ve been launching quietly in a number of markets,” he explains. “Over 12 to 18 months, we launch, analyse and optimise. Once we’ve managed to ascertain the optimum return on investment we ramp up marketing spend.”

Richard Brown, GiG CEO

While there has been a marginal decline in pla..

May 4, 2022

New shareholder Corvex urges Kindred board to consider sale

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Investment fund Corvex Management has urged Kindred’s board to look into sale or merger opportunities, soon after announcing that the fund now owns 10% of the operator.

The business led by Keith Arlyn Meister issued a statement last week disclosing that it now owns more than 10% of Kindred’s shares and voting rights, in accordance with Swedish regulations.

Now the New York-based hedge fund has outlined what it sees as the best goals for Kindred’s future.

“We are excited to be large shareholders of Kindred. To date, we have had constructive conversations with both the chairman of the board and senior management of Kindred,” Corvex said. “We believe Kindred has built a strategic position in the rapidly growing global online gaming space.

Corvex outlined that the business should retain an advisor to look at possible sale opportunities.

“Given recent developments, we believe the Kindred Board should immediately retain a leading, global financial advisor to evaluate strategic alternati..

May 4, 2022

Feeding the marketing furnace

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

As Q1 results season gets underway, US sportsbook operators are increasingly looking to refine their customer acquisition approaches.

In the US, sports betting is everywhere. Morning commute billboards, YouTube interstitials, TV commercials, influencer posts…marketing channels are saturated with imagery and copy encouraging new bettors to join the fray.

It should be no surprise, considering the ongoing mass expansion of sportsbooks and online betting sites in the US. With every newly regulated market comes new advertising and marketing campaigns.

Ad channels are brimming with attempts to bring sports fans, curious bettors, or other newcomers into the fold. It takes a careful, well-researched touch to succeed in marketing a sports betting site, especially in the piecemeal and sometimes chaotic US geographies with varying regulatory and legal requirements.

By this point, many big-name operators have staked their claim and continue to market to potential long-term customers. There’s s..

April 29, 2022

888 shareholders to vote on WIlliam Hill acquisition on 16 May

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

888 shareholders are set to vote on 16 May to approve the business’ acquisition of William Hill’s non-US assets from Caesars.

As the William Hill assets are larger than the current 888 business, the merger – agreed in September 2021 – is considered a reverse takeover, and so must be approved by shareholders of 888. In a prospectus to shareholders, 888’s board outlined why it backed the deal, and provided more information about both William Hill and the effect of the Gambling Act review on the combined business.

Shareholders will meet at 10:00 am on 16 May in London to consider the deal. Those who cannot attend in person may apply for a proxy vote by 11 May.

The prospectus comes less than a month after 888 and Caesars agreed to reduce the purchase price to acquire the assets by £250m (€297.9m/$315.0m), with the cash portion of the deal now set at £584.9m instead of £834.9m.

This, it said, was due to a “change in the macro-economic and regulatory environment”. Most notably, it said t..

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