global gaming Archives - CasinoBeats https://casinobeats.com/tag/global-gaming/ The pulse of the global gaming industry Wed, 23 Mar 2022 09:44:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://casinobeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/cropped-favicon-32x32.png global gaming Archives - CasinoBeats https://casinobeats.com/tag/global-gaming/ 32 32 IGT aims for continued digital & betting investments https://casinobeats.com/2022/03/22/igt-aims-for-continued-digital-betting-investments/ Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:45:00 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=63874 International Game Technology aims to continue its pursuit of “significant investments” in its digital and betting sector as it reveals the vertical was the highest growth area in 2021.  Publishing its full-year results for 2021, IGT also noted digital and betting service revenue increased 44 per cent and was primarily attributable to expansion into new […]

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International Game Technology aims to continue its pursuit of “significant investments” in its digital and betting sector as it reveals the vertical was the highest growth area in 2021. 

Publishing its full-year results for 2021, IGT also noted digital and betting service revenue increased 44 per cent and was primarily attributable to expansion into new markets and increases to the customer base in existing markets. 

Moreover, total product sales increased $130m, which was attributed to a higher number of machines units sold in the company’s global gaming segment due to casino operators returning to “more moderate levels of investments”.

Issuing a statement in the gambling technology group’s CEO, Vincent Sadusky, explained that its global gaming division is “seeing a strong rebound in sales and profits” in which he states was driven by “focused product strategies and the gaming market recovery from the pandemic”.

“We have achieved leadership positions in North American and international terminal revenue and sales, and our global casino and video lottery systems are among the industry’s most advanced solutions,” Sadusky noted.  

“IGT’s award-winning Resort Wallet and IGTPay received regulatory approval in Nevada and continues to drive cashless gaming adoption with several deployments. Additionally, the expansion of our multi-level progressive game portfolio on our Peak cabinets strengthened our leased game portfolio and contributed to solid sales.”

The firm recorded total revenue for the full year of $4.1bn (2020: $3.1bn), of which $2.68bn ($2bn) was generated from its global lottery division, with the global gaming and digital and betting segments contributing $628m ($483m) and $163m ($114) respectively – this amounted to a total profit of $918m (-$91m).

Looking forward to 2022 and beyond, Sadusky pinpointed that IGT’s global gaming focus will be on expanding the company’s presence in “core video markets” in North America, alongside improving its multi-level progressive offerings in both product sales and recurring markets. 

Moreover, it is also prepared to “take advantage” of the upcoming Canadian video lottery terminal replacement cycle and new operator market openings. 

The report also revealed that the total service revenue increased $835m primarily due to global lottery experiencing a 20.1 per cent increase in same-store sales, principally in Italy and North America, as well as an 11 per cent increase in our commercial services offering primarily in Italy. 

Global gaming service revenue increased 30 per cent, with the company citing an increase in total yields from total installed base units, principally as a result of more installed base units becoming available to players as COVID-19 induced social distancing restrictions were lifted. 

Turning away from the US and towards Europe, IGT plans to monetise its market leadership in the Italian proximity payment sector via the sale of this segment of its operations to PostePay S.p.A – Patrimonio Destinato IMEL, expected to complete in Q3 2022.

Shifting the focus towards the company’s sustainability targets, Sadusky noted that its strategy is centred on “four key priorities” – valuing people, advancing responsibility, supporting its community, and fostering sustainable operations. 

IGT’s CEO added: “Our commitment to employees’ well-being, high standards of integrity and ethical conduct, diversity and inclusion, and professional development are constantly improving our company from within.

“In 2021, IGT issued our first-ever Global Responsible Gaming Policy to educate people about our programmes and solutions designed to promote fair play and comply with responsible gaming requirements in all jurisdictions in which we operate. 

“IGT also published our Human Rights Policy Statement, which outlines our commitment to human dignity and civil rights. IGT has a well-established and leading diversity and inclusion programme and we are committed to furthering diversity and inclusion objectives at the highest level.”

Looking ahead, Sadusky noted that IGT’s vision is a simple one, to drive growth in the global gaming industry through greater player engagement and responsible management. 

He concluded: “Our diverse portfolio offers compelling growth opportunities to create shareholder value and provides unique and sustainable competitive advantages.

“Our mission is to strengthen our global leadership positions in the industry by offering innovative content, services and solutions. This mission sets the foundation to grow top line and margins across all business segments, while increasing operational efficiency and optimising capital allocation.

“We have set aggressive but achievable financial goals including impressive cash flow generation over the next few years. I have a high level of confidence in the company’s ability to deliver on those compelling objectives.”

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Global Gaming loses Swedish gambling advertising case https://casinobeats.com/2019/11/25/global-gaming-loses-swedish-gambling-advertising-case/ Mon, 25 Nov 2019 12:20:00 +0000 http://casinobeats.com/?p=24317 Global Gaming has lost its advertising case against the Swedish consumer ombudsman, Konsumentombudsmannen, relating to what it calls “take-over ads” for the Ninja Casino entity. Directly related to Global Gaming’s Maltese subsidiary Elec Games, which operated the brand, it was deemed by the Patent and Market Court that marketing undertaken contravened a requirement for moderation […]

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Global Gaming has lost its advertising case against the Swedish consumer ombudsman, Konsumentombudsmannen, relating to what it calls “take-over ads” for the Ninja Casino entity.

Directly related to Global Gaming’s Maltese subsidiary Elec Games, which operated the brand, it was deemed by the Patent and Market Court that marketing undertaken contravened a requirement for moderation in gambling advertising.

First filed in December 2018 the KO highlighted the usage of pop-up ads that cover all or part of the screen when promoting games on the internet. The case concerned the usage of statements such as “Can fill the account in five minutes”, “lightning fast payments”, “Profit on the bank within five minutes” and “PLAY NOW!”

The Patent and Market Court supported the consumer ombudsman’s opinion and found the marketing messages used at that time to be lacking in moderation.

“KO thinks today’s judgement is good. It sends a clear signal to the gaming industry,” stated Gunnar Wikström, process council at KO. “The law is generally held in terms of the requirement of moderation in the marketing of games. 

“Therefore, it has been necessary for us to turn to the court to have the concept of moderation tested; what not to do. There we have now received clear messages.”

Responding to the ruling, Global Gaming stressed that as the company is not active in the Swedish market at present nor does it make use of any of the marketing messages in question, therefore it does not have any direct impact on the company’s operations. 

Furthermore, as previously communicated, the ruling has no financial impact on the company as it is not directly linked to any additional outgoings, besides legal costs.

The company’s legal advisors are currently reviewing the ruling and considering whether there is reason to appeal it.

Tobias Fagerlund, Global Gaming CEO, commented: “The Patent and Market Court’s decision today clarifies the legal requirements for gambling advertising. Clarity as to how the court views requirements for moderation in advertising is a step in the right direction. 

“At the same time, I think it is unfortunate that our brand alone should be made responsible for marketing messages that were widely used in the industry at that time.

“It remains to be seen whether the legislator considers that the ruling sufficient or chooses to further tighten the requirements for moderation through legislation.”

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Global Gaming, migration and Ukraine, Enlabs publishes third quarter report https://casinobeats.com/2020/11/05/global-gaming-migration-and-ukraine-enlabs-publishes-third-quarter-report/ Thu, 05 Nov 2020 13:15:57 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=39410 Enlabs has lauded the finalisation of “the largest strategic acquisition in the group’s history,” as a “truly transformational quarter” is documented within which the firm’s core business secured “an all-time-high result”. Documenting its quarter performance, revenue surged 42 per cent to €13m (2019: €9.2m), with casino taking the lion’s share of €10.2m (2019: €5.7m), followed […]

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Enlabs has lauded the finalisation of “the largest strategic acquisition in the group’s history,” as a “truly transformational quarter” is documented within which the firm’s core business secured “an all-time-high result”.

Documenting its quarter performance, revenue surged 42 per cent to €13m (2019: €9.2m), with casino taking the lion’s share of €10.2m (2019: €5.7m), followed by betting €2.7m (2019: €2.9m), and poker €100,000 (2019:€600,000).

Geographic distribution of gaming revenue sees 80 per cent from Baltic markets, which refers to the regulated regions of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and 20 per cent from the rest of the world. 

As the firm also migrated its flagship Optibet brand onto the firm’s new gaming platform, net profit came in at €10.29m (2019: €2.57m), and EBITDA €4.03m (2019: €3.11m).

For the first nine months of the year, Enlabs saw revenue increase nine per cent from €28.4m to €30.2m, net profit rise from €6.9m to 12.94m, and EBITDA document a slight decline to €7.26m (2018: €8.41m).

Lauding its impending Global Gaming takeover, George Ustinov, CEO and president of Enlabs, explained: “Following the outcome of public offer to shareholders in Global Gaming, Enlabs now holds 95.8 per cent of the company and will initiate the compulsory redemption process to obtain full ownership. 

“We have started full operational integration and will proceed with delisting Global Gaming. Knowledge exchange between our two professional teams has already led to unlocking new sales channels and improving customer conversion flows, material product enhancements, boosted efficiency for internal processes, and benefits of scale. 

“The combined group is perfectly positioned for long term sustainable development in the Baltic sea region and beyond. We will take the Ninja Casino brand across the Baltics and strengthen Optibet’s presence in the region. 

“Enlabs’ brand and product offering will cater to numerous customer segments enabling us to continue increasing market share in our core, high growth markets. We believe that the Ninja brand concept built around speed and entertainment has a strong global potential and will become the Enlabs worldwide flagship brand.”

Furthermore, the group also reveals that it has set up a legal entity in Ukraine and expects that the licence application process will commence in the latter stages of this year. 

Asserting a casino first strategy via the Ninja brand in an online gaming market that it estimates at €300m, Enlabs anticipates that Ukraine, as well as Belarus, will become key business development focus markets in 2021.

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Global Gaming not appealing latest SafeEnt licence revocation rejection https://casinobeats.com/2020/10/20/global-gaming-not-appealing-latest-safeent-licence-revocation-rejection/ Tue, 20 Oct 2020 07:19:56 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=38550 The Swedish Administrative Court of Appeal has rejected SafeEnt’s latest appeal against its licence revocation, upholding the decision by the regulator to withdraw the permit for commercial online gambling and betting. Global Gaming, of whom SafeEnt is a subsidiary which runs the igaming entity Ninja Casino alongside spellandet.com, will not lodge a further appeal to […]

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The Swedish Administrative Court of Appeal has rejected SafeEnt’s latest appeal against its licence revocation, upholding the decision by the regulator to withdraw the permit for commercial online gambling and betting.

Global Gaming, of whom SafeEnt is a subsidiary which runs the igaming entity Ninja Casino alongside spellandet.com, will not lodge a further appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court – as is a permitted course of action.

The court judged that the company “has during the current time violated provisions in the Gaming Act on deposit limits for online games, customer contact, bonus offers and measures against money laundering”. Due to this, it says that there is reason for intervention under the Gaming Act.

Overall, the board of Global Gaming commented that it “welcomes the fact that the ruling has now been announced, and a consequence of this is that clear and distinct conditions for Global Gaming’s future operations now also exist”.

It adds that due to operational adjustment made following the Spekinspektionen’s decision, it is of the opinion that this latest judgement will have “no impact” on current or planned activities.

Speaking in a statement on behalf of the board of Global Gaming, it was added: “This has been a process that the company’s current newly appointed board inherited. The board has taken note of today’s judgment, and fully shares the views expressed by both the Administrative Court of Appeal and the previous court and thus also the Spelsinspekionen in the case.

“The board would like to point out that it took office only a few weeks before the hearing in the Court of Appeal, and in the then and still ongoing bidding process that Global Gaming is undergoing, measures that can be interpreted are of such a nature that they may undermine the value of the shares. In this case, companies under acquisition, not suitable or may be prohibited.

“Due to this, there was no reasonable opportunity for the board to stop the ongoing case even before the hearing in the Court of Appeal.”

On June 17, 2019, the Spelinspektionen revoked the licence of Global Gaming’s SafeEnt subsidiary related to the provision of betting and commercial online gaming in Sweden.

This was subsequently appealed to the Administrative Court and rejected; a decision which prompted a further appeal to the Administrative Court of Appeal.

“We have made a balance between the circumstances that speak for and against the revocation of the license. In this case, we consider that a warning is not a sufficient measure. The Spelinspektionen’s decision to revoke the company’s license should therefore not be changed,” noted Anders Poulsen, councillor of the Court of Appeal.

The Spelinspektionen welcomes the decision of one of “great importance” for the re-regulated gaming market, adding: “All licensed players must follow the existing rules. 

“It is particularly important that rules of great importance for the protection of consumers are complied with. If we are to ensure a healthy and safe gaming market, we must exclude those players who do not comply with essential parts of current regulations”.

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Enlabs outlines mandatory Global Gaming public offer https://casinobeats.com/2020/09/22/enlabs-outlines-mandatory-global-gaming-public-offer/ Tue, 22 Sep 2020 07:12:32 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=37111 Entertainment Laboratories has made its mandatory public offer to secure the remaining shares in Global Gaming, after previously taking its holding in the firm to 27,266,114 shares which corresponds to 66.70 per cent stake. The offer value for the remaining 13,611,386 shares in global gaming is SEK 11 apiece, or SEK 149.72m (£13.18m), and therefore […]

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Entertainment Laboratories has made its mandatory public offer to secure the remaining shares in Global Gaming, after previously taking its holding in the firm to 27,266,114 shares which corresponds to 66.70 per cent stake.

The offer value for the remaining 13,611,386 shares in global gaming is SEK 11 apiece, or SEK 149.72m (£13.18m), and therefore values all shares in the company at approximately SEK 450m (£39.63m).

Furthermore, Enlabs offers all shareholders in Global Gaming a consideration, for each share in Global Gaming, of either: the cash consideration, the share consideration, or a combination corresponding to 50 per cent of each.

The group will publish a document regarding the proposed takeover, which is expected to take place around October 2, 2020. The acceptance period is anticipated to begin around October 5, 2020 and end approximately November 2, 2020. 

Enlabs, which says that will not increase the offered consideration, will see the board of directors of Global Gaming, or an assembled independent bidding committee, publish its opinion, and the reasons for this, no later than two weeks before the expiry of the acceptance period.

Lauding the transaction as a central part of its continued expansion strategy, the group assesses that economies of scale and cost savings are expected to arise by operating both parties under the new group.

It is also expected that in addition to brand-related revenue synergies, cost savings and efficiencies regarding overlapping staff functions, as well as knowledge transfer and best practices within IT, marketing, and compliance should amount to in the region of €5m (£4.59m) per year.

Documenting its reasons for the offer, it was explained that: “Enlabs is of the opinion that the global market for igaming services is currently undergoing extensive changes, which justifies continued sector consolidation. Furthermore, in line with previous communication to the market, the company believes that acquisitions are a central part of its continued expansion. 

“Global Gaming is a challenger in the igaming industry, delivering innovative and safe gaming services. Enlabs believes that Global Gaming has a strong market position through the casino brands that Global Gaming holds primarily in Finland, but also in Estonia and some other countries. 

“Accordingly, Enlabs market position through the casino brands that Global Gaming holds primarily in Finland, but also in Estonia and some other countries. Accordingly, Enlabs assesses that Global Gaming conducts operations that are strategically complementary to Enlabs’ existing operations, where Estonia is a main market and Finland is a growth market. 

“Furthermore, Enlabs sees that Global Gaming’s brands have the potential to be launched in Enlabs’ current main markets Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as in certain geographical markets where neither Enlabs nor Global Gaming are active today, which Enlabs considers to be potential growth markets, such as Ukraine.

“In addition, Enlabs views positively the possibility of enabling further geographical expansion for Enlabs’ own brands through the acquisition of Global Gaming.”

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Tobias Fagerlund ends tenure as Global Gaming CEO https://casinobeats.com/2020/09/22/tobias-fagerlund-ends-tenure-as-global-gaming-ceo/ Tue, 22 Sep 2020 10:00:36 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=37121 Global Gaming has announced the exit of CEO Tobias Fagerlund, as the group becomes the target of a mandatory public offer from Entertainment Laboratories. Announced by the group’s board of directors, Fagerlund vacates the position with immediate effect but will remain at the disposal of both Global Gaming and the board. The group intends to […]

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Global Gaming has announced the exit of CEO Tobias Fagerlund, as the group becomes the target of a mandatory public offer from Entertainment Laboratories.

Announced by the group’s board of directors, Fagerlund vacates the position with immediate effect but will remain at the disposal of both Global Gaming and the board.

The group intends to initiate a recruitment process with the aim of seeking a new CEO, with board member Christian Rasmussen stepping in on an acting basis immediately and will handle the role on a consultative basis.

Fagerlund was initially appointed acting CEO of Global Gaming on April 29, 2019, and has occupied the position on a permanent basis since July 2, 2019.

“It is my opinion that Tobias during his time as CEO led Global Gaming in a very meritorious way. Tobias has implemented a large package of restructuring measures and shown evidence of a strong and clear leadership that was absolutely necessary for the company,” explained Niklas Braathen, chairman of the board of Global Gaming

“Tobias has thus with great success laid a good foundation for Global Gaming’s future operations. Now, however, the company is facing a new phase and we have identified a number of measures necessary to further strengthen the company’s position. 

“The CEO has worked from Stockholm, where he has been the company’s only employee, and there is a need for leadership to operate where our operating units are allocated, in Estonia and Malta.

“On behalf of the board and the company, I would like to thank Tobias for his work, and would like to point out that during the time I have been chairman of the board, we have had a very good collaboration and that I look forward to continuing in various forms.”

Last month Fagerlund declared that “Global Gaming is back to profitability” when addressing a 15 month period that was labelled “the most difficult and challenging period I have experienced in my professional life”.

Touching upon excitement at the next stage in the company’s history, which is to include “comprehensive sports betting offer” across current brands and markets as well further concerted growth efforts, Fagerlund lauded the company’s ability “to react quickly and forcefully in a very difficult situation”.

This follows a long protracted Swedish saga after regulator the Spelinspektionen withdrew the licence for commercial online gambling and betting of Global Gaming subsidiary SafeEnt, which runs the igaming entity Ninja Casino alongside spellandet.com, and subsequent appeals lodged and rumours dismissed.

For the quarter, operating profit closed at SEK 1.1m, contrasted to a loss of SEK 11.1m a year earlier, with loss after tax swinging from SEK 11.8m to a SEK 1m profit. 

Revenue amounted to SEK 71.8m, representing a 46 per cent drop from SEK 132.2m but an increase of 24 per cent compared to the first quarter. Its six month performance for the period ending June 30 declined 56 per cent to SEK 129.7m (2019: SEK 294.3m).

Most recently, Enlabs made its mandatory public offer to secure the remaining shares in Global Gaming, after previously taking its holding in the firm to 27,266,114 shares which corresponds to 66.70 per cent stake.

The offer value for the remaining 13,611,386 shares in global gaming is SEK 11 apiece, or SEK 149.72m (£13.18m), and therefore values all shares in the company at approximately SEK 450m (£39.63m).

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Enlabs to make mandatory public offer after raising Global Gaming stake https://casinobeats.com/2020/08/27/enlabs-to-make-mandatory-public-offer-after-raising-global-gaming-stake/ Thu, 27 Aug 2020 09:15:01 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=36028 Entertainment Laboratories has increased its stake in Global Gaming after making a further investment of SEK 108.65m (£9.43m) to take its holding in the firm to 54 per cent. Declaring the intention to make a mandatory offer, Enlabs’ latest investment sees the firm acquire 9,878,086 shares in the company for SEK 11 apiece. These will […]

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Entertainment Laboratories has increased its stake in Global Gaming after making a further investment of SEK 108.65m (£9.43m) to take its holding in the firm to 54 per cent.

Declaring the intention to make a mandatory offer, Enlabs’ latest investment sees the firm acquire 9,878,086 shares in the company for SEK 11 apiece. These will be paid with 50 per cent cash and with the remaining half by issuance of new shares in Enlabs. 

This follows Enlabs becoming the largest shareholder in Global Gaming in June after making an initial investment of more than SEK 90m (£7.69m) to take its total ownership to 29.89 per cent.

Subsequently increasing its interest to 54.06 per cent of all shares and votes in Global Gaming, the latest acquisition means that Enlabs is obliged to, within four weeks, make a public offer to tender the remaining shares in the company.

In a media statement, Enlabs subsequently outlined its intention to, within the aforementioned allotted time frame, make a public offer to acquire the remaining shares in Global Gaming. 

In such a public offer, Enlabs will offer all shareholders to transfer their shares against a consideration corresponding to SEK 11 per share, which is said to be approximately 34 per cent above the average price for Global Gaming during the last ninety days of trading. The consideration will not be increased by Enlabs.

In the firm’s latest financial statement, George Ustinov, CEO and president at Enlabs, said of the initial moves made: “We see this as a strategic investment and important milestone in our development. Enlabs and Global Gaming complement each other well as we both operate on the same markets in Finland and Estonia. 

“Global Gaming’s brand Ninja Casino is one of the best-known brands in the gaming industry and are pioneers of pay and play technology. This brand has unlimited international expansion potential. 

“Here, Enlabs brought to the table our proprietary gaming platform, variety of gaming licenses, regional sales know-how and our own sportsbook product. Jointly, we will strengthen our leadership position in the Baltic Sea region.”

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Global Gaming focused on the future after ‘difficult and challenging period’ https://casinobeats.com/2020/08/05/global-gaming-focused-on-the-future-after-difficult-and-challenging-period/ Wed, 05 Aug 2020 06:58:46 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=34918 “Global Gaming is back to profitability” roars the title page of the firm’s latest financial statement, as CEO Tobias Fagerlund addresses a 15 month period that is labelled “the most difficult and challenging period I have experienced in my professional life”. Touching upon excitement at the next stage in the company’s history, which is to […]

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Global Gaming is back to profitability” roars the title page of the firm’s latest financial statement, as CEO Tobias Fagerlund addresses a 15 month period that is labelled “the most difficult and challenging period I have experienced in my professional life”.

Touching upon excitement at the next stage in the company’s history, which is to include “comprehensive sports betting offer” across current brands and markets as well further concerted growth efforts, Fagerlund lauds Global Gaming’s ability “to react quickly and forcefully in a very difficult situation”.

This follows a long protracted Swedish saga after regulator the Spelinspektionen withdrew the licence for commercial online gambling and betting of Global Gaming subsidiary SafeEnt, which runs the igaming entity Ninja Casino alongside spellandet.com, and subsequent appeals lodged and rumours dismissed.

For the quarter, operating profit closed at SEK 1.1m, contrasted to a loss of SEK 11.1m a year earlier, with loss after tax swinging from SEK 11.8m to a SEK 1m profit. 

Revenue amounted to SEK 71.8m, representing a 46 per cent drop from SEK 132.2m but an increase of 24 per cent compared to the first quarter. Its six month performance for the period ending June 30 declined 56 per cent to SEK 129.7m (2019: SEK 294.3m).

Global Gaming’s flagship Ninja Casino accounted for 81.9 per cent of the group’s revenue for the quarter, with the number of customers accessing the entity via a mobile phone finishing at 71 per cent (2019: 80 per cent) . 

During the quarter, revenue from the group’s Nordic operations amounted to SEK 55.1m, the rest of Europe counted for SEK 9.6m and SEK 6.7m came from B2B collaborations. 

Breaking down the figures for the first half of the year, revenue from Nordic operations amounted to SEK 96.6m, the rest of Europe came in at SEK 18.7m and  B2B closed at SEK 14.3m. 

Fagerlund explained: “The last 15 months have been the most difficult and challenging period I have experienced in my professional life. When I took over as CEO of Global Gaming, we were badly hurt and had just recalled our already decided proposal for share dividend to the owners. 

“When we also lost our Swedish license in June last year, and with it 75 per cent of our income, many thought that our days were numbered. Now we are back in profit again! 

“A year ago, we showed an ability to react quickly and forcefully in a very difficult situation. We have step by step delivered what we set out to do and constantly adapted and adjusted our operational activities. 

“No part of the organisation has remained unchanged; we have changed the technical platform, restructured the management, downsized the organisation by nearly two thirds which led to our cost base being completely different compared before. 

“At the same time, in the midst of everything, we have very concentrated and successfully run our remaining business. Revenues from our current markets have grown by 26 per cent during the first six months of the year compared with the first half of last year and by 35 per cent when comparing the second quarters of the two years. 

“It is also gratifying to note that July’s average income per day has been about 12 per cent higher than the average per day during the first six months of the year. It bodes well for the rest of the year.”

Welcoming Petter Fagrell as new CEO of its Maltese subsidiaries, during the quarter Global Gaming after saw Enlabs become its largest shareholder after making an investment of more than SEK 90m (£7.69m) to take its total ownership to 29.9 per cent.

Focussing on future opportunities, Fagerlund closed by stating: “Global Gaming is now ready to enter the next phase of the company’s history. In the coming month, we will launch a comprehensive sports betting offer in our existing markets and brands, and in the third quarter we will complete what we previously communicated about launching in several new markets. 

“I am proud and happy about the very good work we have done during the past year and look forward with excitement and confidence to the future. Not least, I look forward to an in-depth dialogue with our new major owner, the Enlabs Group. 

“Regardless of the outcome, it is my absolute opinion that the development holds great and interesting opportunities for both companies’ shareholders and that the future of Global Gaming’s offering and brands looks brighter than in a long time.” 

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Redeye: Ninja Casino motives behind Enlabs’ Global Gaming stake https://casinobeats.com/2020/06/10/redeye-enlabs-global-gaming-stake-has-ninjacasino-motives/ Wed, 10 Jun 2020 11:20:16 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=32254 Redeye believes that Enlabs’ acquisition of 29.9 per cent of shares in Global Gaming is a ‘strategic play’ with the company eyeing up the Ninja Casino brand. Stated in its Research Notes, Redeye explained that Enlabs’ shares purchase, which was just below the limit for a mandatory bid, was a move to obtain a NinjaCasino […]

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Redeye believes that Enlabs’ acquisition of 29.9 per cent of shares in Global Gaming is a ‘strategic play’ with the company eyeing up the Ninja Casino brand.

Stated in its Research Notes, Redeye explained that Enlabs’ shares purchase, which was just below the limit for a mandatory bid, was a move to obtain a NinjaCasino brand that has a strong position in Finland and Estonia as well as hopes of relaunch in Sweden.

Shares are currently trading at SEK 8 apiece which values Global Gaming at SEK 327m, corresponding to an enterprise value of around SEK 240m.

In the research, Redeye said: “Based on our estimates for 2020, this gives us an EV/S multiple of about 1.0x, which is well above the sales multiple of 0.7x for Betsson´s acquisition of GiG´s B2C segment. However, we still argue that a complete acquisition of Global Gaming should be viewed as attractive for several reasons.”

The NinjaCasino brand has been closed in Sweden since it had its licence revoked in June of last year following a discovery of ‘serious deficiencies’ in its operations.

The research notes continued: “If we elaborate a bit further on the possible relaunch of the NinjaCasino brand in Sweden. We know from our contacts at the Swedish Gaming Authority that there is a limited legal room for SGA to prevent an external company from acquiring the NinjaCasino brand and relaunch it. 

“However, having the issue that Global Gaming and Finnplay encountered earlier this year fresh in mind makes us believe that there are risks. The issue was the connection/agreement between Global Gaming´s subsidiary, SafeNet Ltd, and Finnplay meant that the same people behind the revoked license would be involved in the new setup.

“As a result, Enlabs need to be very careful and have a close contact with the SGA so that the company is making the correct setup.”

Redeye believes a relaunched NinjaCasino brand in Sweden would have a ’substantial impact’ as the brand generated over SEK 100m per quarter before its licence was revoked. It argues that, despite a fall in brand exposure, it would still attract between SEK 10-40m per quarter in sales, initially.

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Enlabs becomes Global Gaming’s largest shareholder https://casinobeats.com/2020/06/08/enlabs-becomes-global-gamings-largest-shareholder/ Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:05:46 +0000 https://casinobeats.com/?p=32173 Entertainment Laboratories has become the largest shareholder in Global Gaming after making an investment of more than SEK 90m (£7.69m) to take its total ownership to 29.9 per cent. Following a number of agreements entered with shareholders the latter, Enlabs has secured an additional 11,300,000 shares in Global Gaming for a price of 8 SEK […]

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Entertainment Laboratories has become the largest shareholder in Global Gaming after making an investment of more than SEK 90m (£7.69m) to take its total ownership to 29.9 per cent.

Following a number of agreements entered with shareholders the latter, Enlabs has secured an additional 11,300,000 shares in Global Gaming for a price of 8 SEK a share, coming in at a total of SEK 90.4m (£7.72m).

Last month Global Gaming issued a definitive dismissal concerning speculation that its Ninja Casino entity could still be accessed by Swedish players, as the firm again reasserted confidence in a positive outlook despite plunging financial figures.

Following Ninja Casino’s licence revocation in 2019 the company has seen a number of appeals fall by the wayside, however the first quarter saw the Administrative Court of Appeal granted a review permit.

This was followed by the Swedish gambling authority rejecting an application by Viral Interactive to resurrect the Ninja Casino brand within the online market.

Releasing news of the pending acquisition in a media release, Enlabs, which boasts corporate offices in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Malta, Marbella, Minsk and Stockholm, explained: “The shares secured in this latest pending transaction will be paid 50 per cent in cash settlements and 50 per cent with new issued shares of Enlabs based on the average volume weighted price of Enlabs shares traded at Nasdaq First North Growth Market the last fifteen days of trade. 

“Enlabs estimates the dilution of these transactions to become approximately 3.5 per cent related to the total number of shares in Enlabs. Prior to these transactions, Enlabs owned 920,028 shares in Global Gaming, making Enlabs total holdings to become 12,220,028 shares representative to 29.9 per cent of the ownership of Global Gaming.”

This comes as Enlabs also issues an update on the potential reopening of the Latvian gaming market: “Due to the administrative work to proclaim the new law by the Latvian president, the law ‘On Management of Consequences Caused by the Spread of COVID-19’, which resumes gaming licenses in Latvia has not yet gained legal force. 

“Enlabs’ assessment at this time is that this process will be complete during this week and will immediately reopen all Latvian operations when the law is in force.”

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