Month: September 2021

The case began as the state claimed PokerStars offered online gambling to 34,000 Kentucky players between October 2006 – when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was introduced – and April 2011, when its US operations were shut down by authorities.

Flutter said PokerStars made $18m from Kentucky customers during this time period.

In 2015, then-PokerStars operator Amaya was ordered to pay $290m by Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate for this Kentucky activity. The total was equal to the value of every losing wager made by a player in Kentucky, without deducting winning wagers.

Read the full story on iGB North America

ASN’s consumer sports platforms Fantasy Alarm, DFS Alarm and Wager Alarm will all be integrated into Spotlight’s sports betting and fantasy sports offering. This is already made up of the Racing Post in the UK and sports betting content provider Pickwise.

Spotlight CEO Alan Byrne said: “This acquisition immediately accelerates our growth across North America with the addition of proprietary technology and authoritative, scalable content. We are delighted to be joining forces with a vastly experienced management team steeped in fantasy sports and sports betting expertise.

Read the full story on iGB North America

ISX Financial EU – which handles iSignThis’ operations within Europe – will receive AUD$6.6m from the original business through a convertible note, intended to provide long-term financing for the next 10 years. iSignThis may convert the money owed on the note to shares in the European business.

iSignThis non-executive director Christakis Taoushanis will take over as chairman of the new European business, and has ceased to be a director of iSignThis.

The European business – which would be owned by iSignThis shareholders – would then trade on a stock exchange other than the Australian Securities Exchange, with which iSignThis has been in a long-running dispute.

ISignThis’s shares were suspended from trading on 2 October 2019, with the provider saying it did not receive a reason for this.

In December, the provider launched legal action against the Australian Securities Exchange over that decision and the decision not to reinstate the shares.

The continuing Australian iSignThis business will continue to pursue its legal claim against the exchange. It will hold $4.3m in cash, which will help the business continue to pursue the claim.

The proposed demerger would be subject to ISX shareholder approval at a general meeting on a date to be announced, though iSignThis said it would be “most likely in October”.

Kindred has launched its mobile sportsbook in partnership with Caesars-owned Iowa’s Harrah’s Council Bluffs Casino, making it the fifth US state Kindred has expanded into since its 2020 agreement with Caesars. The states Kindred has previously expanded into are New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The agreement is set to last for 10 years, with two optional five-year extensions available.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

6,316,000 American Depositary Shares (ADS, each made up of 20 common shares) are on offer, with each ADS representing 0.05 common share at a price of $18.00 per share.

The company had initially estimated its price range at between $18-$20 per ADS, with the aim of raising up to $126.3m.

DoubleDown plan to sell 5,263,000 ADS’ with a further 1,053,000 provided by selling shareholders. This will result in gross proceeds of $113.7m.

As previously disclosed, funds from the IPO will be used for general corporate purposes but may also be required to pay legal costs. While it did not provide details of these legal costs, in July, the operator issued a press release to quash media reports that some DoubleDown executives had illegally sold shares, arguing the claims were “groundless”. In addition, the operator has faced class-action lawsuits in the US.

The ADS will appear on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol DDI, with the offering closing on 2 September.

The IPO had been in the works for DoubleDown for some time, with plans first being announced in June 2020. However the uncertainty created by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic meant that the company put proceedings on hold.

Paysafe initially agreed to the acquisition in August.

This is the latest LATAM acquisition by Paysafe, which announced its procurement of SafetyPay in August. This is set to close later in 2021. Both deals follow PaySafe going public through a merger with Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp earlier this year.

With the PagoEfectivo and SafetyPay acquisitions, Paysafe said it aims to become a specialised eCash and open banking payments platform throughout LATAM.

The integration will begin with Juan Fernando Villena, PagoEfectivo CEO, taking on a new role in the division.

“This strategic acquisition is a success on many levels for Paysafe,” said Philip McHugh, CEO of Paysafe.

“First, it reinforces our strategy of building on our strengths in specialized payments and growing our presence in fast-growing regions. Second, it allows us to cross-sell more of our leading payments offering, including digital wallets and payment processing services, to an expanded merchant customer base that operates in industries we are very focused on.”

He added, “Third, the addition of Juan Fernando and his team to our eCash division brings us further talent and payments expertise; no doubt about it, PagoEfectivo has an impressive track record for growth, and for possessing the pioneering flair and customer focus that we look for in Paysafe.”

$750,000 will be paid in cash, $2.5m in issuance of Playmaker common shares, and $2.5m in achievable revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) targets. The sellers would be entitled to a bonus earn-out should said targets be exceeded.

Two-Up provides products such as ad widgets, data visualisations and conversion and tracking management for betslips to operators, data providers and media outlets.

Two-Up’s core technology products will be integrated into Playmaker’s proprietary technology stack, Playmaker Bench. 24 technology, sales and engineering employees will also be added to Playmaker’s staff.

Two-Up founder and CEO Robbie Morris said: “Playmaker is a natural fit for Two-Up. We complement the existing strengths within Playmaker well, and, as part of the Playmaker Bench technology suite, we will enhance Playmaker’s monetization efforts across owned and operated properties.

“We’re excited and delighted to become a part of the Playmaker family. This opportunity will allow us to strengthen our core competencies, meaning existing and future clients will continue to benefit from what we set out to deliver in 2016, which is a first-class service.”

Two-Up becomes Playmaker’s third acquisition of the year so far, after securing deals for Brazil’s Fanáticos Por Futebol and digital media property Yardbarker.

Playmaker CEO and founder Jordan Gnat added: “I am pleased to welcome Two-Up into the Playmaker family, and am excited about how Robbie and his team will help bolster Playmaker’s technology offering.

“Two-Up has deep relevance, credibility and unrivalled connections within the online gaming world globally. With this acquisition, we have added yet more value to our shareholders, and taken another step towards achieving our mission of building an ecosystem of assets that will provide sports fans and our clients with outsized value.”

The ‘Race Against Manipulation’ campaign will target drivers competing in competitions, as well as team personnel, officials, volunteers, event organisers, FIA staff and consultants and the well as the wider motorsport community around the world.

The project will be based around a dedicated online learning platform, which, operating in partnership with Sportradar Integrity Services, will educate visitors about how to identify the behaviour of fixers, their obligations and duty to report incidents and the consequences of manipulation.

After completing a 30-minute tutorial each participant will receive an FIA certificate.

“Safeguarding the integrity of motorsport worldwide is of paramount importance’ no reports of betting manipulation in motor sport have been received to date but we must be vigilant, and the best way to achieve this is through education,” FIA president Jean Todt said.

“Race Against Manipulation will help stakeholders to recognise potential threats, assist them in the reporting of misconduct. It is an essential tool in the fight to maintain sporting integrity and I advise everyone involved in our sport to use it.”

FIA secretary general for sport Peter Bayer added: “This user-friendly platform is a milestone for the FIA and the motor sports world as it will help raise awareness of the specific contents of the International Sporting Code on this topic and in particular what competition manipulation means in an informative and entertaining approach.”

Approval from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission will enable Fubo to offer advance deposit online sports wagering in the state via its market access agreement with Casino Queen.

Fubo said it expects its Fubo Sportsbook mobile product to go live in Iowa during the fourth quarter of this year.

“We believe Fubo Sportsbook will provide an elevated sports entertainment experience that will bring increased interaction and engagement between sports viewing and betting,” Fubo Gaming president Scott Butera said. “We are working with regulators in additional markets as we aim to truly innovate the gaming space.”

Meanwhile, Fubo agreed terms on a market access arrangement with the Ak-Chin Indian Community in Arizona.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The agreement will run for five years until the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. 

The partnership will see Betclic serve as an official partner of the French national team and the FFF’s Coupe de France domestic club competition, as well as support amateur football in the country.

“This new collaboration with a dynamic French company, a historical leader in its market, makes all the more sense as Betclic is invested and renowned in football,” FFF president Noël Le Graët said.

“In this difficult period, this new partnership marks the attractiveness of the FFF and its activities with its French teams, the Coupe de France, the flagship competition of French football which brings together more than 7,000 professional and amateur clubs at each edition.”

Betclic founder and chief executive Nicolas Béraud added: “For more than 15 years, Betclic has been a major player in French football, so we are very proud to become a partner of the teams of France, the Coupe de France and amateur football. 

“Betclic will therefore be closer to French fans for the next international, national and local events in order to experience football like nowhere else and to exalt their passion for sport. This collaboration confirms the commitment and support of Betclic to the development of French sport.”