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January 19, 2023

Kambi to pursue efficiencies as it aims for €150m profit goal

Kambi expects to reduce the headcount of its trading department by 2027 as it pivots to an algorithm-led approach in order to hit an ambitious long-term operating profit target.

Kambi this morning revealed a €150m (£130.9m/$161.9m) earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) target for 2027 and, in a capital markets day, executives outlined how the business intends to reach that figure.

The business also revealed that it expected revenue in 2027 to be between two and three times the size of its 2022 revenue. As the relative growth in EBIT would be larger than the relative growth in revenue, this suggested that Kambi hopes to increase its profit margins as it expands.

Now, the supplier has provided more detail of this, with a pivot towards more algorithmic trading helping to drive the projected increase in efficiency.

Kambi embracing algorithmic trading

Kambi deputy chief executive Erik Lögdberg described this pivot as “third-generation sports betting”. He said that currently, most spo..

January 19, 2023

Conor Grant to join Racecourse Media Group as chairman

Former Flutter UK and Ireland CEO Conor Grant has been appointed as the incoming chairman of Racecourse Media Group (RMG).

Grant will initially join as a non-executive director, beginning 1 April 2023, and will succeed chairman Roger Lewis on 1 October 2023. Lewis first joined the RMG board in 2012 and was appointed as chairman in 2019.

Grant has 24 years of experience in the industry, and was most recently chief executive for Flutter UK and Ireland. Before this, he was the chief operating officer of Sky Betting and Gaming.

“I am delighted to be joining Racecourse Media Group at such an exciting time for the business and the broader racing industry,” said Grant. “RMG has delivered outstanding results for its shareholders in recent years and I would like to pay tribute to Roger who has done a fantastic job, along with CEO Martin Stevenson, in growing and developing the business.

“I look forward to working with the RMG team and continuing to deliver for all of our racecourses.”

Outg..

January 12, 2023

Gaming Society and UNLV partner for research into women’s sports and betting

Betting education platform Gaming Society and the International Gaming Institute (IGI), a nonprofit academic centre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) have partnered to conduct research into female sports and betting as well as collaborate on educational development.

The aim of the research is to better understand female sports bettors, women’s sports fans’ attitudes on betting and industry investment in sponsorship of women’s sports.

IGI and Gaming Society will focus on collecting and analysing wide ranges of data in the sports betting, technology and media sector.

“Market research and data on fan behaviour is critical in driving future innovation within the sports betting industry,” Gaming Society co-founder Jaymee Messler said. “Over the past year, Gaming Society has partnered with leading leagues and brands to make sports betting more inclusive and deepen fan engagement, with particular focus on women bettors and women’s sport.”

Additional collaboration between th..

November 7, 2022

Laila Mintas announces new venture, PlayEngine

Former PlayUp US chief executive Laila Mintas has co-founded a new venture, PlayEngine, and joined as chief executive.

The new business is a “microservices-based” B2B sports betting and igaming platform. The business said that it will “provide its customers with a tailor-made, individual solution that is reliable, scalable, fast and secure”.

Its sportsbook offering will allow clients to accept payments from cryptocurrency as well as fiat money and will include a “travelling wallet” to allow players to use the same wallet in different jurisdictions.

PlayEngine was initially created through the Berkeley Skydeck startup incubator.

“I am very excited about being a co-founder and the CEO of PlayEngine,” Laila Mintas said. “The sports betting and igaming market is just too competitive to work off legacy tech.

“There is a huge need for agile and modern technology and I truly believe that we have the most automated and data-driven product in the market, which will enable the sportsbettin..

November 4, 2022

Fanatics hires Brandt Iden as VP of government affairs

Fanatics Betting and Gaming has hired former Michigan legislator Brandt Iden as its new vice-president of government affairs, as the business edges closer to launching its betting product.

Iden was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2014, until 2020 when he reached the state term limit. During this time he spearheaded the efforts to legalise both sports betting and online casino gaming in the state.

He then joined Sportradar, where he was head of government affairs during a period in which the business went public on the Nasdaq exchange.

Now, he joins Fanatics ahead of the apparel brand’s long-rumoured launch of a sports betting operation.

Read the full story on iGB North America

November 2, 2022

EPIC brings in Smith as new director of operations

Independent gambling harm minimisation consultancy EPIC Risk Management has named Danielle Smith as its new director of operations.

Succeeding Pete Wallis, Smith will take the lead on a number of key business infrastructure projects at EPIC.

Smith joins the consultancy after almost 13 years with the British army, where she was most recently a life skills developer, having previously been personnel change manager and a commissioned officer in the Royal Military Police.

Prior to this, she spent time as a legal advisor for DWF, a global provider of integrated legal and business services.

“I’ve come into EPIC at quite an interesting point,” Smith said. “There are lots of really tasty projects ongoing and lots of opportunity and potential for the future, so it’s really exciting. I’m super happy to be here, get on board and get involved in the growth of the business.

“What attracted me to EPIC is the passion that everyone has. Passion runs though the company, no matter what level you’re..

October 25, 2022

SimWin Sports appoints former DraftKings VP as director

Virtual sports betting operator SimWin Sports has appointed former DraftKings VP Jamie Shea as non-executive director.

Shea has close to 30 years experience in the sports betting industry. She was at DraftKings for four years, where she held the role of VP of sportsbook operations for almost three and a half years and the role of VP of national VIP marketing for 11 months.

Before this, she worked at IGT as a sports betting and PlaySpot specialist and Caesars as a regional sales director.

jamie shea, non executive director, simwin

Currently, she is the chief marketing officer at Strive Gaming.

“Jamie is a real-money gaming all-star,” said David Ortiz, founder of SimWin. “Her work with Strive Gaming, DraftKings and other major players in the real-money gaming world makes her a huge addition to the SimWin team.

“We welcome her guidance as SimWin continues to push towards its first football season, during which she will be integral to the betting and fantasy elements of the game.”

I..

September 6, 2022

BHA appoints former Downing Street spokesperson Swift to comms director role

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced the appointment of Greg Swift, formerly a spokesperson for the prime minister, as its director of communications and corporate affairs.

Scheduled to join the organisation at the end of October, Swift will lead the BHA’s recently restructured Communications and Corporate Affairs department, with Robin Mounsey to serve as interim director prior to his arrival.

The BHA said the new-look department forms part of a wider plan to reform its strategy and structures, with the aim of delivering a more strategic approach to communications and public affairs.

Swift is currently head of news and press secretary to the foreign secretary within the UK government, having previously been head of communications for the Department for Exiting the European Union and the prime minister’s official deputy spokesperson and head of news.

Prior to that, he spent time working in national newspapers, including as assistant editor for the Daily Express.

“..

September 2, 2022

Simon Hammon’s lessons from a lifetime in slots: The present

Simon Hammon, recently named chief executive of Relax Gaming, insists he’s not a typical “product guy”. But the games released under his watch, like Starburst during his time at NetEnt, have had a massive impact on the industry. In the second part of a three-part interview, Hammon offers advice for businesses in the crowded slots space of today.

Simon Hammon’s success at NetEnt ultimately took him to Relax Gaming. In part one of this series, Hammon outlined how the move might have looked to some like a “step down”.

But since joining, the business has been growing strongly. For the second quarter of 2022, revenue was up 20% quarter-on-quarter to £5.2m, with six new titles rolled out and the Dream Drop jackpot feature going live.

Its partner base expanded to 15 new operators in that same period, while 132 studios were integrated into its RGS, while its reach extended to Italy and Spain, with a licence for Ontario setting it up for entry to North America.

That business-minded view has..

August 1, 2022

Holding back the tide

René Jansen, chair of Dutch regulator de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), speaks to Daniel O’Boyle about the challenges involved in fighting on two fronts since the country launched its regulated online gambling market. On one hand he’s keeping the unlicensed market at bay, on the other he’s working to ensure the licensed sector moderates its advertising

After eight years of anticipation, it could have been difficult for the launch of the Netherlands’ online gambling market to fulfil expectations.

For Jansen, chair of regulator de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the launch did indeed live up to what he anticipated.

“It’s been a success in several aspects,” he says.

But going as expected is only a good thing if the predictions are optimistic. And it’s hard to miss the fact that one aspect of the market launch went exactly as Jansen predicted, in exactly the wrong way.

Advertising turmoil

In May 2021, the KSA chair warned of an advertising “bombardment” when the legal market opened.

Looking at..

July 28, 2022

Flutter to lay off staff in UK and Ireland

Betting and gaming giant Flutter will make a number of redundancies in the UK and Ireland, following an internal review.

The business, which operates brands including Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet in the region, did not provide details of how many redundancies there would be or which roles would be affected.

However, a spokesperson did say that it expects the majority of those whose roles are eliminated to find new positions with Flutter. As a result, there would be only a “small number” of job losses.

“These proposed changes reflect the next phase of our integration, as we look to consolidate parallel operating models and position the business to continue growing against a more challenging operating environment,” the spokesperson said.

“While we have sought to minimise the impact this will have on our colleagues, with most employees affected being redeployed into alternative or newly created roles, the proposals may lead to a small number of job losses.

“We are communicatin..

July 27, 2022

UK Tote Group names Spencer and Holt non-executive directors

Pool betting operator UK Tote Group has appointed Lord Spencer of Alresford and Mark Holt as non-executive directors to its board.

UK Tote said the double addition would support its ongoing growth plans, with the focus on product innovation, better value, improved customer experience and strong partnerships to create more liquidity and bigger pools.

Lord Spencer is an entrepreneur and founder of interdealer broker ICAP, which became a FTSE100 business in 2006, and its successor, electronic markets services provider NEX plc. He is also one of more than 150 investors in UK Tote.

In addition to acting as a board director of a small number of private businesses, Spencer became chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies in 2020.

Holt brings experience and knowledge from his time working in senior technology roles with a number of businesses. These included spells as chief technology officer at CPA Global and chief technology officer for Trainline.

He is currently chief product and engi..

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