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eSports and MMA could be contenders to football’s crown, states Parimatch

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In this photo Sergey Portnov, Parimatch CEO
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The sports industry continues to grow year on year with the popularity of televised events benefitting not just the sports themselves but the betting industry too. As the diversity of sports on offer in the CIS region combines with increased international betting opportunities the market is at an exciting crossroads, something which Sergey Portnov, Parimatch CEO believes heralds “untapped potential” within CIS and beyond. Ahead of this year’s ICE London, at which the company will be attending to discuss opportunities in the CIS region and its North American objectives, Portnov discusses the growth of eSports and MMA, the importance of good broadcasting and why collaboration between betting and sports is the key to a bright future for both industries.

Looking ahead to 2019 in which territories do you see the big growth potential for your business and why?

We are focusing on consolidating and building on our market position in the CIS region. With the untapped potential within CIS, there remains a strong opportunity to further grow our revenues and brand within the region. Our aim is to reach 20percent market share in the region.
From an international perspective, we are investing in further developing our software to be able to scale internationally. At the same time, we will be growing our global reputation through a brand relaunch and targeted innovative marketing initiatives, and with partnerships such as our sponsorship of the UFC, to help attract potential partners in new markets. The U.S, of course, now provides also significant growth opportunity for the whole of the industry.  We have ambitions of establishing operations there, which would be a significant achievement and milestone for our brand.

What sports are challenging football as the most popular with bettors?

There are several challengers to football, which can vary depending on the market and the season. At different times of the year, tennis, basketball, volleyball and hockey are the closest sports in the CIS region to football, in terms of number of bets placed. These sports are already established and get a lot exposure across the media in the region, they also importantly provide opportunities to bet 24-7 because of the large amount of competitions held internationally.

However, we believe the likely future challengers to football will be MMA and eSports.  The popularity of these two sports is growing exponentially across the world and we believe they represent opportunities for our industry. If we can reach and appeal to these new customers, we will be able to translate the sports’ popularity and into betting volume.  In July 2018 Parimatch became the official betting and wagering partner for the UFC in EMEA, while we are also investing targeted alternative marketing campaigns for the eSports community. We are ahead of the trend and well positioned to capitalise on these sports exciting betting potential.

What constitutes a good sport for the betting industry – is it the profile of a competition eg. the English Premier League is broadcast to 643m homes in 212 territories – or is it the structure of the game and the ability to offer a variety of different bets eg. cricket?
There are a lot of aspects that make a sport a good for the betting industry, but ultimately it comes down to the popularity and exposure of the sport. The support of teams and players creates the betting interest, but this must be completed by the chance for the fans to follow and watch the sport.

In tennis for example, 75percent of bets placed with Parimatch are live bets (next point, game, set etc.).  Without the right broadcasting of the sport, we could lose this revenue. Whereas with basketball, which also has a large following, because NBA games are broadcasted at night in the CIS region we can’t fully capitalise on its live betting potential.

Can the betting industry help build the profile of a sport – if so can you give some examples?

The betting industry has a great impact on sports. It is statistically proven that sports bettors watch more sports than non-bettors do. Therefore, it stands to reason that if more fans bet on a sport, it will increase its popularity and following. From an entertainment perspective, it simply complements the sport by creating an emotional connection. It develops a vested interest, which leads to fans following a sport or spectacle more closely.

Furthermore, a great deal of revenue from the betting industry is invested back into sports through broadcasters, as well as leagues and teams. In Britain, betting companies place between 20 and 30 percent of annual revenue (estimated to be £14+ billion for the industry) on advertising – hugely promoting and financially supporting the sports.  At Parimatch we sponsor eight teams, and seven sporting federations.  These are mutually beneficial for our brand and the sports and we look forward to growing the profile of both industries as we continue to expand as a company.

Parimatch will be heading to ICE London in February to develop its market position in the CIS region and promote its growing portfolio of daily sporting events, leagues and championships, as well as games and entertainments. For more information on the features and services offered by Parimatch, visit: parimatch.com/en/live.html

Source: GB Media (Daria Isakova)

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The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024

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The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024
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The Nomination Committee of Catena Media proposed re-election of the following members of the Board of Directors:

Øystein Engebretsen

Theodore Bergquist

Adam Krejcik

Sean Hurley

The Nomination Committee proposed that Erik Flinck and Dan Castillo be elected as new members of the Board of Directors.

Göran Blomberg, Esther Teixeira-Boucher and Austin Malcomb have declined re-election as board members.

The Nomination Committee proposed that there will be six (6) members of the Board of Directors, changed from seven (7).

The Nomination Committee also proposed Erik Flinck to be elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Erik Flinck, born in 1980, currently provides high end business consulting combined with serving as Chairman for the digital health startup, dr HUD. Mr Flinck previously served as Head of BCG Sweden and has extensive experience from corporate management, growth and turnarounds from nearly 20 years of Management Consulting and serving as Head of Group Strategy and M&A at Sandvik AB. He has a Masters Degree in Engineering (Software development and Financial Mathematics) from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a Masters Degree in Business and Administration from Stockholm University and Stockholm School of Business.

Born in 1980, Dan Castillo has accumulated over 20 years of experience across startups, growth companies and turnarounds. Since 2015, Castillo has invested in Catena Media, maintaining a close watch on its progression, especially after its IPO in 2016. He has previous experience of listed board work in Kotipizza which Orkla acquired in 2018. He currently serves on the boards of five companies in different sectors, including Quartr.com in Fintech and Hope Studios in movie production. His academic background includes studies in Finance and Economics at Linköping University.

The Nomination Committee of Catena Media consists of:

Nicklas Paulson, representing Investment AB Öresund (chair of the nomination committee)

Marianne Stenberg, representing Second Swedish National Pension Fund

Martin Zetterlund, representing Niklas Karlsson

Göran Blomberg, chairman of the board of Catena Media.

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IGT Announces Executive and Board Leadership Changes

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IGT Announces Executive and Board Leadership Changes
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International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that on March 21, 2024, its Board of Directors implemented changes to the Company’s Board and executive team.

Marco Drago announced that he will step down from his role as a non-executive director of the IGT Board of Directors. He will carry out his remaining term and depart from the Board at the conclusion of the Company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 14, 2024.

Enrico Drago has been appointed by the IGT Board of Directors as a non-executive director of the IGT Board. In addition, Enrico Drago will resign from his current role of CEO of IGT PlayDigital, and Gil Rotem, who is currently IGT PlayDigital President of iGaming, will expand his role to become IGT PlayDigital President and report directly to Vince Sadusky, CEO of IGT. These changes will be effective April 1, 2024. Enrico Drago will continue in his role as vice chairman of De Agostini S.p.A.

“As Marco Drago prepares to step down from his position on the IGT Board of Directors, I’d like to thank him for his many years of service and his unwavering commitment to driving results and creating value for all IGT stakeholders. Enrico Drago joining the Board and leaving his executive leadership position at IGT is a natural evolution that supports the Company’s vision for its next era of growth and transformation. Enrico’s value-creation mindset and understanding of global growth opportunities will enhance the Board and align with IGT’s strategic priorities,” said Marco Sala, IGT Executive Chair of the Board.

“Watching and guiding IGT through its evolution from a collection of companies that started with Lottomatica and GTECH grow into a unified global gaming leader has been very gratifying. We have been fortunate to have a great group of board members and business unit leaders that have helped drive IGT’s growth during this time. I thank them for their contributions and am certain that IGT is positioned for continued growth as we go forward with the bold initiatives we have undertaken,” said Marco Drago, IGT Non-Executive Director.

“Over the last five-plus years, IGT PlayDigital has established leadership positions in the global iGaming and North American sports betting sectors that will be foundational to the Company’s future successes. I thank the entire IGT PlayDigital team for all that we have accomplished in this time, and I look forward to supporting IGT in a new capacity and further helping the Company define its vision and strategy,” said Enrico Drago, CEO of IGT PlayDigital.

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Bidstack Executive Team Acquires Bidstack Limited and all its Subsidiaries

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Bidstack Executive Team Acquires Bidstack Limited and all its Subsidiaries
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The executive team of Bidstack has acquired Bidstack Limited and all the operating entities of the Group, from the administrators of Bidstack Group PLC. The deal sees James Draper, Founder & CEO, and the executive team of Bidstack Ltd become significant majority shareholders.

All contracts and client relationships will continue within the new ownership structure – safeguarding jobs for the UK and European-based staff.

Bidstack, the multi award-winning in-game middleware technology provider that initially set about bringing programmatic advertising revenue to the most renowned sports gaming franchises in the world, has diversified into a broader offering, taking advantage of the most advanced off-engine content management system in gaming.

Following the announcement of a partnership with the Washington Commanders, where the NFL franchise became the first-ever sports team to utilise a platform to control advertising within their virtual stadium, across official NFL games, from multiple studios and developers, the management team has been focusing on sports rights holders as a key customer type.

The executive team has the support of the world’s leading rights-holder professionals in the sports industry. It will continue to execute from its position as the leading technology for the sports industry, for fan engagement and brand activations, in video games.

The executive management consists of James Draper continuing as Chief Executive Officer, with Lisa Hau stepping up to Chief Financial Officer, Dave Garvey continuing as Chief Legal Officer, Will Stewart moving to Chief Product Officer and Daniel Barrigas to Chief Technology Officer.

James Draper, Bidstack’s Founder & CEO, said: “The acquisition is a pivotal moment for the next phase of growth for the business. Our technology is at the forefront of sports technology, and I couldn’t be more excited. I am proud that we are able to reward our ambitious and industry-pioneering team and have them as shareholders alongside myself.”

“I want to thank the staff and customers for standing by us during this strategic review, which has obviously been an uncertain period. For all of our customers to have stood strong alongside us is testament to the relationships we’ve built over the years, as well as the incredible staff we have here who have fostered those connections.

“The company can now focus on the enormous potential we have, to enable sports teams to get closer to their fans and improve the player experience by bringing their virtual IP to life, with real-time messaging, rewards and engagements.

“Thank you to the management team who have invested to protect the incredible work our talented group has produced. It’s extremely motivating to see the unwavering belief we collectively have in our vision and product. Sadly, the public market is an uncertain place currently, and it’s a challenging environment for growth businesses such as ours.

“The interest and support we’ve had from some of the leading players in the sports industry has given our team great confidence and motivation as we work with some of the world’s largest sporting franchises and leagues.

“Thank you to everyone’s support and to our Board of Directors, who have assisted myself and management throughout.”

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