Pires Investments plc has provided an update on its investment in Sure Valley Ventures (SVV) in relation to Admix, a company within the SVV portfolio, which has developed a programmatic monetisation platform for gaming and other entertainment developers.

Two years after its initial seed funding, London-based start up Admix has extended the Series A funding round announced in June 2020, raising a further $1.5 million from strategic gaming investors, bringing the total round to $8.5 million.

Marcus Segal, former COO of Zynga Studios and Nigel Morris, former CEO of Dentsu Aegis, joined the round, alongside a number of unnamed executives working in the gaming and advertising industries in which Admix operates.

Pires has a circa 13% interest in SVV. SVV is a venture capital fund focused on investing in the software technology sector with a specific focus on artificial intelligence, the internet of things and immersive technologies.

“Only two years after its initial seed funding, this extension of the funding round announced earlier this summer demonstrates the excitement surrounding Admix’s platform for gaming and entertainment developers at the moment. In-play advertising, a substantial and developed market, has seen considerable growth as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and we expect this trend to continue in the coming years,” Peter Redmond, Chairman of Pires, said.

“We believe that Admix’s novel approach to game advertising at scale positions the company perfectly to benefit from the increased demand in this market. The additional funding and the inclusion of notable industry figures participating in this extended fundraise will no doubt allow Admix to continue its rapid growth path and, as such, we look forward to updating the market with Admix’s progress in due course,” Peter Redmond added.

Online gaming content and solutions provider CT Gaming Interactive has entered into a deal for launching games with Meridianbet. The deal will see the online casinos under the brand host the CT Gaming Interactive’s games, which include special jackpots.

“I am very pleased and proud that Meridian has selected us as its partner. We are confident that our market-leading portfolio of games will support its strategy to deliver the ultimate player experience to its customers,” Lachezar Petrov, general manager at CT Gaming Interactive, said.

“We continue to expand our customer base and the games launches with Meridian’s well-known sites enable distribution to a new group of players,” Petrov added.

A new report by the European Commission has found that an industry-led memorandum of understanding (MoU) on online advertising and intellectual property rights has led to a significant reduction in the unintentional placement of advertising from Europe’s major gambling brands on websites which infringe upon intellectual property rights.

The MoU, published in 2018, was established to limit advertising on websites, such as illegal sports streaming sites, and mobile applications that infringe copyright or disseminate counterfeit goods.

As part of its review of the effectiveness of the MoU, the Commission has presented a new report today which found that the MoU has created more awareness among brands that their advertising may end up on IPR-infringing websites. According to the report, the share of total advertising for European businesses on IPR-infringing websites was reduced by 12% since the introduction of the MoU, while gambling advertising from Europe’s major brands (including all EGBA members) decreased by 20%, from 62% to 50% during the reporting period.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomes the report’s conclusions and is pleased with the significant progress made by EGBA members and other major brands in reducing the unintentional placement of their advertising on IPR-infringing advertising channels.

“EGBA welcomes the progress made by EGBA members and other major gambling brands in significantly reducing the unintentional placement of their advertising on IPR-infringing websites and is pleased that major online gambling companies are playing a central role in EU efforts to crack down on IPR infringement. Most reputable companies do not intend to advertise on IPR-infringing websites, but it happens and is difficult to control, and EGBA acknowledges that remedial action is needed to prevent it. That is why we have been actively engaging with the European Commission and other stakeholders to take action and are pleased those efforts are beginning to bear fruit,” Maarten Haijer, Secretary-General of EGBA, said.

“EGBA is committed to promoting responsibility and driving standards in Europe’s online gambling sector and we encourage other companies to join us – and be part of the solution, not the problem – by adhering to responsibility initiatives such as the MoU. This initiative proves that greater cooperation at EU-level can benefit the sector and how it is able to respond to the challenges it faces, including on advertising,” Maarten Haijer added.

Source