Industry News
Newgioco Completes Acquisition of Virtual Generation Limited
Accretive Acquisition Accelerates Global Expansion and Reinforces Portfolio of Market-Leading Gaming Technology Platforms
Newgioco Group, Inc., today announced that the Company has completed the acquisition of Virtual Generation Limited (“VG”), a leading developer of virtual gaming software, together with Naos Holding Limited, a private holding company (”Naos”), effective January 30, 2019 for approximately $4.5 million in a combination of cash and stock.
“Adding VG’s virtual gaming technology to our portfolio of innovative gaming technology platforms reinforces our industry-leading position in the leisure gaming market and instantaneously expands our global footprint from where Newgioco currently operates to include 12 new countries in South America, Central Asia and Africa where VG currently operates,” stated Michele (Mike) Ciavarella, Chief Executive Officer of Newgioco. “With virtually no overlap between the markets we each currently serve, we are creating additional revenue opportunities to cross-sell VG’s software and our own ELYS platform, diversify our revenues and strengthen our gaming platforms as we pursue the newly emerging U.S. sports betting market.”
Newgioco plans to utilize the VG platform for racing, keno, American Roulette and other casino games, within its ELYS platform. Simultaneously, Newgioco plans to introduce the VG product line into the regulated Italian market, utilizing Newgioco’s existing Italian ADM platform certification.
“We are intimately knowledgeable about the power of the assets we have purchased as VG’s platform has been operating on our ELYS platform for some time,” added Mr. Ciavarella. “We are eager to pursue and engage with customers on a number of near-term opportunities, including the tribal gaming market in the U.S. We expect this acquisition to be immediately accretive to our first quarter 2019 financial results.”
VG’s software is a random number generator (RNG) certified by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) and includes a growing portfolio of products including horse racing and greyhound racing, league play football (soccer), keno and American roulette. VG currently operates in Italy, Albania, Turkey, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Nigeria and Uganda.
Financial Details of the Transaction
The Company paid the sellers €4 million in consideration for all the ordinary shares of VG and Naos comprised of a cash payment of €108,000, the issuance of shares of the Company’s common stock valued at €89,000, a promissory note providing for the payment of (a) €2,392,000 in cash in 23 equal and consecutive monthly installments of €104,000 with the first payment due and payable one month after the Closing Date and €1,411,000 in shares of the Company’s common stock in 17 equal and consecutive monthly installments of €83,000 as determined by the average of the closing prices of such shares on the last 10 trading days immediately preceding the determination date of each monthly issuance, commencing on March 1, 2019.
In addition, the Company agreed to pay the Sellers as an earn-out payment in shares of the Company’s common stock within one month from the end of the business year 2019 equal to an aggregate amount of €500,000, if the amounts of bets made by the users through the VGS platform related to the 2019 fiscal year of the Company is at least 5% higher than the amounts of bets made by the users through the VGS platform related to the 2018 fiscal year of the Company.
About Virtual Generation Limited
Virtual Generation Ltd. is a software development company specializing in the production and distribution of highly advanced platforms for virtual betting. Virtual Generation uses advanced and complete betting management software, unsurpassed, flexible and customizable, adaptable to different types of companies and markets. VG was founded in 2014 and has grown from processing 67,000 bet tickets in its first year to over 20 million bet tickets in 2018 for its online and land-based B2B customers in 12 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
About Newgioco Group, Inc.
Newgioco Group, Inc., headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is a vertically-integrated leisure gaming technology company, with fully licensed online and land-based gaming operations and innovative betting technology platforms that provide bet processing for casinos and other gaming operators. The Company conducts its business under the registered brand Newgioco primarily through its internet-based betting distribution network on its website, www.newgioco.it as well as retail neighborhood betting shops situated throughout Italy.
The Company offers its clients a full suite of leisure gaming products and services, such as sports betting, virtual sports, online casino, poker, bingo, interactive games and slots. Newgioco also owns and operates innovative betting platform software providing both B2B and B2C bet processing for casinos, sports betting and other online and land-based gaming operators.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified by the use of the words “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “continue,” “predict,” “potential,” “project” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements and includes statements such as plans to utilize the proven VG platform for racing, keno, American Roulette and other casino games, within its ELYS platform, plans to introduce the VG product line into the regulated Italian market and the acquisition of VG being immediately accretive to Newgioco in 2019. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include our ability to use the VG platform for racing, keno, American Roulette and other casino games, within its ELYS platform, our ability to introduce the VG product line into the regulated Italian market and our ability to implement the VG acquisition so that it is immediately accretive to Newgioco in 2019, and the risk factors described in Newgioco’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law
SOURCE Newgioco Group, Inc.
Industry News
Maximising Your Cross-Market Appeal
With Bitblox introducing an entirely new breed of crypto-based price prediction games to the iGaming industry, we talked to CEO, Brandt Page, to discover how combining elements of both chance and skill with lightning-fast betting rounds has helped improve their cross-market appeal.
When Bitblox was first established, our core concept was relatively simple; we didn’t just want to provide players with a new twist on an existing format like slots or casino games, but instead sought to create an entirely new vertical that combined elements of chance and elements of skill.
One of the main drivers behind this decision was the fact that we wanted our releases to appeal to as broad an audience as possible – and I think from the figures we’ve seen so far, we’ve already had some notable success on that front in terms of the players that are engaging with our games.
Funnily enough, I was recently talking to the Head of Marketing from one of the operators that we work with and they told me they were struggling to place our games optimally. Initially, they’d put them in with crash and instant win content, but they soon discovered a lot of their in-game traffic was coming from sports bettors. A move to the sports betting tab followed, but the exact same-thing happened with casino players, leading to the games eventually winding up on the front page.
As this was going on, our games were continuing to post solid numbers with the customers who bet on both sports and casino – and all of this engagement was coming without there being any additional promotion from us or the operator. So why was it that our games were performing so well across these different player segments? I believe there are a number of contributing factors.
First and foremost, having this hybrid model of games of chance and games of skill that I’ve already mentioned has placed us in a fairly unique position within the iGaming industry. On the one hand, the simple premise of our Bitcoin-based titles – coupled with their attractive designs and intuitive UI – makes them highly accessible to casino players who are just looking to have fun.
On the other, the fact that Bitblox games aren’t based on RNG and are instead pinned to the real-time movements of the Bitcoin market certainly resonates with a sports betting audience. As they have the ability to follow the charts and use this information to inform their decisions, they definitely feel they have more control over the outcome than if they were playing a traditional slot.
Another key aspect of our cross-market appeal is the fast-paced nature of all Bitblox releases. With casino players being accustomed to the quick wins and instant gratification of slots and crash games and sports bettors also showing a growing preference for in-play wagering, we’ve ensured each game round is resolved quickly and that there are multiple opportunities for betting.
When we first launched Up or Down?, which features one-minute betting rounds, we soon learned that even this timeframe is too long for some players. This resulted in us developing Up or Down? Turbo – a game which kept the same mechanics as its predecessor but reduced the betting window to 20 seconds – and this has gone on to become one of our most successful titles.
Keeping all this in mind, one of the things I’m most excited about is the upcoming release of our latest game, 3 in a Row, as I think this is a title that really ties everything I’ve talked about so far together. Designed to look like a slot machine, 3 in a Row challenges players to correctly predict how the Bitcoin price will move over three separate 20-second windows for even bigger payouts.
Intended to appeal to casual users and serious sports bettors alike, players can elect to either spin the reels for fun and select a random price sequence or use the bet builder feature to put together their own custom prediction. With the latter essentially functioning like an accumulator bet, players can select up to three possible combinations – i.e. Up/Up/Up, Up/Up/Down etc – and only one result needs to land for them to win, ensuring they stay engaged until the final seconds.
I believe that 3 in a Row can help build on the strong foundations we’ve laid down with casino and sports bettors and provide operators with another popular option that offers significant cross-market appeal. Based on what we’ve seen from previous Bitblox releases, the audience for titles that combine elements of chance and elements of skill is definitely out there – and I’m looking forward to our unique brand of crypto-based games being enjoyed by even more players in future.
Industry News
Gaming Corps to launch with lotteries in the USA via EQL games deal
In-demand content provider extends reach into largest iGaming market in the world with its full suite of games made available via iLottery aggregation platform
Gaming Corps, a publicly-listed game studio based in Sweden renowned for creating industry-leading games, has made its debut in the US market through a breakthrough agreement with leading lottery provider, EQL Games.
The distribution agreement will see Gaming Corps’ full suite of games made available to EQL Games’ powerful iLottery Aggregation Platform, developed to provide lottery operators across America with direct access to a portfolio of proprietary and third-party games.
Following the integration, EQL Games’ lottery operator partners will be offered proven Slots, Table Games, Multiplier Games, Mine Games and Plinko Games, as well as titles under Gaming Corps’ innovative and trademarked Smash4Cash™ series.
The deal and integration come at a time of growing demand among online lottery operators in the US for non-traditional content, a format that Gaming Corps has excelled in, especially with its Smash4Cash™ games, which have been a hit with players in global markets.
EQL’s aggregation platform has been developed to allow online lottery operators to quickly and easily access content from multiple game studios simultaneously through one integration and one commercial agreement.
Its iLottery Aggregation platform simplifies the process of adding new games to an online lottery brand across regulated states. In addition to the third-party content provided via its aggregator platform, EQL Games has a portfolio of in-house titles.
This includes games produced under licence with Team USA which were rolled out by several state lotteries for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris this year, with new titles being planned ahead of the Winter Games in Milan (2026) and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles (2028).
Juha Kauppinen, CEO of Gaming Corps, said: “The USA has always been somewhat of the holy grail for game developers like us, which has been further emphasised as markets in several states have become regulated. The potential in the American market is enormous, and the impact for us is a bit difficult to assess, but we have great hopes for the collaboration with EQL Games, which has an impressive platform towards U.S. lotteries.
“We believe it will have a significantly positive impact on our revenues. I would like to personally take the opportunity to thank EQL Games and Brad Cummings for the collaboration, and we are now working hard to complete the integration so that all our games will be offered to EQL’s customers via their platform.”
Brad Cummings, CEO of EQL Games, added: “Including Gaming Corps as a supplier to the EQL Games iLottery Aggregator is an exciting step forward in our mission to offer unique, high-quality content to state lotteries. Gaming Corps’ expertise in iGaming, along with their unique game portfolio, fits perfectly with our vision of enhancing the lottery experience through dynamic and engaging content.”
Industry News
Public Voting Starts for Ortak x B.F.T.H. Arena Awards 3.0
The highly anticipated Ortak x B.F.T.H. Arena Awards 3.0 has officially entered the public voting phase as submissions are closed.
More than 70 game providers have turned in over 160 submissions, including Tom Horn Gaming, Pragmatic Play and RubyPlay. Public voting involves enthusiasts casting their votes to pick the winner of the Game of Public Choice category.
The Public voting phase ends on December 1st 23:59 GMT+4.
Concurrent to public voting, the first phase of private voting also starts during which all participants who have submitted entries get the chance to vote for one favourite in each category. An international auditing company oversees this phase to eliminate duplicate votes and self-votes. This phase ends on November 19, 23:59 GMT+4.
The second phase of private voting will also take place with a jury of industry experts making their decisions based on the shortlist picked by participants during the first phase.
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