Leading online gaming recruiter iGaming Elite and specialist search firm Nicholls Moisa have merged to become Rebel Status.

The companies say the decision to join forces was a strategic one, and the new Rebel Status will continue to offer the bespoke, non-conformist headhunting methodologies iGaming Elite and Nicholls Moisa were known for.

Commenting on the news founder and CEO of Rebel Status, Dean Nicholls, said:

“The markets and industries are changing, and as an executive service provider we must change with it. Both of our brands have always specialised in senior level search for iGaming and Emerging markets, mainly within Europe, and we shall continue doing just that.

“However, we have made the decision to base our network of head-hunters across the world, allowing us to offer a truly global service for the digital sector and add further value to our existing and new clients. The future looks exciting, and we look forward to launching our innovative, flexible and disruptive structure under the new name Rebel Status.”

Rebel Status has offices in Malta, Sweden and the UK.

AYO.NEWS says:

Things really are changing fast, that’s for sure! We wish the whole Rebel Status team the best of luck with their new strategy and we look forward to seeing the business grow even further.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Bill Miller, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association, has released a statement regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.

The statement is as follows:

“An estimated 616,000 casino gaming employees are prevented from working because of the important health and safety decisions made by state governments. Nearly all (95%) of the country’s 465 commercial casinos, and three-in-four (76%) of the country’s 524 tribal casinos, have shuttered their doors.

“The impact on our employees, their families, and communities is staggering, and the implications extend far beyond the casino floor. Leading technology companies that supply the industry, and the nearly 350,000 small business employees that rely on gaming for their livelihood, are also feeling the devastating blow of this unprecedented public health crisis.

“The federal government must act swiftly and comprehensively to get America’s hospitality employees, and the small businesses that support them, back to work. Gaming employees, their families, and communities are bearing the brunt of this economic standstill and will continue to suffer if Congress and the administration don’t take immediate action.

“In total, these mass closures will rob the U.S. economy of $43.5 billion in economic activity if American casinos remain closed for the next eight weeks.

“Gaming is an economic engine, employing millions of local residents, generating community investment through vital tax revenue, and supporting small businesses in communities all across the country.”

Background

• Casino closures risk nearly $74 billion in total wages annually for workers and their families.
• Casino gaming supports $41 billion in annual tax revenue and tribal revenue sharing nationwide – essential support for local hospitals, first responders, and vital public services.
• Half the jobs our industry supports are at non-gaming businesses such as restaurants and local shops – all will be dramatically affected by a local casino’s closure.
• Casino gaming is vital to local small businesses, delivering $52 billion annually in small business revenue, including construction, manufacturing, retail, and wholesale firms.

More information on COVID-19’s impact on U.S. casino industry workers and local communities is available here.

AYO.NEWS says:

Though Miller’s statement focuses mainly on land-based casinos, its important to remember that in the emerging US markets sports betting is closely tied to casinos, and in many states a full online offering is still not available, or is again tied to physical land-based casinos through various obscure rules.

Given this, unlike their European counterparts, US operators can’t rely on online esports betting, virtual sports, and casino to see them through the crisis. And, if this crisis ends up lasting for more than a few months, we could see irreparable damage to many companies.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Internet Vikings continues to attract senior experts to its Board of Directors. Stefan Backlund, an experienced guru in B2B marketing, joined the company in February of 2020 to help propel the Vikings’ marketing to the next level.

Internet Vikings has been actively growing since its establishment in 2008. By launching its  Marketing Department and inviting Stefan Backlund to join the Board the company makes important steps for sustaining its growth.

As a proactive marketing professional Stefan has been involved in several companies such as Klarna and Philips. He has a long-term experience of work in the fintech field holding a VP Marketing role at Trustly, leading Swedish payments company. Also, he joined Katalysen, Swiss-Swedish Venture Partner firm, as its newest Partner and CMO in December of 2019.

“Internet Vikings’ potential is outstanding. The company has been growing steadily for 12 years and has developed a highly effective infrastructure. The fact that it has attracted such experts of the iGaming industry as Peter Ekmark and Jesper Kärrbrink proves that it is on the threshold of the major breakthrough now. I’m delighted to join this terrific team in such a special moment”, says Stefan Backlund.

Jesper Kärrbrink who became a Board Chairman last year comments: ”We continue to add senior experts to our board as our mission is to make sure that the company is growing to its full potential in 2020-21. It is going to be a fantastic and interesting journey. Now with Stefan as a Board Member”. 

Internet Vikings’ CEO Peter Ekmark, who is developing the strategic direction v2.0 for the company, adds: “The experience that Stefan has will help our young and creative marketing team to reach a new stage of maturity. I see it as a perfect combination of wisdom and knowledge with ambition and drive”.

For the last six months, Internet Vikings made several major steps to establish itself as a leader in the sector. Being selected by Green Jade Games for hosting delivery and attracting such accomplished specialists as Kärrbrink, Ekmark, and now Backlund shows that the company is on its way to conquer the industry. There is a feeling that it won’t be long until we hear about their next glorious victory!

Isle of Man-based gaming supplier Playtech has said it is working to protect its cash flow as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic worsens.

Limited impact so far, but bracing for significant disruption

Though the company says it has only seen “limited impact” on its B2B business so far, and that its poker and bingo businesses have actually seen activity increase as more people are stuck in lockdown.

However, it has warned that it does expect the live casino vertical to be impacted going forward, due to employees being unable to work from studios.

It also warned that it is bracing for its B2B sport business, which is focused on the UK and Greece, to generate a loss of €4m in adjusted EBITDA.

Major issues in Italy but Asia remains steady

In Italy, Snaitech’s retail betting shops have been forced to close, impacting Playtech’s B2C operations. Though Snaitech is still generating some revenue from its online business, it has also been severely affected by the widespread postponement and cancellation of major sporting events.

Playtech says it expects Snaitech to generate a loss of €3m in adjusted EBITDA per month as the crisis continues.

In Asia, the company expects revenue to remain steady from February, at around €7m per month.

AYO.NEWS says:

Over the last week we’ve seen a slew of gambling operators and supplies issue warnings about the effect of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on business. Yesterday we reported that Denmark-based sports betting affiliate firm Better Collective has said it is well positioned to weather the storm, and gaming supplier Aspire Global said it is preparing to ride out the storm.

While earlier in the week, William Hill, GVC Holdings, The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment issued warnings about the effect of the crisis, particularly the cancellation of sporting events, on their businesses.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Online gaming supplier Aspire Global is preparing to ride out the COVID-19 (coronavirus) storm, allowing staff to work from home and banning travel.

The supplier, which has offices in Malta, Bulgaria, India, Israel, and Ukraine, has said it is able to maintain a “high-service level” to both its B2B and B2C customers, and is minimally exposed to the crisis given that only 5% of its revenue in Q4 2019 derived from sports betting.

Indeed, Aspire has said that, up until Tuesday evening, daily trading in March 2020 had been higher than in January and February, and that so far its casino operations were not being impacted by the

Despite the supplier’s small exposure to sports betting, it has nevertheless started re-allocating resources towards promoting its casino segment, and says interest in virtual sports has increased “significantly.”

Commenting on the developments CEO of Aspire Global, Tsachi Maimon, said:

“The top priority for us today is to safeguard the health of our employees and their families. We took precautionary actions early and can today conclude that we have maintained a high service level towards our operator customers. Aspire Global has been profitable since its foundation in 2005. That, in combination with our strong cash position and ability to generate cash, we are confident about the continued execution of our growth strategy.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Its good to see companies in the gaming sector taking pro-active measures to mitigate the effects of the global COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis. As we discussed yesterday, the pandemic is presenting opportunities for esports, virtual sports and online casino.

However, as we also pointed out, these benefits may well evaporate if the crisis lasts longer than a few weeks and people start to lose their incomes, civil disorder breaks out, or infrastructure starts to fail.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

SlotCatalog has expanded its real-time slots analytics coverage to the online casino markets of Canada, Belgium, Latvia, and Lithuania.

According to the company, the ongoing challenges resulting from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, which have had a caused the mass cancellation of sports events, and shut down most of the land-based casino industry, has made digital data insight more pivotal than ever.

A SlotCatalog spokesperson said:

“The digital casino landscape is ever-changing, and while none of us within the industry could have foreseen such a black swan event as the Coronavirus, we believe the addition of analysis of 90 casinos in the Canadian market, 22 in Belgium, 8 in Latvia and 5 in Lithuania increases the depth and breadth of market insight on our platform covering 1,700 online casinos.

“Our team remains committed to providing a data-driven intelligence platform for slot games and the iGaming industry and we invite our visitors, players, casino operators, and game and software developers’ seeking detailed data-analytics to reach out with any requests to continue our market coverage in the challenging months ahead.”

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.