Gaming Innovation Group

Gaming Innovation Group Ltd. was incorporated as Donkr International Ltd. in 2008 in Malta. It is the holding company of Innovation Labs Ltd., the trading company operating the online poker forum Donkr.com. In 2012, Frode Fagerli and Robin Reed had become the owners of the company and named it Gaming Innovation Group Ltd.[5][6]

In 2012, Guts Gaming Ltd. (now MT SecureTrade Limited) was incorporated as a fully owned subsidiary of Gaming Innovation Group Ltd. In May 2013 the company launched Guts.com, a website offering sports betting and casino games.

In early 2015, iGamingCloud Ltd., a B2B platform service for the iGaming industry, was launched (GiG Core). The product went live in February 2015.[7] In the same month, Gaming Innovation Group and Nio Inc. signeknown as iGaming Cloud), and sportsbook (GiG Sports) supported by GiG's fully managed services thus offering a full turn key solution. GiG offers a toolbox of software and services to operators that can purchase in full or standalonet.

The company's platform of services is licensed by the MGA, UKGC and offered under a TW issued by the DGE in New Jersey. It is certified in Sweden, Spain, Iowa (USA), Croatia, Latvia and is also compliant with GLI33 and GLI16 platform standards and ISO27001 for GiG Core and GiG Data. In May 2015 Optimizer Invest acquired 10% of iGaming Cloud Ltd for consideration of €1m.[8] In addition, there was a Share Exchange Agreement to exchange the entire issued share capital of Gaming Innovation Group PLC. for shares in Nio Inc.[9] Subsequently, Nio inc. adopted the name of Gaming Innovation Group Inc. and appointed Robin Reed as its new CEO.[10] The month after Gaming Innovation Group was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.[11]

The company expanded into the affiliate industry in iGaming by a series of acquisitions. GiG subsidiary Innovation Labs (GiG Media) acquired affiliate network Spaseeba for 27m GiG shares.[12] GiG Media also acquired affiliate networks in respectively Finland[13] and Estonia.[14]

In January 2016 the company launched the B2C casino brand Rizk.com.[15] Later on in March, the company acquired the sports betting company OddsModel AS for consideration of 21.74 million new Shares.[16] In June 2016 Gaming Innovation Group acquired Betit Holdings adding the three iGaming operators Kaboo.com, SuperLenny.com, and Thrills.com to its portfolio of B2C focused brands (notably Rizk.com and Guts.com before the Betit acquisition). As part of the deal, Optimizer Invest increased its ownership of GiG shares.[17] The company also continued its expansion within the media business by acquiring Dutch affiliate network Delta Markets B.V.[18] as well as Swedish affiliate network Magenti Media.[19]

The expansion in the media business continued in 2017 with the acquisition of the technology-driven performance marketing company Rebel Penguin ApS for a total amount of €13 million.[20] This acquisition concluded GiG Media being established as a multi-channel affiliate, operating both a publishing unit (organic rankings on search engines) as well as a paid marketing unit. Gaming Innovation Group also launched a new B2C brand called Highroller. Highroller was later divested in 2019 to Ellmount Gaming.[21] Finally, by the end of the year, the company announced the opening of a new casino game studio, GiG Games. Further investments in GiG Games were halted in 2019.[22] By the end of 2017, GiG Core had 34 clients on its iGaming platform.

In 2018, the most notable event was the signing of a turnkey deal with Hard Rock Casino, with an initial launch in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[23] The company also launched its marketing compliance tool targeted at the online gambling segment; GiG Comply.[24] An in-house sportsbook on Rizk.com was launched just ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[25] During the year of 2018, GiG obtained a betting license in the German State Schleswig-Holstein which makes part of the DACH region, a key growth region for the organisation and its Rizk brand.[26] E-sports hub GLHF.GG was signed on GiG Core[27] as well as Sia Mr. Green Latvia for the provision of platform license, online casino, sportsbook, and front end services.[28]

In January 2019, GiG launched the Hard Rock omnichannel sports offline and online solutions in New Jersey.[29] On 26 March 2019, Gaming Innovation Group began trading on the Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker symbol 'GIGSEK'.[30] GiG Core also signed Metalcasino to its sportsbook offering.[31] An agreement to provide MegaLotto with GiG's technical platform and casino games were also signed.[32] This meant that GiG had entered the lottery segment for the first time. In August 2019, Gaming Innovation Group sold its 'HighRoller' brand to Ellmount Gaming stating that their core focus will be primarily on growing Rizk as a casino brand and Guts as a sports betting brand. The HighRoller brand was sold for approx. €7m (3.5 PV).[33]

During the year of 2019, Kindred Group was signed on the new GiG Comply product.[34] Gaming Innovation Group also partnered with Skycity, a market leader in New Zealand, for a turnkey online casino solution.[35] In September 2019, GiG launched its digital and retail sportsbook with Hard Rock Cafe International in Iowa.[36]

In April 2020, Gaming Innovation Group divested its B2C operations to Betsson, for a total of MEUR 31 with a premium fee on the platform service. Upfront payment was used to repay MSEK 300 bond. From this point, GiG would be purely B2B focused on its platform services (GiG Core) as well as its media/affiliate services (GiG Media).[37]

In June 2020, Gaming Innovation Group signed a long-term agreement with GS Technologies Limited for the provision of GiG's platform and front-end development to a new casino brand with its license from the Maltese Gaming Authority.[38] In the following month, Gaming Innovation Group signed a head of terms agreement with K.A.K. DOO Skopje, Hospitality, tourism, and services company (K.A.K.) for the provision of GiG's platform, front-end development, and managed media services to launch their digital operation in the regulated North Macedonian market.[39] In the same month, GiG subsidiary iGaming Cloud Inc. was granted a permanent casino service industry enterprise license (CSIE) from the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) in New Jersey, USA. The application was filed in June 2018 with GiG supporting Hard Rock International's casino operations in New Jersey under a so-called transactional waiver until the final approval was awarded.[40]

GiG signed a long-term agreement with a subsidiary of Casumo, Mill of Magic Ltd, for the provision of GiG's platform, data platform, and GiG Logic in July 2020. Mill of Magic will use GiG's products to power its new Pay N Play casino offering under its license from the Maltese Gaming Authority.[41]

In August 2020, GiG signed the head of terms agreement with Grupo Slots LOTBA S.E, Argentina's premier gaming and entertainment group.[42] In September, GiG and Betgenius signed a deal to join forces in a global sportsbook platform deal.[43]

Gaming Innovation Group Inc. (GIG) is a publicly traded US corporation, incorporated in the state of Delaware with its registered offices at 10700 Stringfellow Rd. 10, Bokeelia, FL 33922, Florida, USA, where accounting is located. GiG has been registered in the Norwegian company registry as a “Norwegian Registered Foreign Entity”(NUF) with the organization number 988 015 849. It has also been registered as a branch in the Malta Business Registry, under Registration No: 2309086.[44]

GIG is a holding company, with all commercial activities being carried out by its subsidiaries. GIG has subsidiaries located in Malta, Denmark, Gibraltar and Spain. Some of the subsidiaries based in Malta hold remote operator licences in the UK, Malta and Sweden. Furthermore, the two main segments of the business (GIG Media and GIG Core) are operated as follows: GIG Media is operated through Innovation Labs Ltd (a Malta based subsidiary) and iGamingCloud Inc. (a US based subsidiary), and GIG Core is mainly operated through iGamingCloud Limited (a Malta based subsidiary).

Gaming Innovation Group operates two overall business units both focusing on the B2B Business-to-business market in iGaming.

• The media division (GiG Media) focuses on generating leads to operators in iGaming. GiG Media operates several media websites and traffic generating channels engaging the end-user, turning users into leads to operators.[45] Notable websites that GiG Media operates are superlenny.com, casinotopsonline.com, and wsn.com.
• The platform division (GiG Core) delivers platform services to iGaming operators with an online B2C Business-to-consumer brand within casino and sports,[46] offering products and services such as GiG Core (PAM), GiG Data a real-time-data platform, GiG Sports, GiG Logic a real-time rules-based engine and fully managed services including CRM, Media, Operations and Sports trading.

Through its sports website, WSN.com, Gaming Innovation Group entered the regulated US sports betting market in January 2019. It was first granted a license to operate in New Jersey, followed by Indiana, Pennsylvania,[47] Colorado[48] and West Virginia. In June 2020, WSN.com started an online gambling podcast with sports betting personality Bill Krackomberger.[49]

GiG acquired Casinotopsonline.com in March 2017 for the amount of €11.5 million, at the time it was deemed as one of Europe's largest online casino review portals.[50] The site focuses on news and casino reviews operating on a worldwide scale.

The website SuperLenny.com was part of the Betit Holdings acquisition performed by GiG in June 2016.[51] SuperLenny.com started as a casino brand with a Scandinavian focus but was later changed into an affiliate focused website driving traffic and leads to operators.

GiG's software platform has been certified in Latvia,[73] Croatia,[74] Spain,[75][76] Sweden and Iowa.[77] By virtue of partnerships GiG has entered into with operators, GiG provides its software platform services in these regulated markets.

• List of companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange