Through the acquisition Aspire Global expects to “control yet another crucial part” of the iGaming vertical, looking into creating synergies, broadening the game portfolio and providing a channel to distribute and sell propriety games outside Aspire Global’s partner network.

Pariplay has hundreds of proprietary game titles complemented by more than 2,000 games from leading third-party providers on its B2B platform. The game portfolio is certified for several regulated markets in Europe, including Denmark which will be launching shortly. Moreover, Pariplay has cleared an iGaming certification for New Jersey, which Aspire Global is expecting to leverage.

Aspire Global says the acquisition of Pariplay strengthens B2B-business through external game sales — accelerating growth, creating synergies and saving costs with an expected positive effect on overall EBITDA as of 2020. For 2019 however, the transaction is not expected to have any material effect on Aspire Global’s financial results.

“We are excited to welcome the Pariplay team to Aspire Global. The acquisition of Pariplay is in line with our M&A strategy focusing on B2B growth and external game sales,” says Tsachi Maimon, CEO at Aspire Global.

The integration of Pariplay grants us control of yet another crucial part of the iGaming value chain – cutting costs, broadening the game portfolio and providing a channel to sell and distribute propriety games outside Aspire Global network. Moreover, Pariplay holds an iGaming license for New Jersey, which could act as the spearhead of our future efforts to enter the US market,” Mr Maimon adds.

The post Aspire Global finalises Pariplay purchase first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Aspire Global’s revenues increased by 32.1%, from €24.7m to €32.8m in Q2 2019, spurring growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) by 7.2%, from €5.7m to €6.1m. The performance of the group was considerably lifted by B2B revenues jumping by 57.5%, from €12.4m to €19.5m, constituting 59.6% of total revenues.

“Our B2B operations have been performing very strongly recently, which is very satisfying because we are bearing the fruits of all the hard work we have done in the last two to three years. Our product development teams have been designing and launching great new features for our partners and we have continued to focus on providing the best CRM [customer relationship management] system in the business so our operators can maximise lifetime values and reduce churn,” Aspire Global CEO Tsachi Maimon tells Business Malta.

Although the CEO could not reveal too much about their plans and expectations for the future — for Aspire being a public company — Mr Maimon believes the trend is clear: “We will strengthen our current portfolio of partners and add new ones to our platform; while enabling them to offer new products and features to their players,” the CEO tells BM.

With such a strong business-to-business (B2B) arm, one would wonder how strong the muscles are on the business-to-customer (B2C) limb. “We believe the way we have managed to combine our B2C work with our B2B activities is one of the reasons we have grown so successfully in recent years. We have a team that is focussed on B2C because like every other strong operator in the market we want Karamba to compete with the biggest names out there,” Mr Maimon breaks it down.

Success around Karamba has enabled Aspire Global to grow and perform well as a company, which the company sees has resulted in a strong showcase for the B2B partners of the firm. “They can see what our platform is capable of and when potential B2B partners come to us, we can show them the quality of our platform and when they sign with us they often finish the conversation by saying they want ‘Karamba-style success’,” according to the CEO.

M&A to fuel further growth

Aspire has recently agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in GMS Entertainment Limited, owner of the B2B group Pariplay, for approximately €13.1m in cash. Pariplay operates a game aggregator platform globally, including their own game studios, providing operators with access to thousands of game titles from leading game producers.

“Our M&A strategy will focus on B2B technology companies that can add volume and can further contribute to Aspire.”

“Pariplay will play a very important and strategic role in Aspire Global’s operations. Strategically, it will enable us to increase our presence across the value chain of the iGaming industry. As for the United States, Pariplay is already licensed to operate in New Jersey. It represents a major advantage over other games aggregators and studios and will act as a spearhead for potential moves Aspire Global might make in the US market in the future,” the CEO says.

When Aspire announced the planned acquisition, the firm tagged it as a “crucial” moment in gaining control of another section in the iGaming value chain. The transaction should be closed during Q3 2019, with a positive effect on the company’s EBITDA as of 2020. For 2019, however, the transaction is not expected to have any material effect on financial results. Nevertheless, Aspire sees the possibility of further mergers and acquisitions activities (M&A).

“Pariplay is the first of a number of acquisitions we have planned as a group. We have been very ambitious and thanks to our successful operations and performance we have cash in the bank that we plan to use. Our M&A strategy will focus on B2B technology companies that can add volume and can further contribute to Aspire. We want to control more steps within the iGaming value chain so that we have more control and can save costs in the process, while also growing revenues through operations outside of our platform,” according to Mr Maimon.

Despite some busy months behind, Aspire Global does not appear to take a rest, in fact, the company is eyeing further expansion. “Our vision is to enable our partners to achieve their full potential. There are many ways of doing this: launching more partners, enabling them to have a larger product offering in store with additional verticals that would allow them to launch into more markets. Our partners are part of our roadmap and future vision and will play a key role in both Aspire Global’s growth and their own,” Mr Maimon concludes.

The post Aspire Global bets on further growth, plans more M&A first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Aspire Global plans broadening its B2B-offering to additional fields within iGaming, which the company says is in line with its long-term growth plan.

“Aspire Global is excited about the opportunity to extend our offering to current and potential partners in the UK. Having a broad license is a competitive advantage enabling us to gain market share in regulated markets, all in line with our long-term growth plan”, said Tsachi Maimon, CEO at Aspire Global.

The post Aspire Global gets UK bingo licence first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

EBITDA for B2B increased by 63%, from €2.5m to €4.1m, constituting 67.7% of the total, while the EBITDA margin went down to 18.5% compared to 22.8%, previously.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to €5.1m, showing a slight change from the previous €5.2m and earnings after taxes dropped to €4.2m from €5.3m.

Earnings per share after tax dropped to €0.09 from the base period’s €0.11, while the number of first-time depositors (FTDs) increased by 23.6% to €99,900, compared to the previous €80.800.

“B2B continued to boost overall company growth for the second quarter to more than 30% compared to [the same quarter in] 2018. During the second quarter, we announced a significant transaction and entered several exciting partnerships [e.g. with Vipps and NEG], followed by major launches over the past weeks,” said Tsachi Maimon, CEO of Aspire Global.

“Revenues for the past 12 months are now approaching €130m with an EBITDA amounting to €25m. The acquisition of Pariplay group will accelerate growth additionally and strengthen our B2B arm through external game sales, in line with our M&A [mergers and acquisitions] strategy,” Mr Maimon added. 

Strong performance in H1, too

The revenues increased by 53.1% to €66.6m, compared to the €43.1m of the same period of the previous year. B2B revenues went up by 76.5% to €39m, constituting 59.1% of total revenues, in comparison with the previous €22.1m.

Moreover, EBITDA increased by 44% to €12.1m (previously €8.5m) while EBITDA for B2B increased by 91% to €8.3m, constituting 68.2% of total EBITDA, from the base periods’ €4.3m.

The EBITDA margin, which was 19.6%, went down to 18.4% and the EBIT increased to €10.3m from the previous €7.6m.  

Earnings after tax grew from €7.5m to €9.1m while earnings per share after tax increased to €0.18 from base periods’ €0.15m and FTDs grew to €219,100 (46%) from €150,100. 

Closing busy H1

Board members were re-elected during the annual general meeting (AGM) 2019 held on 14 May. The board members — Aharon Aran, Carl Klingberg (Chairman), Fredrik Burvall, Tsachi Maimon and Barak Matalon — will stay in place until the AGM 2020, with the aim of resolving a distribution of around SEK1.25 (approximately €0.12) per share.

Furthermore, the Swedish administrative court extended Aspire Global’s Swedish iGaming to 2021 on 26 July. 

Aspire Global welcomed the proposed acquisition of the leading game aggregator platform Pariplay for approximately €13.1m in cash on 28 June, in order to accelerate the growth of its B2B arm. The group notes that transaction is to be closed during the third quarter with a positive effect on the company’s EBITDA for 2020.

“In July, we announced the upcoming acquisition of B2B company Pariplay for €13.1 million, the exciting and strategically important outcome of our M&A strategy aiming at accelerating B2B growth through external game sales. Integrating Pariplay grants us control of yet another crucial part of the iGaming value chain. Moreover, Pariplay holds an iGaming license for New Jersey, which could act as the spearhead of our future efforts to enter the US market. We are looking forward to finalising the deal and we expect to consolidate the group in our financials during the third quarter,” said Mr Maimon. 

“We are currently launching additional initiatives within our long-term sustainability work, with a focus on four key areas: responsible gaming, corporate governance, compliance and reporting. A sustainability committee was recently implemented to set the strategy, oversee the process and support various functions. We will be implementing a number of initiatives over the coming months and the first separate sustainability report will be produced in 2020, based on GRI [Global Reporting Initiative],” Mr Maimon added. 

The post Aspire Global’s Q2 revenues gain 32.1% as B2B fuels growth first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Swedish gambling authority (Spelinspektionen) granted a one-year licence to Aspire Global at the beginning of the year. However, following an appeal involving a number of other licensees, the Swedish administrative court (Förvaltningsrätten) extended Aspire Global’s licence to three years, up until 31 December 2021.

Aspire Global says it welcomes the verdict as it enables further operations in the regulated Swedish market in line with its growth strategy.

The post Aspire Global’s Swedish licence receives extension first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Therefore, it will include the group’s slots portfolio and the latest games in the United Kingdom, Denmark and across international markets.

In addition, Aspire Global expects to offer partners with more choice and variety for their players. Partners will also benefit from Aspire Global’s customer relationship management (CRM) system to develop player lifetime values and lower churn, the Aspire Global press statement sent to BM says.

“The addition of Red Tiger games is a further enhancement to our strong portfolio; and enables players to choose from the best providers in the industry direct from the Aspire Global platform. We are confident that the combination of Red Tiger’s record of innovation and quality game development and our growth-driven platform will be a great success,” said Jov Spiero, Vice President of Sales at Aspire Global.

“We are very pleased to sign up with such a strong platform provider like Aspire Global. We are always looking to expand the reach of our industry-leading content portfolio and products into regulated markets and we believe a strong relationship with Aspire will provide that,” said Chris Looney, Commercial Director at Red Tiger. 

The post Aspire Global adds Red Tiger Gaming to portfolio first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Sweden-based Aspire Global is expected to invest around €1.5 million in the marketing strategies of this new brand, while Vipps Holdings will provide its experience from technology infrastructure and marketing to support the launch of the online casino. The product is scheduled to go live in the second half of 2019.

“We look forward to an exciting partnership with Vipps Holdings. The veteran team brings extensive experience from leading iGaming companies in the Nordic market and together we will be creating a truly innovative iGaming experience” said Tsachi Maimon, the CEO of Aspire.

Aspire Global is listed on NASDAQ and holds licenses in Malta, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden.

The post Aspire Global to launch online casino brand with Vipps Holdings first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Digibet will be offering a regulated gaming experience focusing on sports betting, the press statement says. The brand, initially operating on another platform, will be relaunched on Aspire Global’s platform by H2 2019.

Through the acquisition of shares, Aspire Global will invest up to €2m for strengthening the relaunch of the brand, while NEG Group will be responsible for marketing activities, bringing valuable expertise related to the key markets and acquisition channels.

“We look forward to materialising the potential of the Digibet brand together with NEG Group. We see great opportunities for the relaunch coming with the strong brand-awareness, the upcoming UEFA euro 2020 tournament and the preapproved German licence”, said Tsachi Maimon, the CEO of Aspire Global.

“Aspire Global provides the optimal platform, ensuring a successful relaunch of the Digibet brand. Aspire Global offers a first class platform, both when it comes to the technical solution and the team behind it, as well as a safe and entertaining experience for our audience”, said Alexander Zucker, Director at NEG Group.

The post Aspire Global partners with NEG Group for the relaunch of Digibet first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“Referring to Chapter 18, section 12, second paragraph and Chapter 19, section 10 of the new Gambling act, Spelinspektionen has resolved on a warning and imposed a penalty fee of SEK 3m,” the company said in a press release.

The report by Spelinspektionen says that the infringement took place when Spelpaus was newly established as a service and the obligation to apply the function was new to all licensees and that the infringement ceased after a relatively short period of time, the company says.

“Aspire Global shares Spelinspektionen’s ambition to promote healthy gaming behaviour and regrets the turn of events,” the press release underscores.

The post Swedish watchdog fines Aspire Global SEK 3m first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.