The shares of the leading provider of technology and services, powering betting and gaming operators, Bragg Gaming Group, increased Wednesday, after one of its largest shareholders sent a letter, supporting different business combinations, including partial or full sale of the company’s assets. The letter was sent by Jeremy Raper, the founder of Raper Capital, a company that is in charge of some 375,000 shares in Bragg and the second-largest disclosed investor in the company.

In his letter, sent to CEO Matevz Mazij, the expert spoke about Bragg’s acquisition of Oryx a few years ago, explaining that its current stock price is 25% lower when compared to that period. Raper acknowledged the company has seen “chronic underperformance,” regardless of its listing on NASDAQ dating back to 2021. Raper Capital’s founder explained in his letter to Bragg: “Suffice to say, the public markets have had plenty of opportunity to appraise our Company’s growth story, over time, and yet the record demonstrates that it will not, or cannot, accord even the lower bounds of what most shareholders would consider fair value.”

According to Raper, Bragg can ensure proper returns for the shareholders via a partial or full sale of company assets. He encouraged the company to pursue all possible strategic alternatives, including the aforementioned sale that can help maximize the value for all of its shareholders. Moreover, Raper said he believes that minority shareholders would agree that this would be the best course for Bragg.

“As such, it is evidently clear that a third-party sale of the business is the only way to crystallize a proper return for the underlying business value that you, and legacy management, have created.“

Jeremy Raper, founder of Raper Capital

Proposed Sale To “Unlock Latent Value” for Shareholders

Raper Capital’s founder compared the proposal to similar recent transactions within the iGaming vertical that have taken place over the last 24 months. He uncovered that on average, transactions similar to the proposed one were 19x EV/EBITDA, while a median multiple was approximately 15x EV/EBITDA.

Speaking about Bragg’s shares at the time of writing, Raper said that they trade barely at 5.5x EV/EBITDA. He said that even with a conservative 12x EV/EBITDA Bragg’s share would be worth $13.5 per share based on current year numbers or $18 per share on FY24E numbers.

Toward the end of his letter, Raper said that he plans to continue to be a long-term shareholder of Bragg. “By calling for a sale of the company now, I only seek to preserve, and finally unlock, that latent value for the benefit of all stakeholders,” he explained.

Earlier this month, Bragg confirmed that its current chief operating officer and president, Lara Falzon, gave resignation notice. At the time of the announcement, the company confirmed that she would step down from the two roles, effective from the end of the year.

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At the start of August, the iGaming publisher that breathes innovation, Yggdrasil, joined ReelPlay to launch the Hot Rise Games’ Nightmares VS GigaBlox slot. 

Now, the publisher that stands for world-class entertainment has announced a similarly exciting collaboration resulting in the release of Excalibur VS GigaBlox. 

The fresh slot is the latest YG Masters release from the talented crew at Hot Rise Games which continues to rely on its ReelPlay agreement to offer premier content. 

Hot Rise Games’ VS series has already managed to successfully attract an impressive following thanks to previous releases including the previously mentioned Nightmares VS GigaBlox, Gods VS GigaBlox, and Monsters VS GigaBlox.

Accordingly, the new game with a focus on legendary heroes battling in search of the magical Excalibur sword, is also expected to quickly turn into a fan favorite. 

Excalibur VS GigaBlox Metrics Overview

• Rows: 6
• Reels: 6
• Paylines: 50 
• Volatility: Medium-High
• Max win: € 243,000
• RTP: 96%
• Min/Max Bet: €1 (min: €0.50, max: €60)
• Release date: November 21, 2023

Join the Courageous Warriors Looking for Highrise Respins 

Based on the popular GigaBlox Game Engagement Mechanic from Yggdrasil, the slot features six courageous warriors players can use to generate winning combinations across any of the 50 paylines. 

Each new spin will also bring at least one supersized symbol on the grid. Players who land a minimum of five shining gem symbols activate the Highrise Respins.

This feature rewards players with three respins to get started with. Each new successful spin will reset the count. 

The higher each of the columns rises, the more lucrative the rewards for every symbol in the respective column. 

Players who succeed in filling the top row with VERSUS icons will automatically put the wins in the columns on nitro. Lucky gamers who manage to complete the set benefit from super-charged wins.

Players Can Expect “Another Rewarding Spinning Experience”

As explained by ReelPlay’s chief executive officer, David Johnson, introducing Hot Rise Games’ freshest  VS slot to the market via their partners at Yggdrasil means giving players “another rewarding spinning experience.”

The GATI-powered game which has once again brought iconic historical and fictional characters to life has been described as “another superb addition to the YG Masters program” by Yggdrasil’s chief gaming officer, Mark McGinley. He also took the opportunity to praise the excellent work of the Hot Rise crew.

Last month, ReelPlay and Light & Wonder announced a four-year expansion of their existing deal.

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Gambling is identified as a serious public health problem in Australia. Known as the world’s biggest losers, Australians lose hundreds of millions of dollars every month, making the annual losses upwards of billions. While a major part of the population of the country spends hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on gambling each month, a new study warns about the dangers of gambling addiction among minors.

As announced by The Guardian Australia, there’s a growing concern about gambling addiction among minors, under the age of 18. The publication released new research into gambling addiction, highlighting the dangers of early exposure of children to gambling and the devastating impact addiction brings years after.

The new research cited data from Gambling Help Online, showing that for the 2022-23 financial year, the number of young people, age 24 and under, that reached out for help, increased by 16%. The worrying data revealed that out of the 2,136 total calls for help, some 600 came from youth between the ages of 15 and 24.

Virtual Items from Videogames Can Serve as a Gateway to Gambling

One way that children can get addicted to gambling involves the popular loot boxes and skins of weapons or other customization aesthetics that are available for popular video games. Such virtual items can be traded online via video game casinos. In addition to trading, those items can be exchanged for currency that can be used for gambling activities.

The latest report told the story of Steven, a young adult who is now 24 but started gambling online when he was 10 years old. He explained that online video game casinos enable gamers to gamble with their skins or loot boxes, exchanging them for currency that can be used for gambling. Additionally, Steven revealed that gamers who lose all their items can simply buy more and continue to gamble. “It completely circumvents the 18-plus age requirement for gambling. I started gambling when I was 10 using these sites,” he said.

In Steven’s case, the underage gambling activities grew to online gambling and addiction when he was 15. At the time, he said he lost some AU$2,000. According to him, the addiction to gambling pushed him into drug use along with other mental health issues he is just beginning to resolve.

The recent report comes at a time when Australia is actively seeking to implement changes to the gambling sector. Last month, lawmakers announced the introduction of new ID laws, seeking to reduce underage gambling and curb gambling harm. Under the new regulations, users online will be required to present ID cards before they can engage in gambling.

Another change that seeks to reduce the exposure of children to gambling-like activities is the classification of gambling games and loot boxes. The initiative seeks to restrict the access of children to games with gambling-like elements, including simulated gambling and social casino games.

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Last week, the iconic iGaming publisher that “stands for world-class entertainment” and breaths innovation, Yggdrasil, announced the launch of Notre-Dame Tales GigaBlox, a medieval theme slot incorporating the iconic GigaBlox GEM feature. 

The release followed other similar announcements including Badger Miners launched at the start of July, Fast Fruits DoubleMax released via Reflex Gaming on July 20, and Bucks and Doe 10K WAYS launched with the help of ReelPlay two days earlier. 

Now, the publisher has announced another exciting collaboration with ReelPlay for the release of the Nightmares VS GigaBlox developed by Hot Rise Games. The slot packs the iconic VERSUS feature from Hot Rise along with the equally popular GigaBlox GEM. 

Nightmares VB GigaBlox Metrics Overview

• Reels: 6 
• Rows: 6
• RTP: 96.1%
• Max multiplier: X7,353 
• Max win: 7,353x 
• Bet: min: €0.50, max: €20
• Volatility: Medium-High
• Release date: August 1, 2023

Massive Coinciding Wins, Win Multipliers, Free Spins, and Buy Bonus 

Commenting on the new release, Yggdrasil’s chief gaming officer, Mark McGinley, spoke about the popularity of horror-themed games, describing the Nightmares VS GigaBlox as a “great addition” to their YG Masters portfolio. McGinley also spoke about the GigaBlox mechanic where massive symbols can take over all 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, and 6×6 reels, break into individual symbols, and ultimately generate massive coinciding wins. 

The VERSUS feature comes with collection characters and free spins and can be triggered whenever a minimum of six scatter symbols are seen landing on the reels. When this occurs, players get six free spins. Additionally, Champion and Challenger symbols are randomly chosen to carry a battle across the grid.

All Champion and Challenger symbols that land during the free spins are collected, further boosting the feature with extra rewards including free spins, extra wilds, and win multipliers. 

ReelPlay’s chief executive officer, David Johnson, spoke about their partner studio Hot Rise Games’ ability to produce “boundary-expanding concepts” including HOT 1 and the recently used VERSUS feature. He also called Nightmares VS GigaBlox a slot with “a frighteningly good VERSUS feature” that is prone to keep players’ interest at an all-time high. 

The game also offers players in selected jurisdictions the chance to use the Buy Bonus feature for jumping right into the VERSUS feature in exchange for 80x their bet.

In February, Yggdrasil’s ongoing contributions to the iGaming industry along with their consistent delivery of premium content helped it scoop up the Innovator of the Year Award during the IGA 2023.

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AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker highlighted impressive gross gaming revenue (GGR) in April, marking the 8th month in a row the result exceeded $5 billion. Although revenues failed to match last month’s performance, the industry still grew year-over-year, indicating the dip primarily resulted from seasonal trends.

April Showed Growth across Most Verticals

The American Gaming Association (AGA) is the premier trade association representing the US gaming industry, releasing regular reports on the state of the market. The most recent April results indicate a 7.8% year-on-year growth as revenues reached an impressive $5.41 billion. This month is the eighth in a row exceeding $5 billion, reflecting the industry’s recovery and sustained growth.

Slots traditionally contributed the most with $2.99 billion, followed by sports betting at $820.4 million and table games generating $775 million. iGaming also performed admirably, bringing in $504.3 million in revenue. State-wise, Nevada led the pack with $1.16 billion, while Pennsylvania narrowly edged out New Jersey for second place with $486.4 million vs $462.7 million.

Almost all segments enjoyed growth except table games, which dropped by 1%. Sports betting performed exceptionally well, with annual gross gaming revenue (GGR) swelling by 69.1%. While land-based gaming only rose 0.3%, the online sector grew significantly by 50.4%, bolstered by recent legalization in several states.

Long-Term Prospects Remain Optimistic

April’s results further solidify the existing industry trends. Sports betting and iGaming remain the biggest winners, but steady results across the retail sector indicate the online industry does not pose any significant competition and can even be complimentary. Casino operators focus on bolstering the appeal of their land-based offerings, attracting an audience that values the whole casino experience.

This marked the 26th consecutive month of annual growth, a testament to the industry’s resilience and continued appeal.

AGA April report

While revenues increased year-on-year, April failed to match March’s results. Such a dip should not be of immediate concern, as seasonality is very common in the sector, especially regarding sports betting. March Madness traditionally causes sportsbook revenues to skyrocket, while the following months experience a gradual slowdown as leagues enter the summer season.

The $5.41 billion figure reflects the US gambling industry’s ability to adapt to changing consumer preferences and overcome emerging challenges. The ASA remains optimistic despite economic pressures. Although momentum will likely slow down in the coming months, many markets have achieved sufficient sustainability to retail profitability and continue stimulating economic activity in communities across the USA.

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