Each week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most interesting stories. This week’s edition looks at the incoming budget, as well as a big announcement from William Hill.
$12 million
Canadian digital technology firm Breaking Data Corp (BDC) has confirmed that it will undertake a ‘private subscription placement’ seeking to raise capital funds of CAD $12 million (€8 million).
BDC confirms the appointment of Toronto investment bank Eight Capital as sole book-runner for its upcoming transaction, which will offer private investors a ‘receipt’ issue price of CAD $0.50c.
As lead agent for BDC’s transaction, Eight Capital has been authorised the right to extend the subscription funding round to CAD $13.8 million (€9.3 million).
Proceeds from the subscription round will be primarily used to fund BDC’s agreed acquisition of online gambling platform and content provider Oryx Gaming for €7.5 million.
A strategic acquisition which was first announced on 23 August 2018, BDC governance seeks to complete its transaction, moving to develop its new online gambling asset Bragg Gaming Group.
The Bragg Gaming property is set to be led by former IGT Group and PokerStars executive, Dominic Mansour as inbound Bragg Gaming Chief Executive.
Mansour commented on the news: “This acquisition will transform the organisation into a next-generation gaming group that will have a strong foundation for future growth with a significant opportunity to leverage the incumbent media assets and enter the exciting sports betting market. We are looking forward to updating investors on our strategy and future growth plans once the acquisition is closed.”
1,500
Betting on Sports America, the new sports betting conference and exhibition from SBC, is so big that it is spanning two states!
The conference, which is being held from 23-25 April 2019, will start off in New York City, cross the Hudson River to New Jersey, before returning to Manhattan to round things off.
The event will open on Tuesday 23rd April with a networking evening party for pre-registration near Times Square, before moving across to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, which will be the conference and exhibition venue for 24-25 April.
Located just minutes away from New York, the New Jersey venue will host up to 1,500 delegates, 175 speakers and 60 exhibitors, as the industry jostles for position in what could become the biggest global sports betting market.
25 per cent
This evening will see Chancellor Philip Hammond deliver the UK budget, with the online gambling sector expecting to be hit with a tax increase up to up to 25%.
The government is seeking to fill the approximate £450m FOBTs tax void that comes with the deduction of the maximum stakes on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to £2.
Furthermore, it’s likely to be announced this evening the implementation of the stake deduction will be delayed until October 2019. It had previously been believed that the new stake reductions would come into practice in April.
7
William Hill has announced the seven finalists in the running for its 30th ‘Sports Book of the Year’ (SBOTY) award, hosted at BAFTA London on 27 November 2018.
The final seven comes from the worlds of boxing, darts, football, golf, rugby, swimming and competing at the Olympic Games.
The diverse shortlist sees a historian, a gonzo writer, two investigative journalists, two former youth prodigies, a rugby coach and two world-renowned sportsmen compete for the biggest prize in sports literature.
SBOTY is considered part of William Hill’s heritage, this year the bookmaker will reward the winning author with a £30,000 cheque, a free £2,000 William Hill bet, and a day at the races.
William Hill confirms the following seven SBOTY 2018 finalists
‘Fear and Loathing on the Oche’: A Gonzo Journey Through the World of Championship Darts by King ADZ (Yellow Jersey)
‘Tiger Woods’ by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian (Simon & Schuster)
‘The Boy on the Shed’ by Paul Ferris (Hodder & Stoughton)
‘The Lost Soul of Eamonn Magee’ by Paul D. Gibson (Mercier Press)
‘A Boy in the Water’ by Tom Gregory (Particular Books)
‘Berlin 1936: Sixteen Days in August’ by Oliver Hilmes (The Bodley Head)
‘Sevens Heaven: The Beautiful Chaos of Fiji’s Olympic Dream’ by Ben Ryan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson).
