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Inspired Reports Results For The Three-Month Period Ended December 31, 2018

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NEW YORKFeb. 11, 2019 –

  • Total Revenue for the Transitional Period Ended December 31, 2018 of $30.7 Million
  • Net Operating Loss Narrowed to $2.4 Million from $4.4 Million
  • Adjusted EBITDA1 of $10.5 Million
  • Functional Currency2 Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA Growth of 2.3% and 11.3%, Respectively
  • Adjusted EBITDA Margin3 Increased to 34.1% from 31.3%
  • Announced Multi-Year Virtual Sports Agreements with Bet Stars and bet365
  • Further Strengthened Brand Portfolio with New Virtual Basketball Game; Introduced Valor™ Gaming Cabinet for North America 
  • Issued First Quarter 2019 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance of $13.25 Million to $14.25 Million; Consistent with Our Long-Term Growth Prospects

Inspired Entertainment, Inc. (“Inspired”) (NASDAQ: INSE) today reported financial results for the three-month period ended December 31, 2018. As previously announced, the Company changed its fiscal year end from September 30 to December 31 beginning with the 2019 year, making this period a transitional period.  The Company expects to report financial results for the first quarter of 2019 in May.

“As we complete our transition to a traditional calendar year reporting cycle, we’re expecting good performance in the first quarter of 2019 driven by continued growth in Greece and Italy, as well as Interactive and additional hardware sales opportunities in conjunction with a reduced overhead expense base,” said Lorne Weil, Executive Chairman of Inspired Entertainment. “I’m encouraged by what I see across the business.  Accordingly, and based on trends in the quarter to date, we are establishing First Quarter 2019 Adjusted EBITDA guidance that could represent approximately 20% growth year over year in functional currency.”

Mr. Weil continued, “As we move from the first quarter into the second quarter, we expect to begin to see the impact of the implementation of new regulations as a result of the Triennial.  We have been investing in the resources necessary to satisfy the new requirements and meet player needs in the UK and we are extremely optimistic about our strategy to mitigate a portion of any potential impact.”

Mr. Weil concluded, “We had a tremendous showing at last week’s ICE tradeshow where we introduced our Virtual Basketball and gave a sneak peek of our new Valor™ gaming cabinet, which we expect to drive additional hardware sales opportunities in new jurisdictions. We continue to believe our content and solutions provide an ideal platform for growth and, based on our proven success throughout Europe, we see a unique opportunity to build our VLT, Virtual Sports and Interactive businesses in North America.”

Summary of Consolidated Financial Results for the Three Months Ended 
December 31, 2018 (unaudited)

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Functional

Qtr Ended

Currency

Currency

December 31

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Change

Movement

Growth

2018

2017

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(%)

2018

(%)

(In $ millions, except per share figures)

GAAP Measures:

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Revenue

$       30.7

$       31.4

(2.1)%

$       (1.4)

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2.3%

Net Operating Income

$       (2.4)

$       (4.4)

NM2

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$       0.1

NM

Net (loss)

$       (4.7)

$       (4.2)

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NM

$       0.1

NM

Net (loss) per diluted share

$     (0.23)

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$     (0.20)

NM

Non-GAAP Measures:

Adjusted EBITDA1

$      10.5

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$        9.8

6.4%

$       (0.5)

11.3%

1Reconciliation to GAAP shown below.

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2Percentage change is not meaningful.

Recent Highlights

Server Based Gaming (“SBG”)

  • Average Installed Base Increased 15.4% Year Over Year – Overall average installed terminal base increased to 33,811 due to the continued terminal rollout in Greece and growth from new contract awards in the UK Licensed Betting Office (“LBO”) estate.
  • Total OPAP Terminals Installed Increased to 7,100 – The roll out into Greece continued during the period, with a further 1,300 terminals being deployed on site and live as of December 31, 2018 and a further 300 since the quarter ended.  The performance of our Greek terminals continues to be strong compared to other suppliers.
  • Strong Growth in Italy Estate –Customer Gross Win per unit per day in Italy increased by 16.9% (in Euros) across all customers compared to the same period last year, principally driven by new content releases.  This was partly offset by a tax that reduced Net Win per unit per day growth to 14.6%.
  • Introduced New Valor™ Gaming Terminal at ICE London – This cabinet supports open standard G2S VLT protocol, allowing entry into new jurisdictions with specific content developed for North America and Europe.
  • 125 Self Service Betting Terminals (“SSBTs”) sold and deployed in the UK – In addition to the hardware sale margin, these terminals are expected to generate ongoing recurring service fees.
  • Over 150 “Flex” B3 Terminals to a Major Customer in the UK – Terminals are expected to commence installation in the first quarter of calendar 2019 and to result in ongoing recurring rental fee and content revenue share to Inspired.
  • Over 100 “Sabre Hydra” Terminals Sold – Terminals were sold to a major casino customer in the UK and are to be installed during the early half of 2019.

Virtual Sports

  • Additional Virtual Sports Operators – Number of Virtual Sports operators increased to 100 live worldwide (as of December 31, 2018), up 16.3% from the same time last year, including the recent launch of the Danish Lottery, Danske Spil.
  • Launched Second Virtual Sports Channel with OPAP – Latest football product, Matchday, launched across full estate of over 3,400 venues.
  • Signed Exclusive Worldwide Contract with BetStars – Both scheduled and on-demand Virtual Sports will be provided online to BetStars, the international online sports betting brand of The Stars Group Inc., one of the world’s largest online gaming operators.
  • Renewed Multi-Year Contract with bet365 –Signed multi-year extension to provide Virtual Sports online to bet365, the world’s largest online sports betting company.
  • Launch of New Virtual Basketball – Introduced the newest and most realistic Virtual Sport to the line-up at ICE London.

Interactive

  • Eight new customers launched within Interactive in the quarter, including BGO, Buzz Bingo and Sun Bingo –31 total customers were live, an increase of 17 over the same period last year.
  • Michigan Lottery Launched the First Instant Win Virtual Sports – Inspired and IWG, the award-winning supplier of online instant win games, have partnered together to deliver Endzone Payout™ for the Michigan Lottery – a new– instant win version of Virtual Football.

“During this reporting period we started the process of consolidating our six facilities throughout the UK into two primary locations, which has resulted in lower headcount and increased efficiencies,” said Stewart Baker, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Inspired.  “These redundancies and a number of other unique line items contributed to a larger reduction in cash flow during the quarter than we otherwise would have exhibited.  However, these measures have long-term margin benefits and will help to prepare the organization for the new regulations in the UK.”

Management Outlook and Commentary

Following the transitional period, Management is establishing guidance for its First Quarter ending March 31, 2019. We currently expect to have Adjusted EBITDA of $13.25 million to $14.25 million, assuming exchange rates remain stable.  While we are not providing annual guidance, we continue to estimate the projected impact of the reduction in the maximum FOBT betting stake mandated by the Triennial Review on our Adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $10 million to $11 million annually on a steady state basis.

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Overview of Transition Period Results

Total Revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2018 was $30.7 million on a reported basis.  Revenue for the period increased 2.3% year-over-year on a functional currency (£) basis, driven mainly by SBG growth in Greece and Italyand offset by lower hardware sales in the UK and software license sales in Greece.  Participation and other recurring revenue across the Company, which excludes hardware sales and software license sales, increased 9.1% year-over-year and remained virtually flat quarter-over-quarter on a functional currency (£) basis. The exchange rate for GBP:USD negatively affected the reported results year over year.

Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended December 31, 2018 was $10.5 million, a year-over-year increase of 11.3% on a functional currency (£) basis and an increase of 6.4% on a reported basis.  Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 34.1%, from 31.3% in the prior year, primarily as a result of overhead savings due to lower staff related costs.

SG&A expenses decreased by $1.1 million, or 6.8%, on a reported basis, to $15.3 million. This decrease was driven by staff related cost savings of $1.8 million.  These savings were offset by an increase in Italian tax related costs relating to prior years invoicing of $0.9 million (removed from Adjusted EBITDA) and a decrease in net labor capitalization and manufacturing recoveries of $0.8 million due to mix of projects and lower factory throughput as a result of fewer machines being built in the quarter.

On a reported basis, net operating result during the period improved from a loss of $4.4 million in the prior period to a loss of $2.4 million, mainly due to an increase in revenue, a reduction in stock-based compensation, acquisition related transaction and SG&A expenses, partly offset by higher cost of sales and depreciation and amortization.

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Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, to analyze our operating performance. We use these financial measures to manage our business on a day-to-day basis and we believe that they are the most relevant measures of our performance. We believe that these measures are also commonly used in our industry to measure performance. For these reasons, we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide expanded insight into our business, in addition to standard U.S. GAAP financial measures. There are no specific rules or regulations for defining and using non-GAAP financial measures, and as a result the measures we use may not be comparable to measures used by other companies, even if they have similar labels. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. You should consider our non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with our U.S. GAAP financial measures.

We define our non-GAAP financial measures as follows:

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net loss excluding depreciation and amortization, interest expense, interest income and income tax expense, and other additional specified exclusions and adjustments. Such additional excluded amounts include stock-based compensation, U.S. GAAP charges where the associated liability is expected to be settled in stock, and changes in the value of earnout liabilities and income and expenditure in relation to legacy portions of the business (being those portions where trading no longer occurs) including closed defined benefit pension schemes. Additional adjustments are made for items considered outside the normal course of business, including (1) restructuring costs, which include charges attributable to employee severance, management changes, restructuring and integration (2) merger and acquisition costs and (3) gains or losses not in the ordinary course of business.

We believe Adjusted EBITDA, when considered along with other performance measures, is a particularly useful performance measure, because it focuses on certain operating drivers of the business, including sales growth, operating costs, selling and administrative expense and other operating income and expense. We believe Adjusted EBITDA can provide a more complete understanding of our operating results and the trends to which we are subject, and an enhanced overall understanding of our financial performance and prospects for the future. Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of liquidity or cash flows from operations or a measure comparable to net income or loss, because it does not take into account certain aspects of our operating performance (for example, it excludes non-recurring gains and losses which are not deemed to be a normal part of underlying business activities). Our use of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to the use by other companies of similarly termed measures. Management compensates for these limitations by using Adjusted EBITDA as only one of several measures for evaluating our operating performance. In addition, capital expenditures, which affect depreciation and amortization, interest expense, and income tax benefit (expense), are evaluated separately by management.

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Functional Currency at constant rate. Currency impacts shown have been calculated as the current-period average GBP: USD rate less the equivalent average rate in the prior period, multiplied by the current period amount in our functional currency (GBP). The remaining difference, referred to as functional currency at constant rate, is calculated as the difference in our functional currency, multiplied by the prior-period average GBP: USD rate, as a proxy for functional currency at constant rate movement.

Currency Movement represents the difference between the results in our reporting currency (USD) and the results on a Functional Currency basis.

Reconciliations from net loss, as shown in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss included elsewhere in this release, to Adjusted EBITDA are shown below.

Conference Call and Webcast

Inspired management will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast at 9:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. UK on Monday, February 11, 2019 to discuss the financial results and general business trends.

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Telephone: The dial-in number to access the call live is 1-866-250-8117 (US) or 1-412-317-6011 (International). Participants should ask to be joined into the Inspired Entertainment call.

Webcast: A live audio-only webcast of the call can be accessed through the “Events and Presentations” page of the Company’s website at www.inseinc.com under the Investors link. Please follow the registration prompts.

Replay of the call: A telephone replay of the call will be available one hour after the conclusion of the call until February 18, 2019 by dialing 1-877-344-7529 (US) or 1-412-317-0088 (International), via replay access code 10128454. A replay of the webcast will also be available on the Company’s website at www.inseinc.com.

About Inspired Entertainment, Inc.

Inspired is a global games technology company, supplying Virtual Sports, Mobile Gaming and Server Based Gaming systems with associated terminals and digital content to regulated lottery, betting and gaming operators around the world. Inspired currently operates approximately 30,000 digital gaming terminals and supplies its Virtual Sports products through more than 40,000 retail channels and over 100 websites, in approximately 35 gaming jurisdictions worldwide. Inspired employs more than 650 employees in the UK and elsewhere, developing and operating digital games and networks. Additional information can be found at www.inseinc.com.

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Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “estimate”, “plan”, “outlook”, and “project” and other similar expressions that indicate future events or trends or are not statements of historical matters. These statements are based on our management’s current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside of our control and all of which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that any matters covered by our forward-looking statements will develop as predicted, expected or implied. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements can be found in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K, which are available, free of charge, on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our site at www.inseinc.com.


Source: European Gaming Media
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Inspired Reports Results For The Three-Month Period Ended December 31, 2018

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What makes Turbo Games’ provably fair games so special?

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A partnership between game developer Turbo Games and iGaming solution provider and aggregator Slotegrator began in November 2022 via the APIgrator game integration solution. Since then, the collaboration has been developing successfully — and now it’s time to analyze what made it successful.

Turbo Games has noticed how the new technologies spreading throughout the industry can work for the good of brand transparency and player loyalty: “We can already see how blockchain technology has made it possible to make betting checks more accessible to players. All you need is a blockchain-hash and a decoder service. We think we will continue to move in this direction. Many traditional online casinos do not offer the possibility to check the bet. Sooner or later we all have to come to this. Perhaps the development of artificial intelligence will help here, because we are already seeing its involvement in all spheres of human life.”

Turbo Games specializes in provably fair games. Provable fairness is a concept where players can verify their wins or losses using blockchain technology — the outcome of the game is dictated by a smart contract and is absolutely random, barring the possibility of any human involvement. Using cryptographic hashing algorithms, the gambling site and the player’s device both generate seeds (random strings of numbers). Players receive a key that allows them to check the results; if the results are the same as the game round they witnessed, it proves that there was no foul play.

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According to statistics from Turbo Games, the audience for provably fair games is mostly between 18 and 25 years old. However, there are also players aged 35-40 who prefer traditional games but would like to try something new, and have turned their attention to provably fair games.

There are good odds that the technology of provably fair games will become more popular, if not even commonplace, because it gives players a feeling of transparency and proves that the business is trustworthy without the need to search through dozens of reviews. Whereas many innovations in iGaming simply add entertainment, provable fairness addresses security concerns and reassures players that they’re not being exploited, which is invaluable.

Provably fair games are beneficial for both players and online casinos. Vadim Potapenko, Head of Sales at Turbo Games, comments: “It often happens that the users are not satisfied with the result, because gambling is not only about big wins, but also possible losses. By allowing them to check the fairness of a bet, we make life easier for platforms and players. Of course, this allows us to communicate with partners and users that we work honestly and that’s why they should trust our games.”

Ayvar Gabidullin, Business Development Manager at Slotegrator, adds that “this type of game is now becoming more and more popular and has great potential for both players and game providers in the future. On the part of the player, the advantage is that the player can always be sure that his game is fair and he can independently check any of his bets. And for the game provider, this also simplifies the process of implementing casino games, since now it will not be necessary to obtain the appropriate certificates from independent laboratories before launching new games, they can immediately enter the market with these games and where anyone can check the result and make sure that that there is no cheating with players. Many game providers are starting to look towards this type of game. And as far as I see, many operators are starting to think about adding these games.”

What do players in 2023 need? The iGaming industry is all about reputation and trust. Players have a huge number of platforms to choose from, making them pickier and pickier. There’s an abundance of forums where players leave reviews, so if players view a brand as untrustworthy, there are plenty of places they can share their opinion. Provable fairness not only stops that from happening, it provides evidence to the contrary, giving players something else to talk about.

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Slotegrator also recommends investing time and effort into localization and creating an effective and detailed marketing strategy — before trying provably fair technology players need to get to the platform, and there is no acquisition without marketing.

 

 ABOUT SLOTEGRATOR

Since 2012, Slotegrator has been one of the iGaming industry’s leading software and business solution providers for online casino and sportsbook operators.

The company’s main focus is software development and support for online casino platforms, as well as the integration of game content and payment systems.

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The company works with licensed game developers and offers a vast portfolio of casino content: slots, live casino games, poker, virtual sports, table games, lotteries, casual games, and data feeds for betting.

Slotegrator also provides consulting services in gambling license acquisition and business incorporation.

More information: https://slotegrator.pro/

 

ABOUT TURBO GAMES

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Turbo Games — a provably fair games provider that belongs to Turbo Stars company — has an ambitious goal to establish widespread recognition throughout the iGaming world. Even though it is young, the company consists of professionals who have been working on the brand for over five years and are even planning to introduce a new brand for a wider audience soon.

Turbo Games also works in Europe, India, and South Africa, where the company sees the most potential and expects the same “hype” as in Brazil.

The portfolio of Turbo Games consists of 21 titles, including well-known games like Mines, Crash X, DoubleRoll, Hi-Lo, and Plinko. The studio releases a game every month. However, not all games are developed from scratch. Wicket Blast and Spin Strike, the last two releases, are based on cricket and the Indian Premier League. Crash X remains the most popular fast game in the Turbo Games portfolio, and the studio reports that crash games enjoy stable levels of popularity. Overall, the main focus of the brand is provably fair games.

More information: https://turbogames.io/

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Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.

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Looking to take your career to the next level in the games industry? Then, Nordic Game Talents is the place to be! Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.

From Oct 27-29, the online and interactive event is dedicated to recruitment and career building in the creative & games industry within the Nordic region. The event empowers participants to be part of a bigger community and motivates them to explore new paths in achieving their career goals.

Hiring creative & games studios – Supercell, Funcom, Panzerdog, Tactile Games, Gamecan, Fingersoft, Dazzle Rocks, Redhill Games to name a few from the Nordic region will be participating in the event. These studios will share information on their latest projects, work culture and what it takes to be part of their team. The individual games associations from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Estonia will share insights through live sessions on the booming games industry in their respective countries. Career development topics pertinent to job seekers like – How to have a successful first interview, Creative Portfolio reviews will also be discussed.

Experienced game industry professionals and individuals beginning their careers from around the world are welcome to join the event. One-to-one interviews with the hiring studios can be scheduled through the event platform. A great opportunity to get to know the studios and network with game professionals from around the world.

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Participating in the event

As a job seeker attending Nordic Game Talents, take a few minutes to fill out a simple registration form. After filling the registration form you will receive a link to the online event platform – PINE, to join the event on 27th October. Participants joining Nordic Game Talents will also receive a free-of-charge pass to the Nordic Game Conference.

To view the complete agenda, please click here and to learn more about the event please visit Games Job Fair

About Games Factory Talents

A Helsinki-based talent attraction agency dedicated to the games & creative industry. Our services include direct recruitment, organizing game job fairs and managing a community of game industry professionals through our GameDev Talent Board.

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To learn more about Games Factory Talents visit – Games Factory Talents

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810 THE SPREAD

Cumulus Media Launches 810 THE SPREAD, the Bay Area’s First Sports Station Focused on Sports Betting

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Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announces that it has launched the Bay Area’s first Sports radio station focused on sports betting, 810 THE SPREAD. The new station brings sports and sports betting news, information, and insights to the burgeoning and underserved sports betting audience in San Francisco. 810 THE SPREAD will deliver behind-the-book perspectives from experts in a highly entertaining and engaging format. 810 THE SPREAD goes live today on the legendary 810am frequency that has been the 80-year home of historic Talk Radio KGO-AM. Cumulus San Francisco also launched the station’s new website at www.810thespread.com. Kevin Graham, Program Director of Cumulus’ sister sports stations KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT, adds Program Director duties for 810 THE SPREAD.

Larry Blumhagen, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco, said: “810 THE SPREAD joins our sports brands KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT for a trifecta of dynamic sports content across four signals and streaming everywhere. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to serving the Bay Area’s passionate sports fans in an incomparable way.”

Blumhagen added: “This is a bittersweet day for us, as it’s hard to say goodbye to the legendary KGO, which has been a part of listeners’ lives for so many years. We want to thank all the people who have been a part of KGO’s historic run these many years – and the listeners who loyally tuned in to the station. Times change, and we must change with them.”

Kevin Graham, Program Director, 810 THE SPREAD, said: “810 THE SPREAD will be the Bay Area’s best bet for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts, and we are pleased to introduce sports-betting radio to our community. The station will feature a lineup of expert personalities that deliver unique sports talk and sports betting insights that entertain, inform, and engage, along with Cal Football and Basketball as well as select professional and college sports play-by-play events. While 810 THE SPREAD will feature specific gambling information, we believe our entertaining presentation will make it a favorite for all Bay area sports fans and a perfect complement to the legendary KNBR and KTCT. With its addition, it truly shows Cumulus’ commitment to the Bay area as ‘The Sports Leader’!”

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The weekday programming lineup for 810 THE SPREAD includes:

6am-9am – Bet QL Daily – The must-consume show for sports fans and betting fans alike. Hosted by Joe Ostrowski, Joe Giglio, and Erin Hawksworth.

9am-12pm – Jim Rome - Aggressive, informed sports opinions, rapid-fire dialogue, and plenty of sports smack. As one of the most prolific sports talk hosts in America, Rome draws massive tune-in with legions of fans known as clones, who live for Rome’s take on the day’s largest issues in sports.

12pm-4pm – You Better You Bet – Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley have you covered for the best bets on the biggest matchups, the latest line movement and updates in the futures market. We’ll have up-to-the-minute coverage of backdoor covers and bad beats, and the cheers and tears that come with them. It’s sports betting conversation like you’ve never heard before.

4pm-8pm – Bet MGM Tonight – Live sports betting updates for all the night’s games as they happen – plus live “look-ins” for Major League Baseball games in progress. Get the latest scores, sides, totals, props, parlays, futures, and much more with hosts Quinton Mayo, Trysta Krick, and Ryan Horvat.

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8pm-12 Midnight – CBS Sports Radio

BetQL Network programming is provided by Cumulus Media’s Westwood One through a partnership with Audacy.

For more information or to stream 810 THE SPREAD, visit: http://www.810thespread.com.

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