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European Gaming Congress 2024

Canada

Gaming industry heavyweights team up to launch $250m gold-standard SPAC

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The SPAC market may be flavor of the month on Wall St, but few can boast the credentials of Tekkorp Digital Acquisition Corp (TDAC). Bringing together first-class industry expertise, TDAC announced its $250m initial public offering on the Nasdaq and is now ready to accelerate the future and develop its mission to unlock the potential of fast-growing digital sports, media, entertainment and gaming companies by bringing speed and certainty to the process of becoming public.

Leading the blank check company’s $1bn-plus acquisition plans are Matt Davey, CEO, and Robin Chhabra, President, backed up by a board of directors which features a who’s who of digital and gaming industry titans, including former Caesars’ CEO Tony Rodio, Sean Ryan from Facebook, and Atlantic City veteran Morris Bailey.

This management team combines for an unrivalled track record of building, investing, nurturing, acquiring and leading digital companies in the public markets across an ever-evolving media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming landscape. It intends to start an aggressive acquisition drive to identify this sector’s most innovative and exciting companies whose transformation into public entities will foster metamorphic growth impact.

Matt Davey is an experienced public company executive officer, who has overseen more than ten mergers and acquisitions and over $1.2 billion in debt and equity capital raised to support the companies he has led. Most recently, he was CEO of SG Digital, the digital division of Scientific Games Corp. following a $631m purchase in 2018 by Scientific Games of NYX Gaming Group Ltd, where Davey also previously served as CEO.

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European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

For his part, Chhabra has been front and center of many of the biggest M&A deals in the digital gaming marketplace over the past decade, namely when at The Stars Group and William Hill, as well as launching FOX Bet, a landmark media-betting partnership with FOX Sports, as CEO.

Leveraging deep experience and expertise, alongside an extensive network of long-standing relationships, TDAC is uniquely positioned to strategically identify, evaluate and grow target businesses.

The leadership team’s members have been involved in a substantial number of the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries’ most significant merger and acquisition transactions, invariably creating and realizing significant shareholder value amid the complexity and risk of M&A consolidation.

By corralling and maximizing the potential of its target(s), this emerging force plans to capitalize on the convergence of sports, media and gaming and the rapid growth and regulation of these sectors powered by the inexorable and catalytic trend towards the digitization of entertainment.

Matt Davey, Chief Executive Officer, said: “An acquisition by a blank check company with a management team that is well-known to, and respected by, technology company founders, their current third-party investors, their management teams and the public markets, we believe, can provide a more transparent and efficient mechanism to bring a private technology company to the public markets.”

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European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

“We intend to focus our target-sourcing efforts on assessing companies that we believe would benefit significantly from being publicly-traded.”

Robin Chhabra, President, added: “We look forward to providing attractive investment opportunities to our shareholders which capitalize on trends that fundamentally reshape the way we consume sports, media, gaming and entertainment.”

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Canada

Relax Gaming joins forces with PointsBet to strengthen footprint in Ontario

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Relax Gaming, the iGaming aggregator and supplier of unique content, has significantly enhanced its presence in the Ontario market through an agreement with leading Canadian operator, PointsBet.

This partnership reinforces Relax Gaming’s aim to become a standout provider across North America, having already gained early success in Ontario. Relax became one of the first suppliers to deliver content to the region’s players in March 2022, debuting with over 120 games across multiple operators.

PointsBet pride themselves as one of Canada’s leading operators offering unmatched speed, ease of use, and a comprehensive array of pre-game and in-play sports betting options. This is complemented by a top-tier online casino which will now be boosted with the integration of Relax’s portfolio of slots and live dealer options.

With its authentic Canadian approach, PointsBet prioritises technology that minimises external dependencies to maintain control over its platform and has a commitment to responsible gambling best practices, ensuring a safe and secure environment for all players.

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European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

Martin Stålros, CEO at Relax Gaming, said: “Since we launched in Ontario we have enjoyed tremendous success, with our content hitting the sweet spot for the broad range of players in the Canadian province. This partnership with PointsBet will strengthen our presence in the market as the region’s leading operator integrates our rich content portfolio which will engage its player base.”

Scott Vanderwel, Chief Executive Officer at PointsBet, added: “Relax Gaming has established a strong reputation across North America and in Ontario in particular. The impressive range of content that will be integrated into our platform will increase engagement within our online platform and we are delighted to be able to provide more immersive experiences to our audiences.”

Established as one of the industry’s leading B2B suppliers, Relax Gaming was awarded GGA’s Product Launch of the Year in February 2023 for Dream Drop Jackpots. Money Train 3 names the 2023 CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards amongst its 6 Slot of the Year titles, while the brand also won the award for Skill Games Supplier at the 2023 EGR B2B Awards along with the Innovation in Mobile award at the 2023 SBC Awards.

Relax Gaming provides more than 4,000 online casino games, from its high-performing proprietary slots to a significant, varied library of content from hand-picked third-party studios via its partnership programmes.

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Canada

Jackpot Digital Receives Approval from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority

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Jackpot Digital, a leading manufacturer of electronic multiplayer dealerless poker tables, has announced that it has received approval from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) to act as a registered supplier of gaming supplies and services to regulated casinos in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

The approval follows the Company’s news release dated February 6, 2024, announcing the signing of a licensing agreement with the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) to install the Company’s Jackpot Blitz dealerless poker ETGs into SIGA casinos.

SIGA operates seven casinos and Playnow.com in Saskatchewan. At the outset, SIGA proposes to install Jackpot Blitz machines at its Dakota Dunes and Gold Horse Casino properties, located in Saskatoon and Lloydminster, respectively.

Jackpot CEO Jake Kalpakian said: “We are excited to receive approval as a gaming equipment supplier in Saskatchewan. This represents the first major jurisdictional, non-tribal license received by Jackpot during our continuing expansion into the land-based casino market. We have many more license applications underway in the US and other Canadian provinces, which will dramatically impact our ability to accelerate the rollout of Jackpot Blitz across North America.”

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Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation

Play Alberta, CSEC Extend Partnership

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Teams under the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) banner have expanded their long-term partnership with Play Alberta, the province’s premier iGaming destination. As part of the agreement, the Flames will feature AGLC’s responsible gambling program, GameSense, on their home helmets and a Play Alberta insignia displayed on their home jerseys. The Stampeders, Wranglers, and Roughnecks will integrate the Play Alberta logo onto their uniforms.

“There’s significant importance now to showcase meaningful responsible gambling efforts in the iGaming industry. I’m proud of our initiatives to provide GameSense with such a visible platform. GameSense promotes healthy gambling habits online and in person and including AGLC’s responsible gambling platform over the course of this partnership is a huge accomplishment,” Kandice Machado, Chief Executive Officer at AGLC.

The agreement makes Play Alberta the exclusive sports betting and online gaming partner of the Flames, Wranglers, Stampeders, and Roughnecks. Through the partnership, Play Alberta and CSEC will develop unique partnerships and in-arena giveaways during the season.

“Through GameSense, our partnership with Play Alberta equips our fans with the knowledge required if they wish to participate in gaming while they support their home team. We are both proud and excited to extend our relationship with Play Alberta that makes cheering for our teams that much more fun while also generating revenue to support the quality of life for Albertans,” said CSEC President and CEO Robert Hayes.

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Alberta is the first jurisdiction in North America to partner with professional sports franchises and integrate PlayAlberta.ca and social responsibility branding onto uniforms. It upholds AGLC’s commitment to responsible play, raising awareness of GameSense and Self-Exclusion, resources that give bettors the tools they need to make healthy gambling choices.

In addition, proceeds generated through the website go toward the province’s General Revenue Fund. In 2023–24, $235 million was generated for programs and services that Albertans rely on every day through Play Alberta, an increase of more than $42 million from the previous year.

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