GeoComply
Hero Group Successfully Completes Acquisition of Betting Hero with GeoComply Backing
Betting Hero, the premier live activation affiliate in the North American iGaming industry, and GeoComply, the global leader in geolocation compliance, anti-fraud, and identity technology, today announced the successful closing of the acquisition of Betting Hero by Hero Group Corp., a newly incorporated entity controlled by Betting Hero’s co-founders, Jai Maw and Jeremy Jakary, with strategic financial backing from GeoComply. For further details about the transaction, please refer to GeoComply’s June 27th press release. The new ownership and investment structure leaves Betting Hero in a strong financial position to enter its next growth phase.
“When PASPA was repealed in 2018, Jeremy and I had a vision of helping more people safely learn how to enjoy the incredible digital experience offered by our customers. Six years later, we’ve activated over 500,000 players across the nation, and with the GeoComply relationship, we have the firepower to offer more to the industry and our customers. GeoComply and Betting Hero see the world in a similar way, and we’re excited to have their backing to scale through our next growth phase of Betting Hero,” said Jai Maw, Co-Founder and President of Betting Hero.
The announcement follows Betting Hero’s 2024 SBC Casino Affiliate of the Year and EGR North America’s Diversity and Inclusion Model of the Year honors. Betting Hero is a live activation and research services company leveraging its extensive “Hero” network to engage players directly through dynamic, face-to-face interactions at casinos, arenas, and partnered bars. The company’s hands-on approach is proven to be the most effective in the Affiliate market, delivering an 80%+ conversion rate from registration to active depositing customers—far exceeding industry averages.
In addition to the company’s unprecedented customer acquisition success, leading operators and suppliers in the iGaming industry rely on Betting Hero to provide actionable intelligence and insights through its purpose built, and industry specific consumer insights and testing division; Betting Hero Research. “As a leading operator in the hyper-competitive North American digital markets, PENN Entertainment relies on the Betting Hero Research division as a trusted partner, delivering timely, relevant, and actionable information that accelerates our digital transformation. Their insights are invaluable,” said William Zeralsky, Vice President Marketing Strategy & Performance – PENN Entertainment
“GeoComply shares Jai and Jeremy’s vision to deliver the very best player experience for our industry. While digital analytics alone can offer great insights, they lack the in-person experience for operators to see, hear, and learn from real customer interactions. Betting Hero bridges that gap by delivering exceptional real-world UX insights. We experienced that firsthand ourselves as customers of their Research division, and now we’re excited to support Betting Hero in using that expertise to drive even greater growth,” said Anna Sainsbury, CEO of GeoComply.
Anna Sainsbury GeoComply’s Co-Founder and CEO
GeoComply announces minority investment in Betting Hero
GeoComply Solutions Inc. today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with FansUnite Entertainment Inc. (“FansUnite”), FansUnite US Inc. (“FansUS”), and Hero Group Corp. (the “Purchaser”) pursuant to which FansUnite has agreed to sell to the Purchaser all of the issued and outstanding shares of FansUS, which owns and operates the Betting Hero business, for an aggregate purchase price of US$37.5 million, subject to ordinary working capital and cash adjustments (the “Transaction”).
Upon completion of the Transaction, the Purchaser will be controlled 60% by Betting Hero’s co-founders, Jai Maw and Jeremy Jakary (the “Betting Hero Co-Founders”), and 40% by GeoComply. GeoComply’s investment in the Purchaser will support the Betting Hero Co-Founders to operate and grow the Betting Hero business following the sale of the Betting Hero business to the Purchaser.
“Jai and Jeremy have built a tremendous business with a laser-like vision to support their customers’ mission for the best possible user experience through the sign-up process. At GeoComply we share that vision and are delighted, through this intended investment, to help Betting Hero further their efforts and deploy more resources and focus into serving our customers and their patrons throughout North America,” said Anna Sainsbury, GeoComply’s Co-Founder and CEO.
Betting Hero has operated for six years and is now active in more than 20 regulated gaming states. Its Activation business has converted over 500,000 new users to online sportsbook and iGaming operators, nearly all of whom were betting at a casino, arena, or in the Betting Hero bar network. The Betting Hero Research segment shows that new users activated by ‘Heroes’ are 50% more likely to make a successful first-time deposit, compared to the industry average. Betting Hero and GeoComply intend to work in tandem to develop real-time solutions that will make the online sportsbook and iGaming activation process as seamless as ever.
Compliance Updates
Sightline Selects GeoComply for Identity and Geolocation Compliance Services
Leading fintech company Sightline has entered into an exclusive partnership with compliance and anti-fraud technology solutions leader GeoComply to bolster the security and efficiency of digital transactions within the regulated gaming industry.
Sightline will integrate GeoComply’s cutting-edge IDComply identity verification solution as well as GeoComply’s compliance-grade geolocation tools across its comprehensive suite of digital payment solutions for land-based casinos and online gaming operators.
GeoComply developed IDComply in direct response to the growing demand for an integrated solution that addresses the expanding compliance needs of the digital gaming industry. Sightline will leverage identity verification and geolocation checks at strategic points during the customer journey to validate that digital transactions comply with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and adhere to Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) sanctions detection and blocking requirements. The partnership will also strengthen Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) protocols to reduce fraud such as account takeovers.
The implementation of IDComply and GeoComply Core within Sightline’s offerings is scheduled to occur over the coming months.
“Digital payments continue to proliferate in the regulated gaming industry, and it is essential to have solutions that safely, securely, and swiftly validate customers’ identities. Implementing these tools across Sightline’s payment solutions will significantly decrease the time it takes to validate an identity and they will bolster compliance with the evolving regulations that govern digital financial transactions. Our vision is to create an omnichannel customer experience where patrons can seamlessly enroll, fund, and play their game of choice in under 180 seconds, putting gaming more in line with payments technologies in areas like retail and ecommerce,” Rose Zwirn, SVP of Business Development at Sightline, said.
“Our companies have a long history of collaboration and we’re excited to be working together to implement our GeoComply Core and IDComply solutions for Sightline’s customers. Our goal is to provide digital trust in every online transaction while opening the funnel for legitimate players and stop fraudsters from entering the digital gaming ecosystem. Working with best-in-class partners like Sightline gets us closer to that goal,” Sam Basile, VP of Business Development at GeoComply, said.
Digital wallets and transactions are becoming more common within the gaming industry, and Sightline is an indispensable and innovative partner to operators across the gaming ecosystem. Sightline will use IDComply to swiftly authenticate customer identities during signup across its platforms, simplifying cashless wagering accounts and online Play+ registrations. This move aims to address identity verification challenges, especially in areas like Nevada that require government IDs for account setup. IDComply is expected to accelerate this process, enhancing safety and user experience by reducing friction.
GeoComply’s advanced geolocation technology helps ensure regulatory compliance and is a strategic asset for gaming enterprises aiming to navigate the complex landscape of digital transactions securely and lawfully. With more than 10 billion transactions processed annually and installed on over 400 million devices worldwide, GeoComply empowers gaming enterprises to meet their compliance needs while providing a secure, trustworthy platform for their customers.
Furthermore, both Sightline and GeoComply have offices located at the Harry Reid Research and Technology Park in Las Vegas, symbolizing their joint commitment to advancing technology and compliance solutions within the gaming industry.
Anna Sainsbury
GeoComply: Super Bowl LVIII Weekend Volumes Increase 22% Year-Over-Year as United States Legal Online Betting Grows
GeoComply, a global leader in advanced anti-fraud and geolocation compliance technologies, has announced a 22.3 percent increase in geolocation checks throughout Super Bowl weekend, surpassing last year’s figures. This sustained growth underscores an important shift in the United States towards a state-regulated, taxed and secure betting environment, enabling more Americans to place legal bets on the year’s most anticipated football game. GeoComply analyzed its data across 28 US states*, Washington DC and Puerto Rico with legal, online sports betting during Super Bowl LVIII weekend.
“The continued transition to the legal market set the stage for a historic first Super Bowl in Las Vegas and the record-breaking results we saw did not disappoint. We are proud to help foster the growth of a regulated industry that puts accountability, security and player protection at the forefront,” the founder and Chief Executive Officer for GeoComply, Anna Sainsbury, said. “Compliance drives our mission and with that commitment we strive to help our customers reliably and responsibly expand the player funnel and boost their businesses. Every year the legal market grows is good news for consumers and states and bad news for illegal offshore sportsbooks that become marginalized.”
Additional Key Insights from Super Bowl LVIII Include:
- Throughout Super Bowl weekend, GeoComply saw a total of 8.5 million active accounts across states where online sports betting is legal. This represents a 15 percent increase over last year’s Super Bowl
- During the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, GeoComply saw more than 1.77 million new users sign up for legal online betting accounts
- Since the start of the 2023/2024 NFL season through the Super Bowl, GeoComply customers have added more than 13.7 million new accounts, a 28 percent increase from last season
- Minutes before kick-off, GeoComply saw a massive spike in traffic totaling 14.75 thousand transactions per second (TPS) immediately. This was the highest TPS ever recorded on GeoComply’s systems, nearly doubling the last Super Bowl’s peak
- Tale of two Kansas cities: Chiefs fans on both sides of the Kansas City border want to support their team. GeoComply’s real-time pin drop map from Super Bowl Sunday shows legal activity in Kansas, while just across the street in Missouri they are blocked from betting
(GeoComply will be releasing additional Super Bowl data insights later this week.)
GeoComply’s technology is critical for the online sports betting industry. Its platform uses more than 800 data points to accurately confirm that players are located in a state where sports betting is legal before placing a bet. Super Bowl LVIII represents many new growth milestones for the legal online sports betting industry but it also represents a significant technical achievement that ensures that players have a fantastic experience and regulators have the proper assurances that all bets placed fall within the appropriate state borders.
“GeoComply’s technology brings the perfect blend of geolocation precision mixed with a rock-solid player experience,” Sainsbury said. “These two aspects of our platform are critical to the industry’s success as a whole and we designed the solution to meet these massive spikes in demand without compromising on either of them. Innovation is at the core of our brand and we will continue to improve on our technology with the expectation that by the next Super Bowl, more states and more players will join the masses.”
*GeoComply’s Super Bowl data is based on GeoComply’s aggregated geolocation transactions for its United States sportsbook customers in regulated states including Massachusetts, Kentucky, Maine, Vermont and Puerto Rico, all new regulated markets since last year’s Super Bowl. The data does not include Florida. Unless otherwise indicated, data for this release was collected starting at 12am ET on February 10 and continuing through the completion of the Super Bowl on February 11.
GeoComply has a unique view of the United States online sports betting market as the trusted geolocation supplier for many of the regulated online sports betting operators in the United States. GeoComply’s data does not purport to be definitive or represent the entire United States market but is intended to provide general insights into relevant market dynamics.
This press release has not been reviewed, authorized, or endorsed by the National Football League (NFL).
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