Total revenue grew 52 per cent in the period, to £20.1m up from £13.3m, while net gaming revenue also increased significantly, up 48 per cent to £19.4m from £13.1m a year prior.

New first-time depositing players increased strongly, up 20 per cent year on year to 156,703. Total cash wagering was up markedly, by 43 per cent to £560m from £390m in the prior period.

However, losses continued even if adjusted EBITDA loss was reduced to £2.4m, down from a loss of £3.4m in FY 2017. The 12-month period also saw an operating loss of £5.5m, an increase on the £4.6m deficit posted in the previous period.

The figures include 12 months’ operation of Nektan’s US division, compared to six months in the prior year. Excluding the US, adjusted EBITDA loss in the period reduced to £1.4m from £2.7m, which saw an operating loss of £0.5m in H2 versus £0.9m in H1.

The figures paint a picture of a robust business presently able to roll with the punches. However, if new CEO Lucy Buckley is to help steer Nektan into smoother waters, the company will need to see those losses wiped out, and soon.

The company will raise some funds through the sale of 57.5 per cent of its US subsidiary Respin, for £2m in cash, and a further £1.5m through an equity placing and subscriptions for new ordinary shares at a price of 15p per share.

Gary Shaw, Nektan founder and executive director, called the year “transformative,” adding that the period had seen “substantial operational enhancements which have led to a significant increase in commercial opportunities for the group.

“During the year, Nektan continued to develop its mobile casino product offering, expanded into new geographic markets, launched new product offerings and grew significantly in each quarter,” he said.

“We believe that our proprietary technology is unique in the market place and we are now attracting major global partners who wish to use the feature rich gaming content we have worked so hard to populate our platforms with.

“By working closely with the best developers of casino games, we can provide our partners with engaging, socially responsible and compliant content. The growth we have seen during this financial year reflects the progress we have made in adding more content and providing this to a growing list of partners,” said Shaw.

“This is a growth trajectory that we continue to see not just domestically, but globally in emerging markets such as Asia.”

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Across the group’s B2B and B2C operations (excluding the US), total gaming revenue jumped 28.4 per cent to £8.6m in the three months to the end of 2018, up from £6.7m on the prior quarter and leaping 83 per cent against the same period in 2017.

In a statement released this morning, Lucy Buckley – appointed CEO in December – said: “”This record-breaking quarter for the group has not only highlighted that we have made significant enhancements to our technology, but we are becoming a firmly established business that is on track to be profitable in our core European business by the end of this financial year ending 30 June 2019.”

Nektan’s B2C white-label managed casino business saw a slight drop in net gaming revenue against the preceding quarter, down 3.1 per cent to £6.2m, although this was still a near 32 per cent jump against the NGR posted in the same period in 2017. The company attributed the fall to higher than expected player wins and bonusing.

The B2B business saw massive growth, albeit from a near-zero starting point. Gross gaming revenue was up seven-fold, to £2.4m in the three months to the end of 2018, helped by Nektan going live with four new operators, including BetVictor and 1xBet, taking the total number of B2B partners into double figures for the first time.

“Looking back at this quarter and ahead, we are very excited about the size of partners we are now attracting,” said Buckley. “Our BetVictor contract win with this tier-one operator is a landmark for Nektan and we are proud to have them believe in the breadth and depth of our offering. The B2B figures continue to demonstrate the huge potential that that division has in fuelling our growth going forward.

“Another significant highlight from the end of the last quarter was the announcement of potential external investment in our US business. Once completed, we believe these developments will put Nektan in its strongest and most secure position to date.”

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Under the terms of the deal, Evoplay’s portfolio will be launched in the UK market with a series of titles set to be distributed via E-Lite, Nektan’s content distribution platform. Players in the UK will be able to experience the “industry’s first ever mass market 3D and VR games” including Necromancer, Elven Princesses, Epic Gladiator and Candy Dreams.

Evoplay Entertainment’s chief business development officer Vladimir Malakchi, commented on the deal: “We are thrilled to be joining the UK’s legendary igaming community in a partnership with one of the industry’s most established businesses, Nektan. 

“UK players are some of the world’s most demanding, and we can’t wait to introduce them to our catalogue of cutting-edge, innovative content and see what they make of it.”

This latest deal for Nektan reiterated its claims at the end of March to focus on international expansion as a gaming technology and content provider as the firm addressed continued change during the first six months of the financial year.

With the UK B2C operations having been classified as discontinued in the current and prior periods following a sale to Grace Media, a global outlook has been adopted which sees platform and integrated technology partnerships entered across Europe, Africa and Asia.

Gary Shaw, CEO of Nektan, added on the firm’s latest deal: “We are delighted to welcome Evoplay Entertainment aboard, and being the first to bring its fresh, pioneering portfolio to the UK is a real plus.

“We have no doubt that this is the start of a long and fruitful commercial relationship and are sure that Evoplay Entertainment’s immersive catalogue will prove to be a hit with players and operators alike.”  

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With the UK B2C operations having been classified as discontinued in the current and prior periods following a sale to Grace Media, a global outlook has been adopted which sees platform and integrated technology partnerships entered across Europe, Africa and Asia.

The company asserts in its future outlook that it is currently seeking further integrations with partners across global markets, including expansion into LatAm in the coming months, in a bid to transform the revenue profile of the group.

With 21 sites in the pipeline to launch, as opposed to six a year earlier, Nektan’s revenue during the first half of the financial year increased 157 per cent to £797,000, up from 2019’s £310,000.

Operating loss from continuing operations increased in H1 FY20 to £2.46m (2019: £2.31m) as the business gained traction with new partner launches while continuing to absorb a higher cost base supporting the transition of the UK B2C business.

Gary Shaw, interim chief executive officer of Nektan, said of the firm’s latest financial publication: “Whilst we are currently live with 34 sites across multiple continents, we see a strong pipeline of partner launches from leading global businesses to deliver their online gaming solutions.

“The roll-out of these sites should take place over the next 2-3 months, which will significantly transform the revenue profile of the group. This higher margin revenue is forecast to drive the group to EBITDA break-even by the end of this current financial year.

“However, the effects of COVID-19 are only beginning to be understood by the company and our sector, which creates material uncertainty as we understand the effects on our key stakeholders. The directors are assessing all available options and we will provide further updates as appropriate.

“I place on record my thanks to the board, our staff, our partners and all stakeholders in their continued efforts and support for the business.”

Furthermore, Nektan also updated on a 42.5 per cent material stake in US-based interactive gaming operator, Rapid Games, which provides US land-based casinos with an in-venue mobile gaming solution. 

Company directors have been advised that Rapid Games has now ceased to operate following the inability of the majority shareholder to secure additional funding in the current economic climate, and following the closure of casinos in North America. This is not expected to impact on FY20 full year results as the carrying value of investment had been reduced to zero in FY19.

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Woohoo Games, which Nektan lauds as having “become one of the ‘must have’ real-money, RNG providers,” asserts that it has been striving to deepen its global presence as a strategic priority over recent times.

With a portfolio of ten igaming titles currently in its portfolio, and three more to come this month, Woohoo emphasises that this is the “next step” in the company’s evolution as it seeks to expand beyond its Asian stronghold.

Ed Whittington, Woohoo Games’ head of business development, explained: “Nektan are a hugely respected shop floor for gaming operators because they do in-depth research on the providers they recommend. As a result we are, obviously, delighted to be one of those highlighted on their influential aggregation service.”

Earlier this year international gaming technology platform and services provider Nektan released its trading update for the final six months of 2019 which reveals extensive B2B growth and a continuing review of its CEO role.

This follows on from the appointment of Gary Shaw as interim last year as the firm strived to achieve stabilisation amid a focus on international expansion.

Nektan’s B2B growth saw the group generate revenues of £787,000 in H1 FY20, representing a growth of 153.1 per cent over H1 FY19.

Jaydeep Chakravartty, VP of commercials for Nektan, added on the new partnership: “The games provider market is a very competitive one and it is hard for newer operators to break through. But we have been very impressed with Woohoo’s UX and are sure that operators, and their customers alike, will be very happy with their suite of games.”

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This follows on from the appointment of Gary Shaw as interim last year as the firm strived to achieve stabilisation amid a focus on international expansion.

Nektan’s B2B growth saw the group generate revenues of £787,000 in H1 FY20, representing a growth of 153.1 per cent over H1 FY19.

Shaw commented: “The restructuring represents an important milestone for Nektan. We can now focus on executing our strategy of becoming a dedicated casino technology and gaming content provider globally. These initial results support the directors’ decision to focus solely on B2B opportunities.

“Trading for the six months to 31 December 2019 saw the group achieving more than double the revenues for the same period last year. The last few months have seen an intense period of activity culminating in now having 34 sites live.

“With the majority of these going live at the back end of the calendar year, combined with a 3-4 month ramp up period, we expect to report further significant revenue growth during the current quarter (Q3 2020) – early signs in January underpin this. As a result, the group continues to anticipate reaching monthly EBITDA break-even by the end of this financial year.”

Q2 FY20 also saw an intense period of activity with a significant number of sites either entering beta or going live resulting in revenue in December 2019 growing by 102.7 per cent over November 2019.

Furthermore, the group has now become live in multiple markets across Europe, Africa and Asia, with Latin America set to be launched in Q3 2020. The board also reported that it has launched a further 6 sites in January 2020 that were in beta in December 2019.

The group is now live in multiple markets across Europe, Africa and Asia, with Latin America to be launched in Q3 2020. Nektan launched a further 6 sites in January 2020 that were in beta in December 2019, with a further pipeline of 21 confirmed and are currently due to be launched over the coming months

The restructuring of the group in the second half of last year subsequently rendered the group unable to publish its full-year results, as a result of which trading in its shares was suspended. Following the publication of the full-year results, Nektan has seen the listing of its shares restored on AIM.

Total revenue for the year ending June 30, 2018, came in at £22.6m (2018: £19.8m), with earnings lengthened to £2m from £1.3m and loss before tax deepening to £6.4m (2018: £5m).

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3

The advertisement of random number generator games is set to be heavily restricted as confirmed in the draft gambling regulations submitted by the Greek Ministry of Finance to the European Commission.

The draft legislation comes as the Ministry of Finance seeks to implement further controls on the gambling industry.

As confirmed in the legislation, Random number generator games will be subject to a maximum stake of €2, with the maximum profit per gaming session set to be limited to €5,000.

Jackpot games are also set to face further restrictions, with pay outs set to be limited to a maximum of €500,000.

The draft legislation also outlines limitations that will be placed on the advertisement of random number generator games, whereby the games can only be promoted on the sites where they can be played.

200,000

Nektan CEO Gary Shaw has remarked that the £200,000 sale of the firm’s UK B2C business to Grace Media “is very reassuring to all stakeholders involved,” as previously announced “significant restructuring” continues.

The sale to Grace Media, which forms part of the Active Win Group, follows the appointment Mark Phillips and Julie Swan of PCR London LLP as joint administrators of group subsidiary Nektan (Gibraltar) Limited, which subsequently led to the sale.

Nektan states for the year ended June 30, 2018, the UK B2C business generated turnover of £19.4m and was loss making, with the sum payable as an initial £50,000 and the remaining balance payable subject to the UK B2C business meeting a series of agreed KPIs. The sale proceeds will be used by the administrators in the course of running the administration of NGL.

Nektan also says that the sale will have no impact on the ongoing business of the company, with a B2B partnership entered alongside Active Win to facilitate continued, uninterrupted delivery of services to the UK B2C business.

60

Online gambling operator LeoVegas is pulling its Royal Panda brand out of the UK market, with poor performance meaning that the entity no longer operating across the region from Friday 31 January, 2020.

Acquired by the group in October 2017 for €60m, with the company adding a further €60m in earn-out incentives, an enlarged strategic UK footprint was initially lauded.

“This gives us two great brands with global appeal, which makes the scalability in the continued growth strong while strengthening our position in the UK,” Gustaf Hagman, CEO and co-founder of LeoVegas, commented at the time.

The decision to withdraw the brand from the market follows a financial update issued by the group related to 2019’s third quarter, when Hagman said: “The UK is profitable at group level but remains challenging, where Royal Panda in particular had poorer performance during the quarter”.

2020

888 Holdings has entered 2020 “with good momentum across several regulated European markets,” as the group stressed confidence in achieving its EBITDA targets for 2019.

Boosted by continued progress during the second half of the year, particularly in December where revenue reached “an all-time monthly record,” the post close trading update, which did not contain specific figures, pertained to the year ending December 31, 2019.

888 comments that its performance in the past year has been underpinned by the continued success of the Orbit casino platform across a number of regulated markets, as well as further good revenue growth in sport.

Despite acknowledging the continuing challenge across the poker market, the firm did stress that it’s pleased by progress made in the first-phase roll-out of the new Poker 8 platform during H2 2019.

Furthermore, a number of new products as well as the rolling out the final-phase platform across the group’s poker markets is to follow during 2020.

Switching focus to specific jurisdictions, 888 reported a continued revenue increase in the UK, with Italy also said to be performing well during the year’s second half, driven by growth in casino.

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The sale to Grace Media, which forms part of the Active Win Group, follows the appointment Mark Phillips and Julie Swan of PCR London LLP as joint administrators of group subsidiary Nektan (Gibraltar) Limited, which subsequently led to the sale.

Nektan states for the year ended June 30, 2018, the UK B2C business generated turnover of £19.4m and was loss making, with the sum payable as an initial £50,000 and the remaining balance payable subject to the UK B2C business meeting a series of agreed KPIs. The sale proceeds will be used by the administrators in the course of running the administration of NGL.

Warren Jacobs, CEO of Active Win Group, explained: “The opportunity to acquire the UK B2C business allows Active Win Group to expand further into the UK online casino market, furthering our growth in this market from being a white label operator ourselves, to working with the full complement of business partners established by Nektan in recent years. 

“We believe that with the right focus and attention, in a changing and dynamic market, that we will be able to deliver for all our stakeholders, including all of our newly acquired white label partners.

“We look forward to working together with Nektan as our exclusive B2B partner as we grow the business in the coming years.”

Nektan stresses that the sale will have no impact on the ongoing business of the company, with a B2B partnership entered alongside Active Win to facilitate continued, uninterrupted delivery of services to the UK B2C business.  

Gary Shaw, interim chief executive officer of Nektan, commented: “For the administrators of NGL to secure the sale of the UK B2C business to a group of the calibre of Active Win Group, in order to see the continued, uninterrupted delivery of the white label operation the group has built over the years, is very reassuring to all stakeholders involved.

“We look forward to working in partnership through the B2B relationship with the buyer as they take the business forward.”

In a previous announcement the company said that an NGL outstanding debt of £4.6m to HMRC in remote gaming duty, increased to £5.6m in November and relating to the group’s UK B2C business, had been ringfenced.

The protects Nektan from any claim by the HMRC, however it was confirmed that the company “has been working with its advisors and the administrators to develop a repayment plan acceptable to HMRC to allow the RGD liability to be repaid in full over time.”

Via the restructuring plans in place Nektan directors believe it will allow the firm to target new emerging markets with a strengthened balance sheet and cash position, as well as noting that ongoing trading will not be affected during this period.

Shaw added: “I wish to place on record Nektan’s appreciation of the continued support from all of its employees, partners, suppliers and shareholders. 

“The group restructuring reaffirms the directors’ decision to focus on emerging opportunities in international markets both directly and through our established re-seller relationships. 

“The completion of our recent fundraising has provided the company with the financial strength to complete this restructuring, and with the support afforded by all stakeholders, the directors are confident of the future.”

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Nektan, which is listed on the UK AIM market, said that as a result of teh ongoing discussions it will most likely not publish its annual accounts for the year to June 30, 2019, on December 31, as AIM market rules dictate.

The delay in publishing the accounts means that trading in Nektan stock on AIM is likely to be temporarily suspended from 7.30am on Thursday, January 2, until the accounts have been published – something Nektan expects will happen “during January 2020”. 

Updating progress, Nektan said that the group is “ahead of expectations and on track to complete 20 new site launches by the end of December,” with further launches scheduled for Q1 2020.

The board continues to expect these launches to be “transformational,” with “significant revenues” anticipated once these new sites are established, which Nektan says will be “typically three-to-four months after going live”.

The statement continued: “Notwithstanding that, the Group is pleased that a number of the new launches have started producing revenue underpinning confidence in the Group’s B2B division and validating the decision to restructure in order to dedicate resources to these opportunities.”

The delay continues a turbulent period for Nektan, which saw CEO Lucy Buckley resign in August, replaced by interim CEO and company founder Gary Shaw.

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$870m

The Stars Group has seen a $870m Black Friday ruling against the operator in the US state of Kentucky overturned by an appeal court, reversing in full a December, 2015, trial court judgement.

When, on April 15, 2011 – so-called Black Friday – the US government took sweeping actions against the country’s online gambling operations, enforcing the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, a series of actions and reactions were set in motion – including the $870m lawsuit against PokerStars, lodged by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals stated that “allowing a complaint, like the one put forth by the Commonwealth, to move forward would lead to an absurd, unjust result.”

“We applaud the decision of the highly-respected three-judge panel of the Kentucky Court of Appeals,” said Marlon Goldstein, EVP and chief legal officer of The Stars Group. “The merits of the case prevailed, and we look forward to putting this matter behind us as we sharpen our focus on executing on our growth strategy going forward.”

$2,390

Two of Atlantic City’s land-based establishments have fallen foul of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, after being found to have offered wagers on college football earlier in the year.

Such activity is illegal within the state, with Golden Nugget Atlantic City and Caesars Entertainment Corporation subsequently being found to have broken state regulation.

As a result Caesars, which permits sports wagering at its Bally’s and Harrah’s establishments within the region, was fined $2,000 for taking bets on a September 10 football game between Rutgers and Kansas.

Furthermore, the Golden Nugget was penalised $390, arising from bets associated with various, although unspecified, New Jersey college football games during the same period.

The law applies to every Garden State university and is designed to stop wagering on any college sporting events that take place in the state, regardless of whether or not those events are between New Jersey educational facilities.

Those customers who bet on the games in question will receive a full refund if they can be identified.

£20.1m

Nektan released its full-year financial report, for the period ending June 30, 2018, which saw both revenue and reach grow, whilst losses continued, despite being reduced.

Total revenue grew 52 per cent in the period, to £20.1m up from £13.3m, while net gaming revenue also increased significantly, up 48 per cent to £19.4m from £13.1m a year prior.

New first-time depositing players increased strongly, up 20 per cent year on year to 156,703, whilst total cash wagering was up markedly, by 43 per cent to £560m from £390m in the prior period.

However, losses continued even if adjusted EBITDA loss was reduced to £2.4m, down from a loss of £3.4m in FY 2017. The 12-month period also saw an operating loss of £5.5m, an increase on the £4.6m deficit posted in the previous period.

The figures include 12 months’ operation of Nektan’s US division, compared to six months in the prior year. Excluding the US, adjusted EBITDA loss in the period reduced to £1.4m from £2.7m, which saw an operating loss of £0.5m in H2 versus £0.9m in H1.

Gary Shaw, Nektan founder and executive director, commented: “During the year, Nektan continued to develop its mobile casino product offering, expanded into new geographic markets, launched new product offerings and grew significantly in each quarter.

“We believe that our proprietary technology is unique in the market place and we are now attracting major global partners who wish to use the feature rich gaming content we have worked so hard to populate our platforms with.”

2

Global hospitality and entertainment firm Delaware North has unveiled two casino-based sportsbooks within West Virginia, in addition to also launching its BetLucky.com online and mobile app for statewide sports wagering.

The retail sportsbooks are located at Wheeling Island Hotel Casino Racetrack in Wheeling and Mardi Gras Casino & Resort near Charleston, which opened this week opened after the completion of field testing.

The free BetLucky betting app, available at BetLucky.com or the Apple App Store, is the first to be available in West Virginia and can be used to wager anywhere within the state.

Luisa Woods, vice president of marketing for Delaware North’s gaming division, commented: “We think West Virginians and visitors to the Mountain State are going to love how easy it is to register and use the app.

“The platform was designed to be flexible, easy to use and reliable, with innovative features designed specifically to engage and entertain US sports fans. Patrons at the casinos can use the app or the betting tellers in the sportsbooks.”

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