Evolution acquires Livespins, Kindred appoints Andén, Kindred in focus

Big companies are making big moves this week, with the Super Bowl around the corner, and Evolution snapping up a disruptor in the iGaming industry.

Evolution, one of the most significant entities in the iGaming industry, has made a play for Livespins a company that prides itself on revitalizing the online casino experience and helping influencers and streamers connect with audiences, creating tremendous operator and supplier value in the process. The deal is valued at €5m in total up-front cash consideration, along with additional payments due and contingent on Livespins’ results in 2026.

Kindred Group remains in the news for yet another week, with the company posting its latest revenue derived from harmful gambling. The gambling behemoth has been on a quest to completely end this metric, but it has been taking a while, which should serve as a wake-up call to others deliberating embarking on the same route, but not having set out the door. It takes time, as Kindred Group’s latest metric showed that 3.1% of revenue came from at-risk or harmful gambling.

In the meantime, the company has remained united at the top, appointing Nils Andén in the permanent position of Chief Executive Officer. He stepped in a temporary position back in May, but will now continue to steer the company at a time of important developments, including a proposed takeover bid by Française des Jeux.

BetMGM posted some outstanding results of its own, with the company reporting the numbers for FY 2023 and noting that its net revenue results were largely aligned with its guidance. The company’s net revenue hit $1.96bn, a 36% gain on an annual basis. Of course, BetMGM and all other operators with exposure to the US market are now looking at the big game due to take place on Monday.

Super Bowl LVII is a much-anticipated event, and it is bound to bring in significant economic opportunity for operators that operate in regulated markets in the country. The American Gaming Association predicts that a new record will be set this year, with 67.8m American adults taking a punt on the outcome of the big game, and some $23.1bn going down in wagers. Both metrics are record-setting if true.

Speaking of significant results this year – or last – it’s hard to ignore the fact that EveryMatrix also pulled the numbers on its performance in 2023, with the full-year performance hitting €114m in net revenue, a significant gain from previous years. Every vertical and division within the company reported growth last year, establishing the company’s strength.

Suppliers Not Wasting Any Time

It is true. Look at any supplier these days and they are all busy pushing out content. Wizard Games and Play’n GO both had a bit of Incan magic to introduce to us with their latest instalments, Incan Treasures and Cat Wilde and the Incan Quest respectively.

One of the truly notable releases this week is Adrenaline Rush 3D by Evoplay, a company that has vowed to simplify but also innovate the iGaming space and present fresh opportunities. Adrenaline Rush 3D is released in three different variations, as a skill-based, slot, and crash game, giving each type of player something they would appreciate in the title.

An ambitious release, Evoplay has used production of scales to ensure that it reiterates the same core concept in slightly altered gameplay parameters and ensures that its title reaches and appeals to players of all hues.

Meanwhile, Light & Wonder continues to strengthen its content delivery capabilities with the company adding Crucible Gaming as the latest supplier from which it intends to distribute content. Crucible Gaming is a rising star in the industry, and it is already showing a lot of promise, enough for Light & Wonder to pick it up and give it an additional nudge along.

The Industry Chatter

We are pleased to have had the chance to catch up with more people from the industry this week and put a significant focus on introducing the shortlisted candidates for the upcoming Casino Guru Awards 2024.

To this end, we spoke with Royspins, one of the shortlisted nominees in the Most Effective Handling of Complaints and The Fairest Bonus Policy categories who gave us their two pence on what it means to run a sustainable and ethical business that relies heavily on fair bonus policies and ensures that customers trust it, even when there is a complaint to resolve.

Yet, Royspins also offers a fair warning, arguing that the industry as a whole has a long way to go to truly up its bonusing game. A similar sentiment is echoed by Snatch Casino, another nominee for the Casino Guru Awards 2024, which is also competing in the Fairest Bonus Policy category.

According to Snatch Casino, impersonal textual information alone won’t help players truly understand what a bonus is about, and casinos need to be able to step up and provide all the additional aids that can make this process simpler and more transparent.

Not least, we were happy to share an Opinion Piece by Alexandr Kosohov, CEO at Gamzix, who believes that iGaming businesses stand to benefit from tailoring their strategy on LinkedIn a little better. You can find out more about this in Kosohov’s "Gambling Companies on LinkedIn — Are They Getting It Right?"

Casino Guru News is also back with another All Things Gambling webinar series episode, featuring Matt Smith, Head of External Affairs for UK charity Betknowmore. In this episode, we take a look at "The Value of Research in Dealing with Gambling Problems."

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