Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – March 22-28

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Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! It was again an eventful week in the USA, despite the still-active virus attack.

Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Full House Resorts Inc. has announced the name and branding of its luxury hotel and casino project in Cripple Creek, Colorado: Chamonix Casino Hotel. Chamonix is located near Full House’s existing Bronco Billy’s Casino. This new project will feature approximately 300 four-star guest rooms and VIP suites as well as a spacious, new, elegant and exciting casino gaming area.

BetMGM has launched BetMGM Poker in Michigan. Michigan joins New Jersey as the second state in the US to introduce BetMGM Poker, the company’s primary online poker offering powered by the partypoker US network. This news follows the January launch of BetMGM’s online sports betting and casino offerings in Michigan. The BetMGM Poker app is now available for download in Michigan on both iOS and Android and accessible via desktop at https://poker.mi.betmgm.com.

Jumio, the leading provider of AI-powered end-to-end identity verification and eKYC solutions, has secured a $150 million investment from Great Hill Partners. The investment will accelerate Jumio’s significant global lead in the digital identity space by devoting additional resources to automate its identity verification solutions, expand the breadth of the Jumio KYX Platform and grow its suite of AML compliance services.

Golden Matrix Group has filed with the SEC to raise up to $10m in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq. The company is currently listed on the OTC. Golden Matrix was founded in 2008 and booked $4 million in revenue for the 12 months ended 31 October 2020. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol GMGI. Kingswood Capital Markets is the sole bookrunner on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.

Simplicity Esports and Gaming Company has announced that it has received a record number of applications submitted via its wholly-owned subsidiary, PLAYlive Nation’s website, from potential franchisees interested in purchasing new franchise territories and opening Simplicity Esports gaming centres. New franchisee applications include disclosure of financial information, desired territory and business background.

The state of Connecticut has reached a deal with its two federally-recognised Native American tribes to provide online gambling and sports betting. The deal will tax online gaming at 18% for the next five years, then up to 20%. Sports betting will be taxed slightly lower. The Connecticut lottery will also be allowed to open a number of sports betting outlets, including venues in Bridgeport and Hartford.

Partnerships

GAN Limited has entered into a deal with Gila River Gaming Enterprises to provide Simulated Gaming solutions to Gila’s patrons across all properties on both desktop and mobile. Gila operates three casinos in Arizona on behalf of the Gila River Indian Community: Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Vee Quiva in Laveen Village and Lone Butte in Chandler. The customised solution is powered by GAN’s core Simulated Gaming software and provides meaningful marketing, brand building and revenue opportunities for both operators and GAN.

Enthusiast Gaming has signed an integrated partnership deal with TikTok, the leading destination for short-form mobile video. TikTok will leverage Enthusiast Gaming’s vast platform of video game and esports fan communities to help drive adoption and bridge the integration of TikTok within the gaming and esports industry. The partnership sees a variety of activations set to be rolled out across Enthusiast Gaming’s platform, such as product and logo placement, promotional activity with influencers and social media, as well as the production of media content.

FYX Gaming has partnered with leading esports betting operator Unikrn. The deal will see the two leading esports companies collaborate to deliver next-generation iGaming products and technology. Headlining the partnership is the inclusion of CryptoFights — a skill-based strategic fighting game and the flagship title for the FYX platform — on Unikrn Virtual, a proprietary gaming product offered by Unikrn that uses historical esports match data to power a non-stop stream of content coupled with live betting markets.

Allied Esports has partnered with Xsens to bring live animated casters to a professional esports tournament production for the first time. Through the use of Xsens’ MVN motion capture systems, Allied will transform its tournament casters into animated characters. The exclusively designed live motion avatars will provide fans with a fun and engaging viewing experience specific to the game being played and create unique, innovative opportunities for brand and product integration.

Acquisitions

XLMedia has entered into an agreement to acquire the business and assets of Sports Betting Dime for about $26 million. The company also announced plans to raise a minimum of about £20 million via a placing and a subscription and up to a further £3 million in an open offer. The net proceeds of the fundraising will be used mainly to finance the SBD purchase.

Lottery.com has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Mexican lottery companies JuegaLotto and Aganar. JuegaLotto is federally licensed to sell international lottery games in Mexico through an authorised federal gaming portal and is licensed for games of chance in other countries throughout Latin America. Aganar is licensed to sell Mexican National Lottery draw games, instant win tickets and other games of chance online with access to a federally approved online casino and sportsbook gaming license.