Gambling in the USA
Pioneering VC Fund Targeting Legal U.S. Sports Betting Opportunity
Gambling industry veterans bring funding, expertise to wave of new sports betting startups through newly formed Sports Gaming Investment Fund (SGIF)
The market for sports betting in the U.S. is expanding at an unprecedented pace following a 2018 Supreme Court decision that allowed all states to legalize sportsbooks. A wave of innovative startups is emerging with products, services, and solutions designed to tap the estimated $17 billion dollar opportunity that legal U.S. sports betting represents.
Discovering, funding, and guiding the development of the best of those startups is the goal of the Sports Gaming Investment Fund (SGIF), a pioneering VC fund focused primarily on the U.S. legal sports betting industry.
Management for this industry-first fund features a host of gambling industry, investment, and venture expertise:
- Chris Grove, Managing Partner:Â Grove is a partner at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, heading the firm’s sports betting practice.
- David Sargeant, Managing Partner:Â Sargeant is the founder and CEO of iGaming Ideas, a leading international incubator for gambling startups, and sports betting consultant.
- Blaine Graboyes, Advisory Partner:Â Graboyes is the co-founder and CEO of the groundbreaking gambling machine developer GameCo.
- Seth Schorr, Advisory Partner:Â Schorr is the Chairman of Fifth Street Gaming and co-founder of the streaming media startup Konek TV.
- SeventySix Capital, Advisory Partner: SeventySix brings decades of fund management to the SGIF team and will assist with deal structure, vetting, and back office.
“There’s no doubt that the keys to fully unlocking the potential of the U.S. sports betting market are in the hands of startups,” said Grove, a nationally recognized expert on the legal sportsbook industry. “We’re just now starting to see the ideas that will ultimately define sports betting in the United States.”
“The pace of development in the U.S. market only increases the opportunity for startups,” added Sargeant, who has evaluated hundreds of early-stage companies during his career. “Large casinos and software providers won’t have the bandwidth or resources to truly innovate. They’re too busy simply getting up and running.”
Investors in SGIF have been attracted to the combination of timing, team, and opportunity.
“My decision to invest in SGIF was driven by my belief in the team’s superior deal flow, their proven ability to evaluate that flow, and the resources they can deploy to support portfolio companies,” said Jeremy Levine, an investor in SGIF. Levine is the founder of multiple companies, including DRAFT, which was acquired by PaddyPower Betfair in 2017.
For startups, SGIF will play an invaluable role in guiding them through the regulated gambling  landscape.
“Gambling is one of the toughest industries for startups from a compliance perspective,” noted Graboyes, who has steered GameCo from concept to a heavily licensed gambling supplier. “Having the right plan as early as possible in the process can easily be the difference between success and failure for a startup targeting the sports betting industry.”
SGIF will add additional value to portfolio companies by helping to ensure optimal product fit and market access.
“Startups don’t always appreciate what problems larger gambling companies are actually attempting to solve and what opportunities do and don’t resonate with those companies,” said Schorr, who has held management roles at several Las Vegas casinos and currently operates the Downtown Grand in Las Vegas. “We will help our startups hone their product, model, and approach to fit with the real demand within the gambling industry, and then match a startup’s product to that demand.”
For more information, visit www.SGIF.vc.
About SGIF
Sports Gaming Investment Fund (SGIF) is a VC fund focused on startups that support the emerging U.S. market for legal sports betting.
Source: SGIF
Gambling in the USA
New Trade Association Launches Unprecedented Effort to Strengthen Responsible Online Gaming, Promote Best Practices
The Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA), an independent trade association launched by seven of the largest U.S. legal mobile gaming companies, will actively promote a new industry-wide best practices charter, overseen by one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of responsible gaming (RG).
This unprecedented effort will be led by Dr. Jennifer Shatley, a deeply respected responsible gaming executive with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. She will serve as ROGA’s full-time Executive Director, and her role will be to facilitate widespread education to all relevant parties on the subject of responsible gaming.
ROGA will embark on a series of initiatives under Dr. Shatley’s direction. These include research, consumer and industry responsible gaming education and awareness, promoting responsible gaming best practices, an independent data clearinghouse, and an independent certification program.
Demonstrating their commitment to this endeavor, initial member companies – who together represent more than 85% of the legalized online sports betting and iGaming industry – have pledged more than $20 million in support of ROGA’s mission in year one. ROGA’s member companies include BetMGM, bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital, and PENN Entertainment.
“I am humbled, honored, and excited to be selected to lead ROGA during this important period of growth in legalized mobile gaming. Many of America’s largest legal mobile gaming operators will be establishing a framework that helps to aid in responsible gaming education and awareness. Together, our members will work alongside researchers, experts, regulators and stakeholders to promote responsible online gaming and maximize our efforts to support additional responsible gaming education and awareness. By coming together with a clear set of objectives, ROGA and our members will work to enhance consumer protections and help provide easier and more efficient access to responsible gaming tools for consumers to enjoy the entertainment of online gaming,” said Dr. Shatley.
Compliance Updates
Play’n GO awarded Pennsylvania license 
Play’n GO has continued on its upward trajectory in North America by landing its latest US iGaming licenses and will soon supply its award-winning content portfolio to operators and players in Pennsylvania and Delaware
These licenses are the fifth and sixth obtained by the Swedish gaming giants in the USA, following New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, and Connecticut.
Play’n GO have taken a dual-pronged approach to its strategy in North America, with these US licenses being complimented by the company’s success north of the border in Canada, where Play’n GO was one of the first suppliers to be licensed to supply slot games in the province of Ontario.
Although early in its American journey, Play’n GO games such as Piggy Blitz, make regular appearances in the top 15 most popular titles in all of North America*.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer for Play’n GO, said: “Play’n GO content is the most conducive to player retention across the industry. With player acquisition costs sky high in the US, we’re pleased to be able to offer operators in Pennsylvania access to our content which will keep players coming back for more.
“We are determined to be the number one casino gaming supplier in every regulated market in the world, and given that we are thriving in more than 25 jurisdictions around the world where we have a license, we fully expect a similar success story in Pennsylvania in the coming years.”
Play’n GO is set to release more than 50 online slot titles in 2024 and is active in more than 25 regulated jurisdictions worldwide, including Ontario, New Jersey, Michigan and West Virginia in North America.
Gambling in the USA
Lightning Box concocts scientific experiment with new release Experi-MENTAL
 Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ and ASX: LNW) (together with its subsidiaries, “Light & Wonder” or “L&W”) announced the launch of its new game, Experi-MENTAL, stacked with features, modifiers and a clash with the mad scientist.
Experi-MENTAL has two in-game features to enhance the overall player experience.
This 3×5 title, exhibits the distinctive Expanding Wild Feature, which can award huge prizes for players should the Wild Brain symbol expand and replicate by five times during the Free Games round.
When players enter the mad scientist’s lab, they will stumble across the Upgrading Feature, which zaps the 9, 10, J, Q, K or A symbols into high-paying icons, including Test Tubes, Power Switch, Cat, Pug or Man. The wins are then accumulated and paid out once the reels have stopped spinning.
The Barrel Pick Feature can radio-activate the feature by awarding an extra 15 Free Games, as players are presented with highly dangerous barrels with an unknown material.
A meter appears when players select a barrel, with a red area and a green area in view. Landing on the meter’s green area ensures the Free Games round is triggered and additional games are awarded but landing in the red zone activates only the round itself.
The classic Free Games mode is unlocked when Scatter symbols appear, with five Scatters granting the maximum of 10 Free Games and the Barrel Pick Feature. During the round, Free Games can be retriggered at any time.
Experi-MENTAL is set to go live with Caesars in New Jersey, Michigan and Ontario initially, and will be available at a later date to customers of Light & Wonder’s industry-leading OPENGAMING™ platform.
 Michael Maokhamphiou, Studio Director at Lightning Box, said: “Experi-MENTAL is one Wacky slot game, and we believe it can propel our slots onto the next level.
 “During this game, players can unlock some new features, which add a dramatic element to this slot and classic round that are a cornerstone of Lightning Box’s portfolio. We are in no doubt will love taking on the mad scientist in this epic title.”
 Rob Procter, VP of Game Development at Light & Wonder, said: “2024 is going to be a big year for Lightning Box and the launch of Experi-MENTAL gives players the opportunity to showcase this thrilling game.
 “With a variety of different features exhibited on this captivating title, it sets Lightning Box apart from its competitors, ensuring the player experience is unrivalled.”
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