The swing to a more favorable attitude towards online gambling businesses is noticeable across the board. According to data published by the American Gaming Association (AGC), Americans’ views of the casino gaming industry improved in 2020 as voters increasingly recognize the industry’s economic benefits and commitment to local communities. Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) Americans say that gaming provides a positive benefit to the U.S. economy and 63% agree that the industry provides high-quality jobs. Dustin Gouker, Lead Analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com, explained that “there are a lot of positive signs right now as sportsbooks and online casinos continue to gain steam, and hopefully, the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos begin to regain their footing. If things do return to normal, the gaming industry should see significant gains across the board in 2021. Casino closures have certainly spurred online casinos and online sportsbook betting, which will provide some long-term benefits for the industry.” Bragg Gaming Group Inc., Scientific Games Corporation, International Game Technology PLC, DraftKings Inc., Elys Game Technology Corp

The more favorable attitude towards sports betting and online gambling is a trend that had started before the pandemic but was accelerated due to its effects. To illustrate just how popular online sports betting is in states where the market can already operate, according to data from Odds.com, which was published by Forbes, Illinois was poised to generate upwards of USD 73 Million in taxable revenue if the estimates of a USD 488 Million annual market come to fruition.

Bragg Gaming Group Inc. announced this week that Richard Carter will be assuming the role of CEO from the company’s founder Adam Arviv, effective May 1st. Carter brings five years of experience as CEO at the interactive sports betting provider SB Tech. In april of 2020, Carter left after a successful 3.3 billion dollar merger with DraftKings and a major American acquisition corp.

With years in the industry under his belt, Carter is well equipped to take on this new role.

“I’m excited to lead Bragg on our mission to become a significant force in the B2B gaming space.” Said Carter in a statement this Wednesday. “2020 has been a very successful year for the company and we are well-positioned to maintain this momentum into 2021 and beyond.”

2021 has definitely been a busy year for Bragg Gaming Group so far with significant expansion into European markets and major partnerships including the largest Swiss casino operator. Carter made it clear the company has plans to maintain this growth.

“We will continue to grow and broaden the business in our core European markets, while at the same time starting to accelerate our investment and focus on the fast-growing North American iGaming market. Now is the right time to break into this market, and we look forward to building our cutting-edge technology, data insights, and exclusive casino gaming content to the market.”

The innovative gaming solution provider has been making waves in the iGaming industry with their unique business model. Bragg offers “plug and play” style gaming solutions which has allowed them to expand on a global scale. This scalability has evidently been effective for the company which has seen impressive returns. In the past 2 years alone, Bragg Gaming has increased its customer base by over 300% with revenue growth up 74% in the first 9 months of 2020. As a further testament to Bragg’s success, the company says they haven’t lost a customer in 5 years.

The field iGaming is one to watch this year and Bragg Gaming Group is quickly establishing itself as a leading force in the industry. You can find out more about their financials on the companies “investors” page.

Scientific Games Corporation and International Game Technology PLC, announced on March 1st, that they have signed a cross-licensing agreement for patents related to cashless slot gaming technologies. Under the agreement, Scientific Games and IGT will be able to offer patented cashless gaming technologies from the companies’ combined portfolios of casino management systems solutions to the U.S. gaming industry. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. “This cross-licensing agreement provides casino operators access to the gaming industry’s most compelling portfolio of cashless gaming technologies. We have made significant R&D investments over many years to develop this comprehensive suite of intellectual property in the cashless space. It makes revolutionary improvements to the player experience and represents the greatest advancement in cashless payments since the introduction of Ticket-In, Ticket-Out (TITO),” said Renato Ascoli, IGT CEO Global Gaming. “Cashless gaming is here to stay, and this strong portfolio of cashless IP can help casino operators ensure the safety of players by reducing cash handling and points of contact with slot games, while considerably improving casino operating efficiencies.”

International Game Technology PLC announced last year that its leading PlaySports platform will power world-class retail sports betting at Maverick Gaming’s three Colorado-based casinos as well as interactive sports betting throughout Colorado via Play Maverick Sports. Through a multi-year agreement with Maverick Gaming, IGT will provide its proven PlaySports turnkey solution including user-friendly self-service PlaySports kiosks, to Grand Z Casino and Johnny Z’s Casino in Central City, Colo. and Z Casino in Black Hawk, Colo. The IGT PlaySports platform, complete with a fully integrated Player Account Management (PAM) solution, will also power Maverick Gaming’s “Play Maverick Sports” mobile sports wagering app.

DraftKings Inc. reported last month fourth quarter and full-year 2020 financial results. For the three months ended December 31st, 2020, DraftKings reported revenue of USD 322 Million, an increase of 146% compared to USD 131 Million during the same period in 2019. “With a favorable fourth quarter sports calendar and strong marketing execution, DraftKings was able to generate tremendous customer acquisition and engagement that propelled us to USD 322 Million in fourth quarter revenue, a 98% year over year increase,” said Jason Robins, DraftKings’ co-founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board. “In the fourth quarter of 2020, we saw MUPs increase 44% to 1.5 million and ARPMUP increase 55% to USD 65. We are raising our revenue outlook for 2021 due to our expectation for continued growth, the outperformance of our core business and newly launched states that were not included in our previous guidance.”

Elys Game Technology Corp commented last month on the status of legislation, Bills C-218 and C-13, to legalize single-event sports betting in Canada. The Company is continuing to monitor legislative developments regarding Bill C-218 that passed on February 17th with overwhelming bi-partisan support by a margin of 303 votes in favor to 15 votes against. Bill C-218 is now proceeding to hearings before the Justice Committee. Meanwhile, Bill C-13, an Act to Amend the Criminal Code, a similar bill regarding the legalization of single-event sports betting, is anticipated to be taken up by the House of Commons in the near future with additional hearings set for March 9th and 11th.

SOURCE FinancialBuzz.com