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Apolo III Acquisition Corp. Announces Execution of Business Combination Agreement

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Colorado Approves $1.5 Million to Combat Problem Gambling

 

Apolo III Acquisition Corp. is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated March 8, 2021, it has entered into a definitive business combination agreement dated April 19, 2021 (the “Business Combination Agreement”) with Playmaker Capital Inc. (“Playmaker”) and 2830125 Ontario Inc. (“Apolo Subco”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apolo, incorporated, pursuant to the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the “OBCA”) in connection with the proposed business combination of Apolo and Playmaker, which transaction (the “Qualifying Transaction”) is intended to constitute Apolo’s “Qualifying Transaction” (within the meaning of Policy 2.4 – Capital Pool Companies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “Exchange”)).

The Business Combination Agreement provides for, among other things, a three-cornered amalgamation (the “Amalgamation”) pursuant to which, among other things: (a) Playmaker will amalgamate (the “First Amalgamation”) with Apolo Subco, (b) all of the post-Playmaker Consolidation (as described below) common shares of Playmaker (each, a “Playmaker Consolidation Share”) outstanding immediately prior to the First Amalgamation will be cancelled and, in consideration therefor, the holders thereof will receive post-Apolo Consolidation (as described below) common shares of Apolo (each, an “Apolo Consolidation Share”) on the basis of one (1) Playmaker Consolidation Share for one (1) Apolo Consolidation Share, and (c) the entity resulting from the amalgamation between Playmaker and Apolo Subco will subsequently amalgamate (the “Second Amalgamation”) with Apolo under the OBCA (the “Resulting Issuer”), and the Apolo Consolidation Shares outstanding immediately prior to the Second Amalgamation will be exchanged for the common shares of the Resulting Issuer (each, a “Resulting Issuer Share”) on the basis of one (1) Apolo Consolidation Share for each one (1) Resulting Issuer Share. After giving effect to the Qualifying Transaction, the shareholders of Playmaker will collectively exercise control over Apolo.

Prior to or on completion of the Amalgamation (the “Effective Time”), it is intended that: (i) the outstanding common shares of Apolo (each, an “Apolo Share”) will be consolidated (the “Apolo Consolidation”) on the basis of one (1) Apolo Consolidation Share for each 4.54 pre-Apolo Consolidation Apolo Shares, (ii) common shares of Playmaker (each, a “Playmaker Share”) will be consolidated (the “Playmaker Consolidation”) on the basis of one (1) Playmaker Consolidation Share for every 2.5 pre-Playmaker Consolidation Playmaker Shares, (iii) Apolo will change its name to “Playmaker Capital Inc.”, and (iv) provided the Escrow Release Conditions (as defined below) are satisfied, each Subscription Receipt (as defined below) will automatically convert into one Playmaker Consolidation Share prior to the Effective Time.

Completion of the proposed Qualifying Transaction is subject to, among other things, receipt of all necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals.

The Business Combination Agreement

The Business Combination Agreement contemplates that, among others, the following conditions precedent be met prior to the Effective Time, including, but not limited to, (a) acceptance by the Exchange and receipt of other applicable regulatory approvals; (b) completion of the Subscription Receipt Financing (as defined below); (c) receipt of the requisite approvals of the shareholders of Apolo (the “Apolo Shareholders”) with respect to the Apolo Consolidation, adoption of a new stock option plan (in such form as requested by Playmaker, acting reasonably) (the “Stock Option Plan”), the director appointments agreed upon by Apolo and Playmaker (the “Director Appointments”) and adoption of an advance notice by-law; (d) receipt of the requisite approvals of the shareholders of Playmaker with respect to the Playmaker Consolidation and the Amalgamation; (e) no adverse material change in the business, affairs, financial condition or operations of Playmaker or Apolo having occurred between the date of entering into the Business Combination Agreement and the closing date of the Qualifying Transaction; and (f) dissent rights shall have been exercised in respect of no more than 5% of the issued and outstanding Playmaker Shares. There can be no assurance that the Qualifying Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

The Amalgamation will not constitute a Non-Arm’s Length Qualifying Transaction (as such term is defined in the policies of the Exchange). No person who or which is a Non-Arm’s Length Party (as such term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) of Apolo has any direct or indirect beneficial interest in the share capital of Playmaker or its assets prior to giving effect to the Amalgamation and no such person is an insider of Playmaker. Similarly, there is no known relationship between or among any person who or which is a Non-Arm’s Length Party of Apolo and any person who or which is a Non-Arm’s Length Party to Playmaker.

If all conditions to the implementation of the Amalgamation have been satisfied or waived, Apolo and Playmaker will carry out the Amalgamation. Pursuant to the terms of the Amalgamation, it is expected that the following security conversions, exercise and issuances will occur among Apolo, Playmaker and the securityholders of Playmaker at or prior to the Effective Time:

  1. the Apolo Shares being consolidated on the basis of one (1) post-Apolo Consolidation Apolo Share for every 4.54 pre-Apolo Consolidation Apolo Shares;
  2. an aggregate of 23,875,000 options (the “Founder Options”) collectively held by Relay Ventures Fund III L.P., Relay Ventures Parallel Fund III L.P. Jordan Gnat and JPG Investments Inc. to acquire an equal number of Playmaker Shares at a price of US$0.00001 per Playmaker Share will be exercised;
  3. all issued and outstanding Class A Preferred Shares of Playmaker shall be converted to Playmaker Shares (subject to applicable adjustment for the Playmaker Consolidation);
  4. the Playmaker Shares (excluding the Playmaker Shares to be issued upon conversion of the Subscription Receipts and conversion of the Playmaker Debentures (as defined below)) being consolidated on the basis of one (1) Playmaker Consolidation Share for every 2.5 pre-Playmaker Consolidation Shares;
  5. the Subscription Receipts being exchanged, without additional consideration or further action, into Playmaker Consolidation Shares upon satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions;
  6. the 5.0% convertible debentures (the “Playmaker Debentures”) in an aggregate principal amount of $12,500,000 issued in connection with the acquisition of Futbol Sites LLC and Odenton Company S.A. by Playmaker on March 3, 2021 will be converted into Playmaker Consolidation Shares at a price equal to the greater of (i) $0.10 per Playmaker Consolidation Share, and (ii) 80% of the per-share price attributed to the Playmaker Consolidation Shares in connection with the Qualifying Transaction;
  7. each Broker Warrant (as defined below) to be issued to the Agents (as defined below) in connection with the Subscription Receipt Financing outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be exchanged for Resulting Issuer Share purchase warrants (the “Resulting Issuer Broker Warrants”) such that the holders of such Resulting Issuer Broker Warrants will be entitled to the purchase of one Resulting Issuer Share per one Resulting Issuer Broker Warrant;
  8. Apolo will acquire all of the issued and outstanding Playmaker Consolidation Shares such that all issued and outstanding Playmaker Consolidation Shares, including those issued in exchange for the Subscription Receipts and those issued on conversion of the Playmaker Debentures, will be exchanged, without additional consideration or further action, for Resulting Issuer Shares on the basis of one (1) Playmaker Consolidation Share for one (1) Resulting Issuer Share;
  9. each stock option of Playmaker (other than the Founder Options) and each warrant of Playmaker outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, whether vested or not vested, shall be cancelled and exchanged for comparable securities of the Resulting Issuer ( “Resulting Issuer Options” and “Resulting Issuer Warrants”) on economically equivalent terms, subject to adjustments contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement; and
  10. each stock option of Apolo outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, whether vested or not vested, shall be cancelled and exchanged for Resulting Issuer Options on economically equivalent terms, subject to adjustments contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement.

Immediately following the Effective Time, the Resulting Issuer is expected to have 178,813,069 Resulting Issuer Shares, 7,014,200 Resulting Issuer Options, 730,800 Resulting Issuer Warrants and 1,575,600 Resulting Issuer Broker Warrants issued and outstanding. As of the Effective Time, the current Apolo Shareholders will hold an aggregate of approximately 1,892,000 Resulting Issuer Shares, representing approximately 1.1% of the Resulting Issuer Shares. Immediately following the Effective Time, Playmaker is expected to hold 128,921,069 Resulting Issuer Shares (or approximately 72.1%) and the holders of Subscription Receipts (as defined below) are expected to hold 48,000,000 Resulting Issuer Shares (or approximately 26.8%) of the total issued and outstanding Resulting Issuer Shares.

Trading of the Apolo Shares was halted on April 6, 2020 as a result of the failure of Apolo to complete a Qualifying Transaction within 24 months of its listing on the Exchange, and is currently suspended and will remain suspended until completion of the Qualifying Transaction. Trading of the Apolo Shares will not resume prior to the completion of the Qualifying Transaction.

Press Releases

YouGov unveils US bettor research report, which highlights that 43% of sports bettors use three or more sportsbook apps

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YouGov has released its US bettor research report, which provides detailed insights into the preferences of US sports bettors.

Utilizing YouGov Custom Research, the report uncovers the impact that ESPN BET has had on the market, which in-app sportsbook features drive bettor engagement, and much more.

The report finds that:

  • 71% of 25-44 year-old bettors find the ability to live stream sporting events that they bet on in their sportsbook app important (vs 65% all ages)
  • bet365 is the most used sportsbook by 21-34 year-olds and DraftKings is used most by all other ages
  • 67% of 21-24 year-old current and prospective bettors are likely to create a sportsbook account with a sportsbook that is associated with a streaming service (vs 57% of all ages)
  • 51% of sports bettors are using ESPN BET more than they used to (vs 15% using it less)

“The US sports betting industry is a very competitive marketplace and maintaining loyalty from customers has proven to be difficult for sportsbooks, especially when new sportsbooks enter the market,” said Jeff Morris, VP at YouGov.

“Our research shows that the sportsbooks that incorporate key in-app features like live streaming sporting events can provide an advantage for driving interaction from current sports bettors and attracting prospective sports bettors.”

The report highlights key factors that would influence prospective sports bettors to create their first sportsbook account and provides an in-depth look at how sports bettor preferences vary across age groups.

 

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Compliance Updates

Arkansas Casino Seeks iGaming Approval

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An Arkansas casino is seeking approval to operate an iGaming app, allowing people within the state to go online to play casino games such as slots, blackjack, craps and more.

On March 13, Carlton Saffa, Chief Market Officer for the Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, wrote to Arkansas Racing Commission Chairman Alex Lieblong asking for a change in the rules to allow Internet casino gambling, which is often referred to as iGaming or iCasino platforms.

On Monday, Saffa told Gambling.com he hopes to appear before the Arkansas Racing Commission on May 6 seeking approval to offer iGaming. The Arkansas Racing Commission regulates all gambling matters in the state including horse racing and casino games.

iGaming Doesn’t Hurt Bricks-And-Mortar Casinos: Saffa

Nationwide, only a half dozen states from Michigan to Connecticut offer Internet casino gambling. Arkansas would be the first in its region with iGaming, permitting users who want to log onto a computer or download an app to play traditional casino games for money. Other states in the region already offer sports betting.

In his March 13 letter to state regulators, Saffa said estimates indicate Internet casino gambling from the Saracen Casino Resort alone would generate an additional $12 million in taxes annually for the state. Internet casino gambling, or iGaming, generally raises more tax revenue than sports betting in states that have both.

However, in some states without iGaming, casino operators have fought legalization, contending customers won’t visit a bricks-and-mortar casinos and spend money at restaurants and on other amenities including entertainment and lodging if they can log onto cellphones or computers and gamble from anywhere. In his letter to state regulators, Saffa pointed to research showing iGaming doesn’t cannibalize bricks-and-mortar casinos but instead gives them ‘a lift’.

State Rule Change Required

Arkansas already allows online poker, though that has not been made available to consumers, Saffa said. He said the ability to allow iGaming would require the Arkansas Racing Commission to amend a rule to include Internet casino games in addition to the currently legal online card games such as poker.

“A solution exists by amending ARC Rule 5, which already authorizes online poker, to include other types of table games and slots,” Saffa told Gambling.com on Monday. “Doing so would provide significant tax revenues to government and, just as important, ensure that operators be held accountable by the government. Given that we have seen online operators in the fantasy sports space ignore cease and desist demands from the state, merely attempting to police the matter is not a workable solution.”

Saffa recently made a similar argument on the topic of unregulated gambling, telling Gambling.com on The Edge he opposes a ban on college player props bets, saying, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

“People in Arkansas are already gambling in online casinos and those companies are not regulated or taxed by the Arkansas Racing Commission,” Saffa said Monday. “Those companies are not held to the standards the people of Arkansas set forth for operators to include that a customer must be 21.”

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Latest News

Internet Vikings and Casinogate Partner in Latin America

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Internet Vikings and Casinogate Partner in Latin America

 

Innovative game studios aggregator Casinogate has chosen to partner with Internet Vikings, a leading supplier of cloud hosting solutions for sports betting and iGaming. Internet Vikings provides its private VMware cloud hosting services to Casinogate, supporting their move into the Latin American market.

At the core of its business model, Internet Vikings assist companies expanding into new territories to start small and scale their infrastructure as their business grows. This perfectly aligns with Casinogate’s vision for a measured and successful launch in Latin America.

“Our tailored approach enables clients to invest in what they need now while providing the assurance of scalability as their operations widen into Latin America or elsewhere. This partnership allows Casinogate to focus on what they do best – creating exceptional games – while we handle the critical infrastructure,” shares Rickard Vikström, CEO and Founder of Internet Vikings.

One of Internet Vikings’ most distinguishing features is its commitment to personalized service. André Castro, Co-Founder and CEO of Casinogate, adds: “Their key account manager worked closely with us to understand our specific needs for the Latin American market. They developed a solution that scales perfectly with our anticipated goals, ensuring a smooth transition.”

​From a technical standpoint, Internet Vikings leverages VMware, renowned for its user-friendly interface and reliability. This has translated into enhanced performance for Casinogate, with minimal latency experienced on their platform.

“Internet Vikings’ expertise in hosting and focus on strong partnerships make them an essential asset. We’re assured in delivering premium gaming experiences to our Latin American audience. Their professionalism, particularly during the initial VMware setup, instilled great confidence in us,” André Castro concludes.

The partnership between Casinogate and Internet Vikings exemplifies how industry leaders can leverage innovation and collaboration to achieve mutual success. By combining Casinogate’s thrill-seeking games with Internet Vikings’ cloud solutions, both companies are laying the foundation for a promising future in Latin American online gaming.

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