(Click image to play video)
Never has the world of online gaming been bigger or more competitive. Access to gaming is opening up around the world.
The number of online console gamers eclipsed 57 million in the United States last year and the market for PC online games alone is valued at more than $33.6 billion.
The worldwide footprint is only expected to expand further.
That continued growth is music to the ears of companies like Toronto-based
Bragg Gaming Group Inc. (
TSX.BRAG,
OTCMKTS: BRGGF,
Forum).
With its cutting-edge technology, Bragg is a next-generation gaming group that has been developing a global reputation, offering online and mobile iGaming platforms, as well as advanced casino content aggregator, sportsbook, lottery, marketing, and operational services.
The company was formed by and is still run by a team of industry experts which is no doubt a contributing factor in its success.
In this intriguing vodcast, The Market Herald Canada’s Simon Druker caught up with Yaniv Spielberg, Chief Strategy Officer of Bragg, to discuss the company’s strong growth metrics, the exploding, increasingly global iGaming industry, and all things Bragg Gaming.
TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
SH: First off, congratulations, late last month Bragg started trading on the TSX, graduating from the Venture Exchange, that’s a pretty big achievement, why don’t you tell us what that signifies for Bragg?
YS: Yeah, it's definitely a big achievement and we're very proud and excited to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It has been two years since we took the business public on the Toronto stock exchange venture and the graduation to the big boards for us signifies a significant milestone that affirms the hard work, we've put in to substantiate bragg as a well-known brand in the online gaming space trading on the Toronto stock exchange opens the door to many capital market opportunities that were otherwise not available for Bragg. We're excited about what's coming.
SH: In the long-term, what is the company’s next goal or milepost now that it has been listed on the TSX?
YS: I'll break my answer into two parts, really operationally. We continue to expand into new geographies and diversify our revenue and client base. We continue to onboard new customers and develop new products and services to enhance our overall offerings. We focused on core of customer growth, diversification of product offering, and expansion into new markets and from a capital market corporate standpoint. Now that we've completed the graduation to the TSX, as we communicate it to our shareholders, we're working on a NASDAQ cross-list thing, ultimately to realize the most value for our shareholders and to have the most visibility as a gaming company, we want to be trading on the NASDAQ like many of our online gaming peers.
SH: Now I mentioned earlier growth, both in the industry and as a company. You have sped up the expiration of 14.5-million warrants that were originally set to expire in November 2023 to February 22 this year. What does that mean for shareholders and the company’s bottom line?
YS: The warrants were a part of the raise that we did back in Q4 of last year, of 2020. The forcing of the warrants means that there'll be money coming in as the warrants are exercised. And of course, as a result, strengthening of our balance sheet with additional cash.
SH: What does this (warrant) acceleration have to do with the state of the industry?
YS: The word acceleration is not directly tied to the state of the industry, but rather to the performance of the broad shares in recent months, which have been fantastic. When we did the raise in Q4 of 2020, we issued warrants, the warrants included an acceleration clause. The acceleration clause provided for an acceleration of the warrants if the stock was trading over a dollar 50 for 10 consecutive days and given the strong performance of the broad shares in recent weeks, we invoked the clause and accelerated the warrants that as you mentioned, will expire on February 22nd.
SH: Speaking of growth, we mentioned some number earlier, give us your assessment of the online gaming industry as a whole and maybe the area you expect to see the biggest gains in.
YS: You were right in your preamble to the interview. The online gaming market opportunity is very significant and it's getting bigger as more countries, continuing to legalize online gambling based on analyst estimates. The global online gambling market was valued at about 44 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to over 67 billion in 2025. The US alone is about 5 billion today and is forecast to surpass 15 billion by 2025. You know, the more people and countries that move online, the bigger the opportunity., we expect like other analysts that a large portion of the growth will come from the North American market, both Canada and the United States. The US has already been starting to legalize online gaming on a state-by-state level. The market has been growing exponentially. Canada is also following the footsteps of the US and will legalize single events, sports betting, and open the iGaming space to private operators as well, Bragg is keen to become a dominant player in these markets. We work on getting licensed and compliant in these markets so we can serve the growing gaming industry in North America.
SH: Let’s talk about you. You have a science background, a law degree, but also a history with tech companies. That’s a common theme when you look across the company executive, you’re fans of gaming. Your CEO was recently named to a list of the top 50 rising stars and emerging leaders in the gaming world, it’s something you can’t put a number on, tell us why the decades of leadership your management team brings has such an intangible value.
YS: I guess the common theme is we all spend a lot of time in school, but you know, it all worked out for all of us. You know, we have a very unique and experienced leadership team. We have a common interest in gaming, as you can imagine; we all come from different backgrounds, but bring a wealth of knowledge and experience. Richard Carter who is our chairman of the board was an analyst for Deutsche Bank before becoming CEO of SB Tech. Adam Arviv comes from Capital Markets and private investing. Ronen [Kannor], our CFO . Matevs [Mazij] has worked with many public companies, he’s the founder of Oryx Gaming, of course, has been in gaining his whole life. His family comes from online gaming as well. And finally, I mean, Paul, while everyone in Canada knows who Paul Godfrey is, but he has a very unique set of tools and experience and in his past. We're very fortunate to have such a great team, the value of such experienced team means that we have a versatile team come together to propel the Bragg business and substantiate it as a leader in the exploding online gaming space,
SH: Right about that - everybody does know Paul. So, tell us how important is all that international experience that you mentioned. You mentioned Deutsche bank. How does that shape the company's viewpoint of what really is an increasingly global, as you mentioned, industry?
YS: So international experience is key to our expansion efforts into the North American market. We've done exceptionally well in recent years to establish brag as a leading B2B gaming provider in Europe, we've built the team, the know-how the expertise in the European market. We've expanded our footprint to the LATAM market by signing deals with operators in Peru and Colombia. But our focus now is to grow our operations in North America, having this international experience know-how and expertise means that we can replicate our success in international markets in the North American market and become a leading player in that North American market as well.
SH: You have a “turnkey” solution for clients, which I assume is a very scalable model. Can you touch on any expansion plans the company may have?
YS: Absolutely. So, Bragg is an innovative B2B full turnkey solution provider for online gaming operators as you mentioned. We have a software technology company that offers our own proprietary online gaming platform. And in addition, as you mentioned, we have a fully staffed, managed services team for marketing and operational support. It's a highly scalable online B2B business model where we have low marginal costs of adding new customers. Our business is currently European focused, where we derived the majority of our revenues from the established European online gaming market and our expansion plans, as I mentioned, and as we communicate it to the market include growing our North American presence, both in Canada and the United States, and becoming a leading online gaining technology provider to the gaming operators in these markets.
SH: Okay. Is there anything else that you want to bring up so far that we haven't mentioned maybe, or that you want your investors, your shareholders to know?
YS: I guess the last thing to say is that we're just getting started. We’ve had a pretty good run in the past two years, but it's just the beginning. As a relatively young company, we've already made a big name for ourselves, and all eyes are on us to continue to execute our business plan, to become a global leader in online gaming technology. I just want everyone to follow us and see how we continue to execute on this plan in years to come
For more information, please visit
www.Bragg.games.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.