Canada
eSports betting vs classic sports betting in North America, a hot topic at Sports Betting & Casino Summit North America
All major sports leagues have been postponed and most of the major sports leagues have been cancelled until further notice – more and more countries are banning major events, fewer and fewer sporting events are taking place. But how should sports betting providers react when enthusiastic betting customers, who want to pursue their hobby, no longer have an offer to bet on? What can you do as a provider who wants to remain relevant and maintain a corresponding offer for your players?
The answers are Virtual Sports (betting on virtual sports events) and eSports (betting on competitions in computer games).
Bets on popular online video games such as League of Legends, Dota 2, Starcraft 2 and CS: GO can hardly be ignored on today’s betting market. Especially in the target group of under 30s, eSports are becoming more and more popular and are now being broadcast 24 hours a day via channels such as Twitch. The worldwide turnover on eSports betting amounts to more than USD 1.8 billion, a figure that is all the more impressive considering the comparatively small fan base. But eSports are steadily gaining more fans, on the one hand due to an aging target group and on the other hand due to an increasing awareness.
The top players themselves, who are comparable in their professionalism and skill to professional soccer or tennis players, are now activating more fans than the Superbowl, for example. The Intel Extreme Masters eSports tournament in Katowice, Poland welcomed more than 173,000 spectators on site and 46 million online in 2019. With prize pools of up to USD 100 million (Fortnite World Cup 2019), player salaries are in no way inferior to those of many professional footballers.
Just like with traditional sports, bets are placed on individual teams and players in eSports. Due to the large number of different types of eSports, the resulting number of betting markets is enormous – the simplest and most suitable betting type for beginners, of course, remains the bet on the overall winner of the game.
The offer of eSports betting is growing steadily – and since it is already common in eSports to play without an audience (most of the season matches are held in small studios), eSports events are a great alternative to the sports events that are currently being canceled.
Depending on the legislature of the respective target market, eSports can complement their offer and are becoming increasingly important. Particularly during the current crisis, interest in eSPorts is likely to experience a rapid increase.
The top industry companies have all confirmed their interest to join the Sports Betting & Casino Summit North America (Virtual Conference), which will open its virtual doors between 23-24 June.
The virtual seats are limited, so hurry and register now to secure your seat(s)! REGISTER HERE
And among the many topics, we are putting together a special panel discussion which is titled “ESPORTS BETTING VS CLASSIC SPORTS BETTING IN NORTH AMERICA”
The panel discussion will be joined by leading experts such as J Moses (Investor & Board Advisor of Bet.Works), Grant Johnson (CEO at Esports Entertainment Group), David McDowell (Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at FSB) and Mark Robson (Co-Founder at Champion Sports). The discussion will be moderated by Marek Suchar (Head of Partnerships at Oddin.gg).
J Moses
Investor, Advisor at Bet.Works
I have nearly 40 years of experience in sports, entertainment, technology, betting & games as a CEO, Founder, Investor, Advisor, Producer & a Director for public & private businesses around the world.
Currently I am hyper focused on the confluence of Technology, Games, eSports, Sports, Betting and Entertainment. I serve as a Director at Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO), publisher of Rock Star, 2K & Private Division Games. I’m also an investor & Board Advisor of Bet.Works (sports betting), ReadyUp (eSports team building), Prize Payments Pro (eSports), and SimulMedia.
After Princeton, I had the dream job of working at ABC Sports where I worked on sporting events around the world, including 4 Olympic Games. I spent 2 years as Special Assist to Roone Arldege, President of ABC News & Sports.
Grant Johnson
CEO at Esports Entertainment Group
Grant Johnson, B.A., Chairman and CEO, Esports Entertainment Group
Grant has served as Chairman and CEO of Esports Entertainment Group since 2015, where he oversaw the Company from its’ inception as an esports wagering company long before most of the world knew of the existence of esports, to a successful NASDAQ IPO and $8.4M raise in April 2020.
His experience in online gambling came from 1996 to 1999 where has Vice President of Vancouver based Starnet Communications International, Inc. a recognized leader in the Internet gambling industry. As Vice President of Business Development, Mr. Johnson led Starnet’s sales team and was a driving force behind Starnet’s leading market position in the B2B sector of the Internet gambling industry.
Mr. Johnson was instrumental in the business development activities at Starnet and was directly involved in establishing many of Starnet’s strategic industry partnerships. A subsidiary of Starnet, World Gaming, still exists today.
David McDowell
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at FSB
David is the co-founder and CEO of FSB. FSB was established in 2007 with the vision to build the industry’s first highly automated sports betting platform driven by live data. The company has become established as a leading B2B solutions supplier best known for its live sports betting technology and as a pioneer of delivering fully managed trading services.
Mark Robson
Co-Founder of Champion Sports
Mark Robson is the co-founder of Champion Sports, an innovative sports betting platform licensed by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission. Over the last 15 years, Mark has held a number of high-profile positions within the iGaming industry, including the Head of eGaming for the Department of Economic Development on the Isle of Man.
Marek Suchar
Head of Partnerships at Odding.gg
Marek Suchar, Head of Partnerships at Odding.gg started his career in financial services where he held senior and managerial roles in various areas including business development and sales. His passion for esports brought him to the industry, specifically to the betting vertical. Leveraging the newest technologies at Oddin, Marek aims to significantly improve the engagement within esports betting and build partnerships that will shape the future of esports and esports betting.
Do not miss this unique opportunity to attend a virtual conference that gathers all North American gaming industry experts for 2 days of discussions and networking. Register your seat now!
Powered by WPeMatico
Bragg Gaming Group
Bragg Gaming Group Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Revenues
Bragg Gaming Group has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025.
Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights:
• Revenue Growth: Record total quarterly revenue of €27.7 million in the fourth quarter:
• Revenue increase of 5.1% (excluding The Netherlands) compared to the prior year period in 2024;
• The Netherlands revenue decreased 4.6% year-over-year due to the market’s overall contraction caused by increased regulation and higher taxes;
• Brazil revenue increased 42.1% compared to the 2024 fourth quarter with continued growth in provider onboarding; and
• US recurring revenue grew 55.0% year-over-year, driven by expanded high-margin proprietary content footprint; and
• Including the impact of The Netherlands, total revenue grew 1.9% year-over-year.
• Operating Loss, Net Loss and Adjusted EBITDA: Operating loss for the quarter was €0.1 million, a €0.6 million improvement from an operating loss of €0.7 million in the same period of 2024. Net loss for the quarter was €1.3 million, or €0.05 per common share, compared to €0.7 million, or €0.03 per common share, in the same period of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA for the 2025 fourth quarter was €4.6 million (representing an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 16.5%), compared to €4.7 million (representing an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 17.2%) in Q4-2024.
• Strategic Market Expansion in the US and Brazil: Expanded U.S. content footprint through the launch of its exclusive and bespoke online casino content with Caesars Entertainment in West Virginia. Bragg also launched exclusive and aggregated content with several valued clients operating in Brazil (and other key LatAm jurisdictions), including Brazino777, Blaze, and Super Technologies.
Full Year 2025 Financial Highlights:
• Revenue Growth: Record total annual revenue of €106.1 million in 2025, an increase of 4.0% compared to €102.0 in the year ended December 31, 2024.
• Operating Loss, Net Loss and Adjusted EBITDA: Operating loss for 2025 was €5.3 million, compared to €3.5 million in 2024. Net loss for 2025 was €8.1 million, or €0.32 per common share, compared to €5.1 million, or €0.21 per common share, in 2024. Full year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA was €16.6 million (representing an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 15.6%), compared to €15.8 million (representing an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 15.5%) in 2024.
• Balance Sheet Strength: During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company fully repaid a US$7.0 million secured promissory note and entered into a financing agreement with a Tier One Canadian financial institution for certain revolving credit facilities in a maximum aggregate amount of up to US$6.0 million, replacing its prior debt at less than half the borrowing cost. During the second half of the year, the Company drew C$4.5 million in principal and US$1.1 million in overdraft in respect of Term CORRA loans. Cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2025 amounted to €6.7 million.
Fourth Quarter 2025 and Recent Business Highlights:
• Bolstered Leadership Team: Appointed Morten Tonnesen as its new Chief Operating Officer and promoted Garrick Morris to the position of Executive Vice President of Global Content, US & Canada.
• Player Account Management (PAM) Expansion in Europe: Announced the extension of its existing PAM platform agreement with valued client 711.nl to include the regulated Belgian iGaming market, with potential for future Bragg-powered online casino launches in additional regulated or newly regulating iGaming markets. Also, extended its existing PAM agreement with Entain Plc (LSE: ENTL), one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming groups for BetCity.nl, a leading Dutch market operator, and with Senator Group, an online casino market leader in Croatia.
• Finnish Market Liberalization Preparations: Signed a comprehensive PAM platform and turnkey solution agreement with SuomiVeto, a market entrant led by the successful founders of BetCity.nl, focused on positioning SuomiVeto as a leading operator, and Bragg as a leading supplier, in the newly regulated Finnish iGaming market when it launches. The market is scheduled to “go live” for private operators on July 1, 2027.
• Ambitious Artificial Intelligence (AI) Transformation Plan: Leapt into an “AI-First” future by initiating the development of the Bragg AI Brain, a data-driven artificial intelligence engine designed to power smarter decisions and intelligent products across the Bragg’s Ecosystem. The transformation plan is underpinned by clear 2027 targets, including ensuring an AI-Enhanced Product becomes standard in over 90% of all launches and having more than three-quarters of Bragg’s operational workflows impacted by AI.
• Strategic Restructuring to Reduce Cost Structure and Improve Operating Performance: Announced a strategic restructuring, including an approximately 12% reduction of global workforce, designed to realign the organization and thereby improve its overall cost structure, drive its EBITDA growth, and shorten the time required for it to achieve sustained net profitability. The Company expects to incur restructuring costs related to this action of approximately €1.0 million associated with personnel-related termination costs in the first quarter of 2026, and it anticipates annualized cash savings from its staff reductions and other restructuring efforts to be approximately €4.5 million. This amount does not include the expected positive impact of the Company’s initiative to the Bragg AI Brain to drive cost efficiencies and improve operational excellence.
• Greater Board of Directors Alignment with Shareholders: From January 1, 2026, fees are being paid to directors exclusively in deferred share units (DSUs) on a monthly basis (with no cash alternative).
Matevž Mazij, Chief Executive Officer at Bragg, said: “We continued to execute well, delivering record revenues, strategic expansion and important AI and restructuring initiatives. We believe this positions Bragg well for 2026 and beyond to: increase our overall content market share in Brazil and the United States; pursue emerging alternative markets, such as Historical and Live Racing and Prediction Markets; move into new jurisdictions that offer opportunities for higher margin content business; deliver enhanced operational leverage; meet our goals to streamline internal processes; enhance overall efficiency across our organization; protect our cash runway; and advance us further along the path toward EBITDA growth and net profitability.”
Board Changes
The Company also announced the appointment of Thomas Winter to its Board of Directors. Mr. Winter succeeds Kent Young, who has retired from the Board. Both changes to the Bragg Board are effective immediately.
Mr. Winter brings deep knowledge of and experience in the iGaming and wagering industry. Currently a Board Member of Rush Street Interactive, which through its brands, BetRivers, PlaySugarHouse and RushBet, was an early entrant in several regulated jurisdictions, Mr. Winter began his career in the gaming sector nearly two decades ago and has since established himself as a leader in the field. In 2013, he founded Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG), where he served as President. Under his leadership, GNOG became a top online gaming operator in New Jersey, achieving significant market share and recognition, went public and was later successfully sold for over $1.5 billion to DraftKings, where he developed their multi-brand online casino strategy and led their online casino business until September 2023. Before founding GNOG, he was the CEO and director of Betclic, a major European online sports betting and gaming operator, and Expekt, a pioneer brand in the online gaming industry, within the Betclic Group. Mr. Winter played a key role as COO at both businesses before being appointed CEO.
“I would like to thank Kent for his many contributions to the Company. I am also very pleased to welcome Thomas to our team. Moving forward, the Board and management team will be steadfast in our aim to close the clear and persistent gap between the Company’s public market valuation and our assessment of its intrinsic value. To that end, as Thomas is a gaming industry luminary who has earned my deep personal admiration and great professional respect, I am confident that he will be a tremendous asset to our Board and to our shareholders,” said Holly Gagnon, Chair of the Bragg Board.
2026 Outlook
The Company anticipates full year 2026 revenue between €97.0 million and €104.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA of €16.0 million to €19.0 million (representing an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 16.0% to 18.0%).
The post Bragg Gaming Group Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Revenues appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Alberta
Media Troopers Prepares for Alberta iGaming Launch with Canadian Gaming Law Firm
Media Troopers is positioning itself for entry into Alberta’s soon-to-launch regulated online gambling market through a strategic partnership with Canadian law firm Segev LLP.
The collaboration will see the affiliate marketing and customer acquisition specialist work closely with legal experts Ron Segev and Alon Segev to navigate the province’s evolving regulatory framework. The firm will advise on compliance, licensing readiness, and market entry strategy as Alberta finalises its iGaming model.
Alberta is set to become only the second Canadian province to regulate commercial online gambling, following the launch of Ontario’s market in 2022. The province took a major step forward with the passage of the iGaming Alberta Bill, which establishes a legal framework for private operators and introduces the Alberta iGaming Corporation to oversee the sector.
This regulatory shift is expected to open significant opportunities for operators and service providers alike, particularly as Canada’s iGaming landscape continues to expand. Industry observers often point to Ontario’s rollout as a benchmark, with oversight from bodies such as the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which has helped shape standards around licensing, compliance, and player protection.
As part of its expansion strategy, Media Troopers aims to support licensed operators entering Alberta with localized marketing solutions, including affiliate partnerships and compliance-led acquisition strategies tailored to the province’s regulatory requirements.
Commenting on the development, Shmulik Segal, CEO of Media Troopers, said:
“Alberta represents one of the most exciting emerging regulated markets in North America.
“Working with Ron Segev and the team at Segev LLP ensures that our expansion into the province will be aligned with the evolving regulatory framework and positioned for long-term success.”
Segal added:
“Canada’s iGaming market continues to evolve rapidly. Our goal is to be fully prepared to support operators entering Alberta from day one.”
The move highlights a broader trend in North America, where affiliate and marketing firms are increasingly aligning with legal and regulatory specialists ahead of market openings. This approach not only reduces compliance risk but also allows companies to establish early positioning in newly regulated jurisdictions.
For more on Canada’s evolving iGaming landscape, see Europa Gaming’s coverage of Ontario iGaming Market Launch and North America Gambling Regulation.
With Alberta’s framework nearing completion, early movers like Media Troopers are aiming to replicate the success seen in Ontario—where strong compliance foundations and localised strategies have proven critical to long-term growth.
The post Media Troopers Prepares for Alberta iGaming Launch with Canadian Gaming Law Firm appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Alberta
Media Troopers Prepares for Alberta iGaming Launch with Canadian Gaming Law Firm
The leading digital marketing and customer acquisition group Media Troopers has announced it’s gearing up to join Alberta’s upcoming iGaming-regulated market by partnering with Alon Segev, Managing Partner and Ron Segev, founder of Canadian gaming and betting law firm Segev LLP.
Alberta will become Canada’s second province to regulate commercial online gambling, following Ontario in 2022. The province passed the iGaming Alberta Bill last May, which brought with it a framework to allow operators to enter the province and the creation of a new iGaming regulator, the Alberta iGaming Corporation.
As part of Media Troopers’ strategic entry into the new sector, it has partnered with Segev, who will advise the company on regulatory strategy, compliance requirements, and market readiness as Alberta finalizes its operational and licensing framework.
“Alberta represents one of the most exciting emerging regulated markets in North America,” said Shmulik Segal, CEO of Media Troopers.
“Working with Ron Segev and the team at Segev LLP ensures that our expansion into the province will be aligned with the evolving regulatory framework and positioned for long-term success.”
As with Ontario’s competitive market, Media Troopers is dedicated to supporting licensed operators in Alberta with localized marketing channels, affiliate partnerships, and compliance-structured acquisition strategies.
“Canada’s iGaming market continues to evolve rapidly,” Segal added. “Our goal is to be fully prepared to support operators entering Alberta from day one.”
The post Media Troopers Prepares for Alberta iGaming Launch with Canadian Gaming Law Firm appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
-
Centurion Winner Grand Chance™6 days agoNew from Inspired: Luck It Up™ and Centurion Winner Grand Chance™ available online & on mobile
-
Blazin' Bonus6 days agoBooming Games releases Blazin’ Bonus
-
Australasian Hospitality and Gaming Expo7 days agoIGT Showcases Integrated Gaming, Systems, and FinTech Innovations Designed to Drive Growth at Australasian Hospitality and Gaming Expo 2026
-
Cristiano Blanco CEO of SpinCore Group6 days agoSpinCore Group Enters Finnish Market via Finnplay Partnership
-
Conferences6 days agoNOVOMATIC Gaming Colombia to Showcase its Latest Innovations at GAT Cartagena 2026
-
Enjoy7 days agoENJOY Unveils Hotfire Diamonds XXL to Elevate an Iconic Franchise
-
Aristocrat Gaming7 days agoAristocrat Gaming to Participate in Australian Hospitality & Gaming Expo
-
Alberta market7 days agoSoft2Bet Evaluates Alberta Market Entry to Strengthen its Canadian Footprint



