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Exclusive Q&A with Giovanni Petrantoni, President and Founder of Fragnova

Published

2 years ago

December 15, 2022

Reading Time: 6 minutes

The term visionary is often over-used. They are like UFOs in a sense– often talked about and rarely seen.

So, ladies and gentlemen, we are happy to interview a person with true visionary traits here. Welcome Giovanni Petrantoni, President and Founder of Fragnova. Let’s jump straight his fascinating visions and ideas.

Q. Let’s start with a brief intro about yourself, as you seem to have quite an interesting career: music, writing, blockchain and so on. Our readers would certainly love to hear it?

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

A. I spent a lot of my early career coding and creating software, which ultimately led me to join the Tokyo-based Silicon Studios developing game engines. The work I did on Linden Lab’s Second Life also inspired a lot of the work Fragnova does today. I put a lot of energy into coding and creating new in-game items. It may seem minor, but originally Second Life didn’t have any swimming mechanics, so I engineered that myself. It was fascinating to see not just how popular small additions to the game could be, but how much potential the players themselves had to completely alter and shape the experience.

To this day, I still believe Second Life is far and above the closest thing we’ve come to a true metaverse; the fact that two decades after launch it still has millions of users is a real testament to that. However, ever since the term metaverse was popularised a few years ago, it’s become somewhat meaningless because so many ‘metaverse creators’ are really just building walled gardens with MMO elements, brand collaborations and virtual events. For the metaverse to live up to players’ expectations it needs to be open and interoperable.

Q. Now on to Fragnova. What exactly does Fragnova aim to achieve – a French revolution of sorts in game development?

A. Our ambition is to establish the Creation Operating System and for the decentralised ecosystem that makes up Fragnova – The Metaverse Store, The Creator Store and our game engine, Claymore – to form the foundations of an open metaverse, and not the walled gardens we have now.

The Fragnova network is a blockchain that empowers game creators and democratises game development. Blockchain means the use of assets or even full games are fully stored, tracked and recorded to pay out royalties, assert ownership and keep track of licensing rights. So we’re aiming to restructure the business of making games. Currently, large companies take the lion’s share of profits, leaving creators overworked and underpaid – so, the French Revolution analogy isn’t far off, as it’s absolutely about giving more control and rewards to the creators at the bottom rather than the publishers and platforms at the top.

User-generated content has become a huge part of modern gaming, you just need to look at Minecraft or Roblox to see what is possible when there is a creator-led ecosystem. Empowering their creators has become a vital part of keeping games fresh and players engaged. Beyond these two examples, there are dedicated communities of modders that sacrifice large amounts of their time to get all kinds of incredible projects over the line, to little benefit for themselves. Imagine the level of polish in User Generated Content if creators were better compensated for their time and could make a living out of these projects.

This idea of ownership isn’t just a monetary concept either, as avid gamers ourselves we’ve experienced the pain of many of our favourite games going offline in the past, losing all the time and effort you’ve invested – potentially over many years. Blockchain is immutable, which means games built using the technology can’t be deleted, and this technology opens the door to community-run servers..

Q. What kind of features can gaming enthusiasts with zero coding knowledge expect from Fragnova?

A. We are building Fragnova for users of every level – one of the inspirations for what we are doing is PlayStation Dreams, which combines a really powerful set of creative tools with an interface that is more accessible and intuitive than conventional tools.

But with any game engine, there’s going to be a bit of a technical entry barrier unless people are willing to put in the time to learn the basics. The majority of users will probably be most at home in the Metaverse Store, where they can buy and sell in-game items and collectables, and playable experiences. However, they can still partake in the modding of games, which usually demands less coding while still allowing users to be creative.

Q.Tell us about Ambal Duels, the first-off-the-blocks games from Fragnova. Is the development going as per plan for release?

A. Ambal Duels is a free-to-play strategy card game, and it will be the first blockchain-enabled game to be built using our new game engine, Claymore. Ambal began life as a successful Kickstarter campaign for the physical version of the game, Ambal Tournament, but rather than simply create a digital version of the original, Duels takes the game concept to create more one-on-one strategic duels. We’re excited to bring the game to the digital realm and continue growing the game’s community.

The blockchain aspect of Fragnova means that everyone who worked on the game, right down to the designers and card artists, will have a fair stake in the game’s profits. As with any game developed on the Fragnova ecosystem, creators can decide on editing permissions for their work, and allow the community to create their own mods, spin-offs or entirely different versions of the game – with a portion of the profits always going back to the original creators.

The game’s alpha is currently planned for Q2 2023, so definitely watch this space!

Q.Could you shed more light into the Metaverse Store and Creator Store? How do they help gamers and developers in terms of monetization? Is it possible for existing gamers and developers – who use other or independent platforms – to migrate to your platform?

A. The Creator Store is a place for devs and creators to license and offer game assets, like 3D models or audio scripts, or even full games. Blockchain makes each and every asset trackable. So when it’s used in the development of other games, the original creator will earn royalties depending on the success of the project, something unprecedented in the existing asset stores.

The Metaverse Store is an asset store where players can buy and sell in-game items. Furthermore, every item uploaded to Fragnova can be “detached” from the Fragnova chain and migrated into many other chains (for example, Ethereum), allowing creators to sell and trade items on any possible platform.

The important point about the use of blockchain is that it’s not about turning a game item into a crypto asset with the aim of trading it and making money – the blockchain element is there to provide control and ownership in a way that simply hasn’t been possible before in the digital domain.

Q.Could you elaborate on Claymore, the game engine of your platform?

A. Claymore is a multiplatform game creation system focusing on full immersion in which creation and gaming take place in the same environment. Uniquely, Claymore allows developers to seamlessly upload their creations directly to the marketplace. Developers can also import game assets directly from the marketplace.

We built it on top of a new programming language we call Shards. Software development is still in a palaeolithic stage in terms of innovation and so we had to take a full stack approach. Shards allow us to express how games can interoperate with each other from the bottom of the stack, as well as allow us to build the foundation of a rich visual environment where creators can interact, build, inspect and modify their creations in a no code, AI-assisted way which is Claymore itself.

In future, I hope Claymore will rival industry mainstays like Unreal or Unity, as I believe there’s a real opportunity in the industry to bring in a fresh approach. Other incumbent engines are too big to change and adapt to modern gaming concepts like Web3 or the metaverse – at least without an extraordinary amount of investment and work. Both have been built over decades, so changing anything is always a complex task when legacy technology is involved. Equally, when you have an established brand, a massive user base and a huge number of stakeholders, it can be really difficult to pivot and keep everyone happy.

We are working on a pretty aggressive development roadmap so I’m hoping that we’ll have opportunities for creators and developers to get hands-on with parts of the engine and give us their feedback as soon as possible.

Q.Fragnova was founded on 2021. How do you look back at the journey over the last one year or so. Could you tell us about the development and funding so far and the path forward?

A. In about 14 months we’ve managed to realise a lot of the platform’s different elements and we’ve seen a really positive reception so far. One of the biggest challenges has been building the team and growing the company at the same time as developing the platform itself – as the founder I have to be involved in everything!

But perhaps one of our biggest challenges has been addressing the misconception that blockchain and crypto are all the same thing, which has been especially hard while we have been in such a hype bubble around NFTs and all the talk of the metaverse. We are now seeing the hype bubble deflate, so I am hopeful that we can go back to discussing blockchain as a means of doing more than just speculating on crypto. The reality is that blockchain is just a vehicle to help realise our ambition of stimulating the create-to-earn gaming economy.

Q.Finally, a tricky question. Your Linkedin bio says you like to ‘research, create and sometimes destroy’. Is there anything in the gaming industry at the moment that you would like to destroy?

A. That’s actually a very old line I just left there, but still belongs to me and indeed I think I kind of just answered that question with my previous answer! I would have to say the way the tech industry needs to hype the next big thing when the reality is that new technologies need to have utility and appear in the right place at the right time. Blockchain is a technology that has a lot of potential, but there also needs to be the right application for the right audience to give it lasting value.

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Rapid growth in sports traffic and 400+ participating teams – the Golden Boomerang Awards 2025 results.

Published

16 hours ago

May 12, 2025

Adrienn Sarkany

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Golden Boomerang Awards 2025, a global affiliate traffic tournament hosted by Boomerang Partners, has officially concluded after three thrilling months of intense competition. From February 3 to May 11, the tournament brought hundreds of affiliate teams across two dynamic leaderboards: Sports betting and Casino.

Boomerang shared some impressive numbers and results from the tournament:

Over 400 affiliate teams from around the world participated (last year, 226)
The share of sports traffic to the Boomerang portfolio brands increased by 39% during the competition;
Sports traffic attracted to the active segment during the competition remained at 86%;
The top sports event during the contest period was the Champions League semi-final match between Barcelona and Inter;
During the same period, the top game on the casino leaderboard was the Sugar Rush 1000

In addition to awards in 11 categories (these will be awarded to the winners in May at a special ceremony), Golden Boomerang Awards 2025 participants competed for exclusive prizes in monthly drawings. There were a total of four such drawings:

Month 1 winner — RevPanda. They attended AC Milan vs Inter.
Month 2 winner — HighRoller Gaming. The prize was a trip to F1.
Month 3 winner — Boring Seo. The Boomerang Partners team will fulfil their wish.

Boomerang also held a special competition as part of GBA 2025. It was timed to coincide with the Champions League semi-finals. The winner was team FUMMA, which will receive the coveted ‘Home Stadium Fan’ VIP experience.

With the competition closed, the Top 30 affiliate teams are receiving official invitations to an exclusive award ceremony and networking event at the legendary San Siro Stadium in Milan. As the Official Regional Betting Partner of AC Milan, Boomerang Partners is proud to host the winners in true Italian style — with a show-stopping evening that combines recognition, entertainment, and football heritage. At the center of the celebration will be Andrea Pirlo, football icon and AC Milan legend, who will personally present the award nominations to the top-performing teams.

More details about the final event and winners will follow soon.

About Boomerang

Boomerang Partners is a rapidly growing global brand offering a wide range of services. Boomerang is the Official Regional Betting Partner of AC Milan and collaborates with women’s football star and influencer Alisha Lehmann. In 2024, it launched the inaugural Golden Boomerang Awards 2024, the first annual global affiliate tournament. Boomerang Partners’ betting segment surged 5x, and gambling — 2x in 2024. Its affiliate program demonstrated a 120% increase in partners, and the number of sports betting offers surged more than 6 times. Six new products were launched by Boomerang in 2024, which contributed to an almost 1.5-fold increase in product users.

Boomerang’s portfolio contains 15+ gambling brands, including sportsbooks. They cover over 35 GEOs and offer a wide range of betting options with favorable odds. These products provide personalized bonuses and 24/7 multilingual support.

The post Rapid growth in sports traffic and 400+ participating teams – the Golden Boomerang Awards 2025 results. appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Sportradar Reports First Quarter Results

Published

18 hours ago

May 12, 2025

Adrienn Sarkany

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ: SRAD) (“Sportradar” or the “Company”), a leading global sports technology company focused on creating immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors, today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

Carsten Koerl, Chief Executive Officer of Sportradar, said: “We had a strong start to the year with record quarterly revenue as we delivered broad-based growth across our leading product suite and diverse global footprint, while expanding margins and cash flow. The continued momentum we are generating builds upon our success from last year, demonstrating the durability of our business and our mission critical role in the expanding sports ecosystem. During the quarter we also further bolstered our leading content portfolio with the extension and expansion of our partnership with Major League Baseball and we signed an agreement to acquire IMG ARENA’s sports betting rights portfolio. We are excited by the unique opportunities these valuable properties will provide to our customers and look forward to generating additional value for our shareholders in 2025 and beyond.”

FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS

Revenue

	Three-Month Period Ended March 31,
in € thousands (unaudited)	2025	2024	Change	%
Revenue by product
Betting & Gaming Content	193,807	171,588	22,219	13	%
Managed Betting Services	56,214	48,328	7,886	16	%
Betting Technology & Solutions	250,021	219,916	30,105	14	%

Marketing & Media Services	46,610	34,278	12,332	36	%
Sports Performance	11,411	9,306	2,105	23	%
Integrity Services	3,189	2,394	795	33	%
Sports Content, Technology & Services	61,210	45,978	15,232	33	%
Total Revenue	311,231	265,894	45,337	17	%

Revenue by geography
Rest of World	225,130	200,332	24,798	12	%
United States	86,101	65,562	20,539	31	%
Total Revenue	311,231	265,894

Total revenue for the first quarter was €311 million, up €45 million, or 17% year-over-year, driven by 14% growth in Betting Technology & Solutions and 33% growth in Sports Content, Technology & Services.

Betting Technology & Solutions revenues of €250 million were up 14% year-over-year primarily driven by a 13% increase in Betting & Gaming Content primarily from customer uptake of additional products and from U.S. market growth. Managed Betting Services revenues were up 16% driven by strong growth in Managed Trading Services from increased turnover and higher trading margins.

Sports Content, Technology & Services revenues of €61 million increased 33% year-over-year primarily driven by 36% growth in Marketing & Media Services led by higher ad:s revenue as several sportsbooks increased spending on marketing campaigns, and from contributions from the expansion of our affiliate marketing capabilities.

The Company generated strong revenue growth globally with Rest of World up 12% and the United States up 31%. As a percentage of total Company revenues, United States revenue represented 28% of total Company revenue in the first quarter as compared to 25% in the prior year quarter due to continued market growth and additional customer uptake of our products.

Customer Net Retention Rate of 122% further demonstrates our ability to cross-sell and up-sell to our clients, as well as the market growth in the United States.

Profit for the period

Profit for the period was €24 million, up €25 million, compared to a loss of €1 million in the same quarter a year ago, driven by strong operating results and a foreign currency gain of €28 million in the quarter as compared to a €14 million loss last year, due to unrealized currency fluctuations mainly associated with the U.S. dollar-denominated sport rights. These increases were partially offset primarily by higher share-based compensation and amortization of capitalized sport rights licenses expenses compared with the first quarter a year ago.

Adjusted EBITDA

First quarter Adjusted EBITDA was €59 million, up €12 million, or 25%, compared to €47 million in the same quarter a year ago. The increase was largely driven by the 17% revenue growth, partially offset by increased sport rights costs primarily related to the continued success of the ATP partnership deal, higher purchased services driven by investments in developing our product portfolio and increased personnel expenses to support growth initiatives.

Business Highlights

Announced agreement to acquire IMG ARENA and its global sports betting rights portfolio. Following receipt of regulatory approvals and the closing, which is currently anticipated to take place in the fourth quarter of 2025, IMG ARENA’s portfolio is expected to enhance Sportradar’s content and product offering and further strengthen its strategic position as a leading content provider in the most bet upon global sports, including tennis, soccer and basketball.
Announced the extension and expansion of our partnership with Major League Baseball (“MLB”) for 8 years, beginning with the 2025 season. Sportradar will exclusively distribute ultra-low latency official MLB data, media content, including MLB Statcast Data, and audiovisual content across our global client network. Additionally, Sportradar and MLB will collaborate on the creation of AI-driven products powered by player tracking data to create immersive, hyper-personalized fan experiences.
Expanded Alpha Odds, Sportradar’s AI-enabled premium odds calculation and risk management solution, into cricket, a sport that generates an estimated €80 billion in global betting turnover annually.
Signed multi-year partnership with the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV) to safeguard CBV competitions from corruption and match-fixing through Sportradar’s Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), and to supply metrics and dynamic visualizations for coaching teams.
Extended long-standing partnership with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). Sportradar will deliver integrity monitoring for more than 8,200 men’s and women’s matches organized annually by the CBF, now including all Brazilian national championships.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

The Company’s cash and cash equivalents were €358 million as of March 31, 2025 as compared with €348 million as of December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily driven by net cash generated from operating activities of €102 million due to the strong operating performance, partially offset by net cash used in investing activities of €66 million, primarily from the acquisition of additional sport rights and from net cash used in financing activities of €19 million, due primarily to share repurchases related to employee stock grants. Free cash flow for the first quarter was €32 million, an increase of €32 million compared to the same period a year ago.

Including its undrawn credit facility, the Company had total liquidity of €578 million at March 31, 2025 as compared to €568 million as of December 31, 2024, and no debt outstanding.

2025 Annual Financial Outlook

Sportradar reiterated its fiscal 2025 outlook as follows:

Revenue of at least €1,273 million, representing year-on-year growth of at least 15%
Adjusted EBITDA of at least €281 million, representing year-on-year growth of at least 26%
Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of at least 200 basis points
Free cash flow conversion¹ rate above the 2024 level of 53%

The 2025 guidance does not include any impact from the pending acquisition of IMG ARENA given the uncertainty around the timing of close. Guidance will be updated to incorporate the anticipated uplift resulting from this acquisition following the closing of the transaction.

Share Repurchase Plan

In March 2024, the Board of Directors approved a $200 million share repurchase plan. As of May 9, 2025 the Company has repurchased 4.8 million shares under the plan for a total of $86 million, including 3.0 million shares in conjunction with the recently completed secondary offering.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Sportradar will host a conference call to discuss the first quarter results today, May 12, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Those wishing to participate via webcast should access the earnings call through Sportradar’s Investor Relations website. An archived webcast with the accompanying slides will be available at the Company’s Investor Relations website for one year after the conclusion of the live event.

The post Sportradar Reports First Quarter Results appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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ZEAL and GAMOMAT announce partnership

Published

19 hours ago

May 12, 2025

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: < 1 minute

ZEAL and GAMOMAT, two renowned companies in the iGaming industry in Germany, announce their cooperation. As part of the partnership, ZEAL will integrate a continuously growing number of online games from the Berlin-based development studio GAMOMAT into its games portfolio in the web shops of its brands LOTTO24 and Tipp24. The cooperation has officially started in April this year.

Strong advantages for both sides

The cooperation brings advantages for both companies: While ZEAL can expand its product range with GAMOMAT’s popular and high-quality titles and also benefits from the company’s experience in international markets, GAMOMAT will increase its targeted reach and growth through its cooperation with ZEAL.

“With GAMOMAT’s popular games, we are expanding our portfolio with high-quality titles that will delight our customers,” says Alex Green, Vice President Games at ZEAL. “We are proud to have such an experienced and successful partner like GAMOMAT at our side and are very much looking forward to the mutual exchange.”

“We are proud of our partnership with ZEAL,” says Robert Kocher, Managing Director of GAMOMAT Distribution GmbH. “Our goal is to reach as many satisfied customers as possible with our portfolio. The regulated market in Germany is a home turf for us, and therefore the integration of our titles into ZEAL’s high-quality portfolio is particularly important to us. For us, this is another step in our sustainable growth strategy with a trusted partner.”

The post ZEAL and GAMOMAT announce partnership appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.