Tag: MRG

MRG and Bethard Ready to Grow in Swedish Market

Posted on by Grant Mahon

A total of 21 companies have obtained a Swedish license in anticipation of the full regulation of the iGaming industry. Swedish brands MRG and Bethard have become the latest companies to procure the desired benchmark and join the fraternity of companies ready to launch their operations as early as January 1, 2019.

MRG and Bethard Obtain iGaming Licenses

The Swedish iGaming company MRG has just procured licenses to kickstart online casinos in its home country, with Mr. Green and Evoke Gaming rolling-out the full offer, acting as subsidiaries for the company.

As a result, a number of websites will become operational as early as January, including Mr. Green, Redbet, Vinnarum, Bertil and MamaMiaBingo, with the company clearly diversifying its efforts as early on as it can.

In the official press release, MRG CEO Per Norman expressed his satisfaction with the recent developments, noting that his company was looking forward to provide Swedish gamers with a product that is truly superior.

We are especially happy about the strong emphasis on responsible gaming in the Swedish regulation since Green Gaming has been part of our strategy since the start of the company 10 years ago. – MRG CEO Per Norman

MRG also operates in 13 separate markets, offering highly-polished iGaming products through its subsidiaries. Bethard alone, owns 16 flagship brands and licensed websites, considerably boosting the positions of the company in the sector.

In their own official statement, Bethard cited the company’s founder and executive Erik Skarp who also welcomed the newly-presented opportunity, cheering at the prospect of bringing the company’s products to Sweden.

Sweden is, for many reasons, a very dear market to us and I am personally looking forward to show what we can do in terms of responsible gaming on our home market. Bethard founder Erik Skarp

According to Mr. Skarp, the goal of Bethard is to “be a truly responsible gaming company” and to consolidate its footprint across new and existing markets. With the latest additions of casinos, Sweden now faces 21 licensed companies awaiting to enter the market at the turn of the year.

More Operators Arrive in Sweden

While the MRG’s licensing deals are important, they are far from the only companies to break into the Swedish market. Svenska Spel will be re-emerging in the freshly-regulated market on January 1, hoping to get a head-start on the many other that will follow.

Meanwhile, Bethard has reaffirmed its intentions to stay vigilant of new marketing prospects, including in Germany, where the company has been gaining ground.

Bethard is also planning a move on the Irish market, although the company openly suggests that the newly-proposed Irish tax is a reason for concern. However, the Irish government is likely to go back on the proposed sports betting tax hike, which would boost the amount collected to 2%.

Sweden will have a lot of hard work to do, with the country guaranteeing the safety of consumers and keeping nefarious third-parties at bay. The country’s re-branded Lotteriinspektionen regulator will take care of enacting all new measures.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.

William Hill to Add Markets with Mr. Green Acquisition

Posted on by Carmen Thompson

William Hill is diversifying its assets and reducing its dependency on its main market. The company’s acquisition of MRG is another step in that direction, with William Hill making sure to re-focus its efforts out of one of its main bastions – the United Kingdom.

William Hills’ MRG Means Readjustment

On December 4, William Hill announced that it was seeking to acquire MRG, a casino brand formerly known as Mr. Green. MRG is valued at $307 million and offers new markets, which would help the company seek alternative sources of revenue beyond the United Kingdom, where Will Hill has become a house name.

With the announcement, William Hill also acknowledged that the bulk of the £1.7 billion in annual revenue still came from the United Kingdom where legal & regulatory tensions have been mounting. Diversifying would help the company dive into developing and established new markets. The company signaled its intentions towads MRG as early as November, when William Hill first announced its intentions to acquire a nearly 5-percent stake in Mr. Green.

MRG, in particular, presently operates in a number of markets, including Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Ireland, Malta, and of course – Great Britain, and further expansion is on the cards. With Sweden recently legalizing its own online casino market, MRG hopes to obtain a license and start offering its products to Swedish customers on January 1, 2019.

MRG’s online-only business will increase the William Hill Group’s share of revenue and profits from online as well as from outside the UK, and reduce William Hill’s exposure to the UK market – Official William Hill statement

Stipulating about the benefits of the acquisition, William Hill outlined a scenario whereby the company had already acquired MRG, which would have driven the first six months results by 5 percent across the board. Growth outside the United Kingdom would have jumped by 7 percent.

William Hill will need to go through a number of legal procedures before it can acquire MRG, with the company expecting the deal to push through between December 10 and January 17, 2019.

If watchdogs fail to review the proposal, then a grace period will be granted so that the acquisition may continue according to plan. Settlement is expected to begin on January 25, 2019. William Hill will seek to acquire at least 90 percent of MRG shares, indicating a full-acquisition.

After the process has been completed, the company will delist MRG from the Nasdaq Stockholm, giving William Hill enough time to bring all internal operations in line and reposition its assets and portfolio.

William Hill is presently facing a number of problems at home, although none too serious as of the moment. The bookmaker was recently reported not to pay out the correct odds to punters, short-handing them instead.

With the regulatory headwinds intensifying, many bookmakers and iGaming companies are looking for ways to minimize the impact of the looming Brexit and the jump in remote gambling tax.

In 2019, companies will be subject to some of the most demanding tax & regulatory norms in the past decade, which will require smart business action.

Carmen Thompson

Carmen is our residential reporter always on the move and hunting down the latest scoops and rumours to explore. Nothing gets past her keen nose, especially when it comes to some serious Jelly Bean poker tournaments.