LONDON & DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GAN plc (“GAN” or the “Company”) a leading B2B supplier of Internet gaming enterprise software-as-a-service solutions to the US land-based casino Industry, provides an update on trading for the year ended December 31, 2017.
GAN performed in line with market expectations during the second half of 2017 in both its real money Regulated Gaming and Simulated Gaming activities due to the launch of several new clients, including the launch of the Overseas Internet Casino2. During the period, the Company benefited from strict cost management and generated positive clean EBITDA1 for the full year 2017. Furthermore, the outlook for 2018 remains positive due to continued growth in real money Regulated Gaming and Simulated Gaming.
Regulated Gaming
In Italy, growth in Net Revenue experienced during H1 has continued into H2 where the Company has benefitted from the seasonally strong Q4 period.
In New Jersey, GAN’s business continues to enjoy favourable market conditions and performed strongly in 2017. In H2 2017, GAN signed a multi-year agreement with AC Ocean Walk LLC which will be GAN’s second client for real money Regulated Gaming in New Jersey. AC Ocean Walk LLC is the newly-announced owner-operator of Ocean Resort Casino for the launch of a real money Regulated Gaming online experience offering Internet casino gaming together with Internet sports betting integrated with the on-property rewards program in reliance on GAN’s Patent3. This new Internet gaming destination is currently expected to launch in H1 2018 and will contribute materially to GAN’s revenue and earnings in H2 2018. Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City New Jersey is the substantial casino property formerly known as TEN/Revel Casino.
In Europe, the identity of GAN’s client for the Overseas Internet Casino2 can now be confirmed as the major Native American US casino operator Chickasaw Nation. The Overseas Internet Casino launched for the Chickasaw Nation was delivered in H2 2017 and is now available in regulated European markets at www.WinStar.com.
In Pennsylvania, regulation of real money Internet gaming occurred on October 30, 2017. GAN has served Simulated Gaming to Pennsylvania’s market-leading land-based US casino Parx Casino with GAN’s GameSTACK™ enterprise gaming software platform installed on-property at Parx Casino since 2015 and is currently preparing to deliver real money Regulated Gaming upon commencement of the Pennsylvanian Internet gaming market anticipated later in 2018.
Simulated Gaming™
GAN’s US-facing Simulated Gaming business continued to benefit from the launch of several new US casino operator clients in 2017 including Ocean Resort Casino (formerly TEN/Revel Casino), Chickasaw Nation’s WinStar World Casino, MGM’s The Borgata, Oneida Nation’s TurningStone and Station Casinos.
As on December 31, 2017 GAN operated Simulated Gaming for 12 major US casinos coast-to-coast (December 31, 2016: 8) together representing in excess of $8bn in annual land-based gaming revenues as well as for a consortium of land-based gaming venues in Queensland, Australia identified as ‘Club8Casino’.
Regulatory Progress
On October 30, 2017 the State of Pennsylvania regulated Internet gaming becoming the fourth US State to regulate Internet gaming and the first new State to regulate Internet gaming since 2013. Additional US States are now considering the regulation of Internet gaming including Illinois, New York and Michigan.
With respect to online sports betting in the US, GAN welcomes any potential repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act 1992 (“PASPA”) by the US Supreme Court and has taken preparatory steps to deliver a managed sports betting solution to its US clients via GAN’s GameSTACK™ enterprise gaming software platform in partnership with a leading European B2B sports betting system and services provider SBTECH (as announced previously by the Company on January 15, 2018).
Patent
The US Patent3 comprises multiple claims principally for linking on-property rewards accounts held within casino management systems to patrons’ online accounts held within an Internet gaming system and delivering a converged online-to-onproperty experience for US casino patrons. This Patent has now been licensed more than a dozen times by GAN to major US casino operators for the conduct of both real money Regulated Gaming and Simulated Gaming in the United States.
The Patent was subjected to an ex parte re-examination process which successfully concluded in 2017 in favour of GAN with the issuance of a certificate by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) confirming the validity of GAN’s claims within the Patent.
GAN has now placed a selected number of US casino operators on notice of GAN’s Patent and associated intellectual property and anticipates concluding commercial licensing arrangements which shall contribute to GAN’s revenue and earnings in 2018.
Notice of Results
The Company will release its results for the year ended December 31, 2017 on March 29, 2018.
Management Commentary
Dermot Smurfit, CEO of GAN commented on the 2017 period:
"The Company generated positive clean EBITDA1 in H1 2017 following a substantial multi-year period of investment focused on the US land-based casino Industry. This favourable EBITDA trend has continued throughout H2 and we have delivered on the market’s expectations to generate positive EBITDA for the full calendar year 2017.”
1Clean EBITDA is a non GAAP Company specific measure and excludes interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, share based payment expenses and other items which the directors consider to be non-recurring and one time in nature.
2Overseas Internet Casino to be delivered by GAN to an anonymous US casino operator and existing client of Simulated Gaming was previously announced by GAN plc on September 12, 2016.
3Network Gaming System and Casino Management System Link, patent number 8,821,296 (“the Patent”), issued to GAN by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) on September 2, 2014.
FAQ’s about US regulation & GAN’s real money online Regulated Gaming
- In the event PASPA is overturned by SCOTUS in H1 2018 the US market opportunity for retail, online and mobile sports betting deployed on-property and online is expected to exceed $6bn by 2023 (source: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC November 2017).
- Internet gaming was effectively out-lawed in the United States during October 2006 by the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act by prohibiting financial institutions from processing Internet gaming payments.
- In 2013 three (3) US States passed laws to regulate Internet gaming within their borders: Nevada (pop. 2.8m), Delaware (<1m) and New Jersey (8.9m) comprising a total of 12.6m people representing less than 4% of the US population (324m). In the neighbouring State of New Jersey (pop. 9m) the Internet gaming market commenced in November 2013 and generated $197m in gross Internet gaming revenues in calendar year 2016 representing 8.2% of the $2.4bn in land-based gross gaming revenues generated by New Jersey’s eight (8) casino properties operational in full or in part throughout 2016.
- Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania have passed legislation enabling existing Internet gaming operators to launch Internet sports betting in the event PASPA is overturned by SCOTUS.
- Pennsylvania has a population of 12.8m, which more than doubles the number of Americans, who will be legally permitted to wager real money on Internet casino games following the commencement of Regulated Gaming in the State of Pennsylvania, anticipated in the first half of 2018.
- Real money online Regulated Gaming for GAN comprises wholly-regulated and US-compliant Internet gaming where end user players resident in wholly-legal jurisdictions deposit & wager real money while playing casino games online.
- GAN received its first full US gaming licence in April 2017 awarded by the State of New Jersey.
GAN | Overview
GAN is a leading B2B supplier of Internet gaming enterprise software-as-a-service solutions to the US land-based casino Industry. GAN is listed on the ESM Market of the Irish Stock Exchange and the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker: GAN
The Company has developed an Internet gaming enterprise software system, GameSTACK™, which it licenses principally to land-based US casino operators as a turnkey technology solution for both regulated real-money and/or virtual Simulated Gaming. GAN has thirteen (13) casino operators as clients of Simulated Gaming coast-to-coast across the US and Internationally; two (2) clients of real money Regulated Gaming in New Jersey; one (1) client of real money Regulated Gaming in Pennsylvania and ten (10) clients of real money Regulated Gaming in Europe.
The Internet Gaming System, developed in London under a UK Gambling Commission license, is certified to the highest technical standards currently required by gaming regulators. In April 2017 GAN was granted a Casino Service Industry Enterprise license by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement being GAN’s first privileged gaming license in the United States.
For more information please visit www.GAN.com
