The chief executive officer of the company sitting atop the operators of Bet99 says they are getting close to securing the approvals needed to legally offer online sports betting in Ontario.
Sports Venture Holdings Inc. (SVH) is the parent company of subsidiaries that run Bet99, and SVH CEO Jared Beber says the online sportsbook and casino operator is making progress towards launching in Ontario’s regulated market for internet gambling.
“We're getting close, we're not quite there,” Beber said in a recent interview with Covers. “I wouldn't want to speak to a timeline, because ultimately that's at the discretion of the regulators, but we are well through the process and very much so nearing the finish line.”
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Bet99 is available and well known among sports bettors in Canada because of the widespread advertising of its free-to-play website and eye-catching partnerships, such as with former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and NHL All-Star Auston Matthews.
Since launching in 2020, Bet99 has become “one of the largest online sport and casino betting websites that accept players from Canada,” and it has taken more than $1.2 billion in bets in the country through its online sportsbook and casino, a recent press release noted.
But despite its profile and handle, Bet99’s online sportsbook and casino are licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, not provincial authorities. Bet99’s operators are trying to change that by coming under regulation in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province.
Ontario opened a competitive market for iGaming nearly two months ago, which now houses more than 20 online sportsbooks, casinos, and other websites where residents can legally gamble. Operators that compete with Bet99 are already live in Ontario’s regulated framework, and several of them were previously available in the province despite doing business in a legal “grey” area similar to the one Bet99 currently inhabits.
A subsidiary of SVH has applied for an internet gaming operator registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which is one of two key boxes to check before a company can go live in the province’s iGaming market. The other major step is executing an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario, a government agency and AGCO subsidiary.
Big deals
In the meantime, Beber said Bet99 is currently on track for its biggest year yet in terms of handle and revenue, after already generating around $12.2 million in receipts during the first quarter. Bet99 is also the centerpiece of a recently announced deal that could allow retail investors to gain exposure to the betting brand.
SVH and Vancouver-based online gambling company Kings Entertainment Group Inc. announced last week they had agreed to merge their businesses. Shares of the combined company are expected to trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange following the completion of the arrangement, which is anticipated near the end of the third quarter of 2022, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Another condition for the merger’s completion is the “receipt by the applicable subsidiary of SVH of a license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to be a registered internet gaming operator in the province of Ontario,” a press release announcing the deal noted.
Beber is expected to be the CEO of the new company, which will rename itself Interactive Entertainment Group Inc. And while Bet99 may be entering Ontario’s regulated market after its rivals, the CEO is confident that the brand, its “hyper-localized approach” to Canada, and its grasp of the various "cultural nuances" in each province will help it thrive.
“I recognize it's a highly competitive market, but we do feel that we've made a large enough name,” Beber said. “And we do feel that we're approaching this market in a very unique way that we’re confident in our ability to execute, acquire, and most importantly, retain.”
Beber said they intend to transition players in Ontario from Bet99.com to a Bet99.ca website address. That process has irked users of formerly “grey” operators because they were required to settle all pre-existing bets from within the province before launching in the regulated framework. When the transition takes place, though, rests with regulators.
Beber said the Bet99 team has been working for months to migrate into the market and that regulation is of the “utmost importance” to the company.
“It's in our best interests to make it happen as fast as possible, but as I said, ultimately it's the regulator's discretion,” Beber said of Bet99’s Ontario-regulated launch. “And so all we can do is work as fast as possible and make sure that we're prepared and conducting ourselves in accordance with the regulatory framework that they've laid out for us.”
Growth, organic and otherwise
The combination with Kings will lead to current shareholders of SVH owning around 87% of the common stock of the combined company. Several current directors and officers of Kings are expected to resign when the deal is completed, with SVH’s Beber taking over the CEO role.
SVH’s merger with Kings also comes as the former is trying to fuel further growth, and the merger will offer the company access to the public markets. Listing on the CSE will allow the combined entity to raise money by selling shares to a broader group of investors, and the possibility for expansion via the acquisition of other companies is a big reason for the deal.
Beber said they see the opportunity to buy companies in “periphery verticals,” such as media. The intent there would be to buy a company that can complement the gaming side of the business, helping to turn the new Interactive Entertainment Group into an even larger conglomerate.
“Organic growth is at the forefront and something that we're going to continue to drive towards,” Beber said. “But also the acquisitive growth is a big path and opportunity that we see ahead.”
