Flurry of M&A Activity Redefining the Online Gaming Market Landscape

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NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- It's been a wild and crazy year for the online gambling industry, especially with the rise in demand coming from a shift in traffic away from attending brick-and-mortar casinos towards players participating on their mobile devices from the comfort of their own homes. In particular, many online poker and online casinos are up triple digits since October 2019, while mobile wagering on sports is up as new markets become legalized over the next year—representing more than half of US states. The result of all this activity has been a flurry of new partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions in the industry, including from Bragg Gaming Group (TSX-V:BRAG) (OTCQX:BRGGF), Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN), Landcadia Holdings II (NASDAQ:LCA), Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR), and GAN Limited (NASDAQ:GAN).

But not all of the activity is taking place in the United States, as European markets such as Switzerland continue through the stages of opening up to online casino gaming. Bragg Gaming Group (TSX.V:BRAG) (OTC:BRGGF) just recently announced a strategic content deal between its subsidiary ORYX Gaming and leading licensed Swiss operator Grand Casino Luzern's asset mycasino.ch.

"The Swiss online market is one that we have had an eye on since the new legislation entered into force in 2019 and we are thrilled to finally make our debut," said Matevz Mazij, Managing Director of ORYX Gaming. "Grand Casino Luzern makes a perfect partner for us as one of the most established operators in the market with a strong online brand and we look forward to working together to build our presence in the country."

Throughout 2019, online gaming was still illegal in Switzerland, with all access to unlicensed sites and apps blocked. However, some July 2019 gambling reforms would go on to enable land-based casinos like Grand Casino Luzern to launch their own online operations.

So far, the launch has been a significant success, with Switzerland's latest official figures touting revenue from online gaming licensees generating CHF23.5 million (more than USD$26 million) in just the first partial year of being live.

In the case of Grand Casino Luzern, the mycasino.ch brand alone generated nearly 38% of the total Swiss online gaming market with CHF8.9 million in revenue (nearly US$10 million) in 2019.