Gaming Innovation Group Inc. (GiG) inked a deal with Kings Media Ltd on Friday that helps open the door for the operator of hyper-crypto-friendly and highly lauded King Billy casino to enter the newly regulated Ontario province online casino market in Canada.
King Billy currently operates on the N1 Interactive platform that allows crypto and fiat gambling under a Malta Gaming Authority license. It’s unclear if any of King Media’s current partnerships will follow the company into Canada with an expected launch in the first half of next year.
GiG was granted regulatory approval by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission Ontario (AGCO) in Mid-July this year, and brought the number of regulated markets the Group works to 22 with another 4 in the process of approving the provider.
H2 Gambling Capital, the premier source for up-to-the-minute gambling statistics and analysis predicts that the market will grow to over $2bn in gross gaming revenue over the next three years.
GiG Becoming Technical Supplier of Choice
The Oslo-based GiG has evolved significantly since its launch of Guts in 2012 and even Rizk casino in 2016. The company sees itself maturing into ‘the technical supplier of choice’ for igaming and sports betting operators worldwide. GiG completely exited the business-to-customer (B2C) part of the industry with the sale of all its consumer-facing products to Betsson in 2021.
Upon being awarded the Canadian license this summer, Claudio Caruana, general counsel for GiG said: “In receiving the registration from the AGCO, we have reached another important milestone in our resolute commitment to supporting the igaming industry for regulated markets, and we’re delighted to be prepared to power new and potential partners in the province.”
The partnership marks King Media’s first entry into the North American market under local regulation. However, players in Canada are still welcome to play at the Malta Gaming Authority-licensed site running on the N1/SoftSwiss platform.
The deal was signed with a three-year term and renewal options at the end of the period. GiG will provide its multi-award-winning platform and is seen as strengthening the concern’s targeted strategy to take advantage of GiG’s vast experience in penetrating and maintaining a position in fast-growing markets with complicated jurisdictional regimes.
Private online commercial gaming became available for the first time in Canada when AGCO opened the market to competition. Prior to April 2022, the only locally licensed online casinos available in the country were private/public partnerships of provincial and territorial lotteries working as Crown Corporations. Canadian players have always been free to reach offshore and play at gaming sites licensed in other jurisdictions like Malta or in the Caribbean.
What They Are Saying
Kings Media Ltd CEO, Volodymyr Harkusha said: “In our quest to expand to the exponentially competitive Ontario market, we were looking for an industry-leading, future-ready partner. GiG fit the bill perfectly, not only by ticking and double-ticking all the boxes but also by impressing us with their clear vision and dedication to the project. We are looking forward to working together with GiG on the mutual challenges ahead and we are certain that this collaboration will enable us to gain a significant foothold in the Ontario market.”
GiG CEO, Richard Brown said: “I am particularly delighted to partner with Kings Media, a prominent online casino operator and brand with a great deal of experience, who share our values around personalization, responsible gaming, and the importance of regulated markets. We see great potential in Ontario, particularly when we can harness the operational experience of operators like Kings Media. We look forward to working closer with the team to maximize potential through a successful launch into the market, and anticipate this to become a successful client for GiG.”
Source: GiG signs platform deal with renowned casino operator Kings Media Ltd in Ontario, GiG,
August 12, 2022