Industry News
OKTO Enters into Partnership with Advansys
Fintech company OKTO has partnered with Casino Management System provider Advansys to bring instant mobile payments directly on gaming machines in casinos and gaming halls across Europe with the OKTO.WALLET.
OKTO.WALLET integrated with Advansys NEXIO CMS offers both a convenient and secure as well as a fast payment experience at the gaming machines.
Players in Europe will be able to embrace a true cashless mobile payment experience, using the free OKTO app on their mobiles to interact with machines, connected to Advansys’s powerful NEXIO Casino Management System (CMS). The service allows players to load credits directly from their mobile phones via the OKTO.WALLET to a gaming machine and collect their winnings at the end of the play session, straight into their OKTO app. The players have multiple ways to load and withdraw funds from their OKTO account, such as payment card and bank as well as access their account instantly through the OKTO issued prepaid card connected to their OKTO.WALLET.
Simon Dorsen, Director of Gaming at OKTO, said: “Europe can be considered a digital fast adopter, showcasing a strong potential for growth and rise of mobile payments. The pandemic accelerated the need for innovative and secure digital payment methods across all channels, including land-based gaming, and OKTO meets exactly that demand.
We’re glad to cooperate with Advansys to provide even more gaming operators and players in Europe with a payment method that streamlines and simplifies the payment experience on gaming machines. Access to mobile payments is a driver for retail innovation in Europe, especially when this has blended with an advanced end-to-end cashless mobile wallet that completely rely on accessible mobile technology.”
Andrej Sluga, CMO of Advansys, said: “Many countries in Europe relied heavily on cash, but COVID-19 brings about many opportunities for the mass adoption of mobiles payment solutions. OKTO came just at the right time.
“Mobile payments are widely accepted in other sectors already and keep growing. Mobile Payment Apps are in fact on the rise as they are easy, fast, secure and reduce or eliminate the need to carry payment methods like cash and credit cards.
“Our partnership with OKTO strengthens our position as one of the leading Casino Management Systems in Europe. We can now offer our partners secure mobile payments on gaming machines, bringing a new level of experience to their players. Mobile phones will dominate payments in future as many bank services are already available for years. It is a money digital evolution and mobile payments are gaining momentum in the casino industry.”
Blake Sartini
Golden Entertainment Announces Leadership Changes
Golden Entertainment Inc. announced that effective March 20, 2024, Blake Sartini II, Golden’s Executive Vice President of Operations, became the Company’s Chief Operating Officer.
“Blake has worked in every capacity throughout our organization since he started at Golden almost 17 years ago. His unique knowledge of our Company’s culture, commitment to operational excellence, and strong leadership skills make him the ideal individual to be given responsibility for all our Nevada casino resorts, locals properties, tavern operations and related corporate functions,” Blake Sartini, Chairman and CEO of Golden, said.
Blake Sartini II initially joined Golden in June 2007, working with Golden’s tavern operations and building what is now the largest branded tavern portfolio in Nevada with 69 locations. Currently, as Executive Vice President of Operations, in addition to oversight of Golden’s taverns, he has direct responsibility for the Company’s five local casinos in Las Vegas and Pahrump.
Steve Arcana, Golden’s current Chief Operating Officer, became the Company’s Chief Development Officer also effective March 20, 2024. In this newly created role, Mr. Arcana will be responsible for all new tavern development, finding new third-party food and beverage concepts for the Company’s casino resorts, and exploring opportunities to unlock value in the Company’s excess real estate in Las Vegas, Laughlin and Pahrump. Mr. Arcana initially joined Golden in 2003 and has overseen the Company’s operations as it has grown from a privately held, 900-slot machine route operation to a publicly traded gaming company with casinos in Las Vegas, Laughlin and Pahrump in addition to its significant tavern portfolio.
“Steve has been with Golden for over 20 years and has been an integral part of growing our business and guiding us through many challenges. Steve has established a strong operating team and has been a consistent leader throughout his decades at Golden. His long history and extensive experience in the industry will continue to benefit the Company in his new role focused on creating value from new tavern development and unused assets in our casino portfolio,” Mr. Sartini said.
“These management changes will allow Golden to focus on maximizing performance in our core operations while exploring opportunities to drive future improvement by bringing potential new concepts to our existing portfolio. I am confident the changes to Blake and Steve’s roles with the Company will position us well to create additional shareholder value,” Mr. Sartini added.
Barclays Capital Inc
MGM Resorts International Announces Proposed Senior Notes Offering
MGM Resorts International announced that it proposes to offer $750,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2032.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the notes to repay existing indebtedness, including its outstanding 6.750% senior notes due 2025. Pending such use, the Company may invest the net proceeds in short-term interest-bearing accounts, securities, or similar investments.
The notes being offered will be general unsecured senior obligations of the Company, guaranteed by substantially all of the Company’s wholly-owned domestic subsidiaries that guarantee the Company’s other senior indebtedness, and equal in right of payment with all existing or future senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company and each guarantor.
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., BofA Securities, Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, Fifth Third Securities, Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., and Truist Securities, Inc. will act as joint book-running managers and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, PNC Capital Markets LLC, U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC will act as co-managers for the proposed offering.
Affiliate Industry
The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024
The Nomination Committee of Catena Media proposed re-election of the following members of the Board of Directors:
Øystein Engebretsen
Theodore Bergquist
Adam Krejcik
Sean Hurley
The Nomination Committee proposed that Erik Flinck and Dan Castillo be elected as new members of the Board of Directors.
Göran Blomberg, Esther Teixeira-Boucher and Austin Malcomb have declined re-election as board members.
The Nomination Committee proposed that there will be six (6) members of the Board of Directors, changed from seven (7).
The Nomination Committee also proposed Erik Flinck to be elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Erik Flinck, born in 1980, currently provides high end business consulting combined with serving as Chairman for the digital health startup, dr HUD. Mr Flinck previously served as Head of BCG Sweden and has extensive experience from corporate management, growth and turnarounds from nearly 20 years of Management Consulting and serving as Head of Group Strategy and M&A at Sandvik AB. He has a Masters Degree in Engineering (Software development and Financial Mathematics) from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a Masters Degree in Business and Administration from Stockholm University and Stockholm School of Business.
Born in 1980, Dan Castillo has accumulated over 20 years of experience across startups, growth companies and turnarounds. Since 2015, Castillo has invested in Catena Media, maintaining a close watch on its progression, especially after its IPO in 2016. He has previous experience of listed board work in Kotipizza which Orkla acquired in 2018. He currently serves on the boards of five companies in different sectors, including Quartr.com in Fintech and Hope Studios in movie production. His academic background includes studies in Finance and Economics at Linköping University.
The Nomination Committee of Catena Media consists of:
Nicklas Paulson, representing Investment AB Öresund (chair of the nomination committee)
Marianne Stenberg, representing Second Swedish National Pension Fund
Martin Zetterlund, representing Niklas Karlsson
Göran Blomberg, chairman of the board of Catena Media.
The post The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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