Canada
SeventySix Capital Raises Second Sports Focused Venture Capital Fund
Investors include pro team owners, athletes, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The sports industry leading venture capital company, SeventySix Capital, announced the initial closing of its second fund to invest in passionate entrepreneurs who are launching game-changing sports betting, esports and sports tech companies.
SeventySix Capital, led by Wayne Kimmel, Jon Powell and Chad Stender, has reshaped the sports venture capital industry. To date in 2021, SeventySix Capital has sold three portfolio companies: VSiN, the sports betting media network led by Brian Musburger, Bill Adee and Brent Musburger (sold to DraftKings – Nasdaq: DKNG), Vigtory, a next generation sportsbook led by Sam Rattner and Scott Butera (sold to FuboTV – NYSE: FUBO), and Team Whistle, a sports and entertainment media company led by John West and Michael Cohen (sold to ELEVEN SPORTS).
“This next fund is an important milestone as we continue building SeventySix Capital as the go-to investment company in the sports industry,” said Wayne Kimmel, SeventySix Capital Managing Partner. “We have proven that we have access to the deals and entrepreneurs seeking to transform the sports world and that we are able to help them build their businesses with our capital investment as well as our sports relationships, knowledge and expertise.”
SeventySix Capital added two additional professional sports team owners as investors and strategic partners in the new fund: Robert Nutting, Owner and Chairman of the board of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball and AMBSE Ventures, a subsidiary of AMB Sports + Entertainment, a portfolio company of Arthur M. Blank, Owner and Chairman of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer. d
SeventySix Capital expanded its roster of athlete investors with the additions of Emmanuel Sanders, Super Bowl Champion and 2X Pro Bowl NFL Wide Receiver of the Buffalo Bills, Alejandro Bedoya, Captain of the Philadelphia Union, former U.S. National team player and SeventySix Capital Athlete Venture Group Co-Chair, and James Develin, 3X Super Bowl Champion and former Pro Bowl Running Back for the New England Patriots. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame Running Back and SeventySix Capital Athlete Venture Group Chair and DeMarco Murray, former NFL All-Pro Running Back and Coach at the University of Oklahoma are return investors along with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority and multiple family offices.
“I’m excited to officially join the already dynamic team at SeventySix Capital that I have gotten to know well over the last several years through my marketing agent, Dave Maryles (Partner at Rubicon Talent),” said Emmanuel Sanders. “Given my personal passion for esports, it’s great working with Nerd Street, their esports portfolio company. We share similar values and interests in entrepreneurship, the sports business, and overall the drive to work hard to achieve lofty goals.”
SeventySix Capital’s current portfolio companies are leaders in their respective industries: C360, Diamond Kinetics, Fortē, Maestro, Nerd Street, Play by Play, ShotTracker, Swish Analytics, and U.S. Integrity.
This new fund will invest in startup companies that are disrupting and innovating the sports industry through the use of analytics, data and technology. SeventySix Capital aims to capitalize on the growing legal sports betting industry in the United States. The American Gaming Association (AGA) confirmed that U.S. commercial gaming revenue for the first seven months of 2021 nearly matched the entirety of 2020 and is 17.4 percent ahead of the same period in 2019, with 26 states (and Washington D.C.) having launched regulated sports betting. DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) believes the US online sports betting market could eventually be worth $22 billion, assuming 100 percent legalization. The fund will also make investments in companies seeking to transform the fast-growing esports and Gaming industry. Gaming analytics and market research firm Newzoo stated that close to one-third of the global population games and the U.S. Video Game industry in 2020 was larger than Music and Movies combined, according to The NPD Group.
SeventySix Capital Venture Partner and Advisory members include Tim Cabral, former CFO of the $46+ billion market cap company, Veeva Systems, Dan Mason, former CEO of CBS Radio and a National Radio Hall of Fame member, and Michael Schreiber, CEO of Playfly Sports, Co-Founder of SeventySix Capital Sports Advisory and a former executive at NBCUniversal, Comcast and Altice USA.
Steven M. Cohen from Morgan Lewis acted as SeventySix Capital’s fund formation legal counsel and Adam Berger from Duane Morris is the fund’s gaming counsel.
Stats Perform, the global leader in sports AI, data and technology, has announced an official data partnership with the Northern Super League (NSL). The partnership will allow world-leading Opta data to be collected live from every NSL league game for the next three years.
Beginning this month, the Northern Super League (NSL) establishes a new era in Canadian sport as the country’s first professional domestic women’s soccer league — an ambitious and transformative initiative co-founded by former Canadian international and Olympic medallist Diana Matheson. Its inaugural season kicks off on April 16 and will feature six teams who have assembled multinational player rosters with extensive club and international experience, including 100-cap Canadian internationals Desiree Scott and Quinn.
Once the action begins, detailed data from every on-ball event, including advanced AI-powered Opta Analytics metrics such as Expected Goals (xG) and Expected Assists (xA), will be captured and distributed via feeds and Stats Perform products, including OptaAI Studio. This will enable various broadcasters, publishers and rights holders to generate stories and insights throughout the NSL season and provide them straight to the league’s fans in real time.
As part of the agreement, the NSL’s League Office and every NSL club will also have access to Opta Search, part of OptaAI Studio. This will allow their content creators to leverage all Opta data collected during the NSL season in the creation of data-led stories on the stand-out performers, and will help them generate key talking points for publication on official league and club platforms. Opta Search will also empower the NSL’s media team to create a range of data visualizations, including player shot maps and touch maps, to visually illustrate the impact of different players’ on-field performances.
Christina Litz, NSL President, said: “We are thrilled to have Stats Perform on board as our official data partner. When we talk about detailed performance data in soccer, Opta is the gold standard, so we are delighted to have it powering each of our official digital channels. As the season progresses, we want to put the spotlight on all the on-field heroes who emerge and having access to world-class data will help us tell their stories and inspire a new generation of Canadian soccer fans.”
Steve Xeller, Chief Revenue Officer at Stats Perform, said: “Stats Perform has been a huge supporter of expansion leagues around the world, so we are very pleased to be partnering with NSL in the lead-up to their first domestic campaign. Seeing a fully professional women’s soccer league launch in Canada is an incredibly exciting development for the sport in North America and we see considerable potential in working proactively with the League’s Head Office to help the competition grow, using the power of AI and data-led storytelling to build fan communities across the continent.”
The post Northern Super League Partners with Stats Perform appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Africa
INCENTIVE GAMES SIGNS EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION DEAL FOR NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, SOUTH AFRICA AND UK WITH LIGHT & WONDER
Leading B2B games provider, Incentive Games, today announced its new agreement with premium gaming company and content provider Light & Wonder, Inc.
Through this agreement, Incentive Games will distribute its premium pay-to-play games – including new arcade-style titles – to key global regulated markets including the USA, Canada, South Africa, UK, and within Europe via Light & Wonder’s extensive operator network. Additionally, Incentive Games’ popular free-to-play content will be made available to a wider audience through Light & Wonder’s content marketplace.
The agreement brings together two industry leaders in iGaming and the strengths of both companies to deliver exceptional player experiences and elevate customer engagement.
Ahmed Baker, Chief Commercial Officer at Incentive Games said, “This agreement is a landmark moment in our company’s history. Previously, we’ve worked directly with major operators such as bet365, FanDuel, and Sky Bet. Now, we can distribute our games via Light & Wonder, an exceptional aggregator that we trust will handle our games with care.”
Steve Mayes, Senior Director of Partners at Light & Wonder, said: “We are excited to work with Incentive Games, a leader in gamification solutions. We look forward to leveraging their innovative platform and bringing their customisable crash and fast game content to all major regulated markets.”
The post INCENTIVE GAMES SIGNS EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION DEAL FOR NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, SOUTH AFRICA AND UK WITH LIGHT & WONDER appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
PENN Entertainment announced that it has launched theScore Casino, a new stand-alone iCasino app in Ontario. The dedicated online casino experience leverages the popular theScore brand, which has been a mainstay in the Ontario market for decades. Now available on Android, iOS, and desktop, customers can login using their existing theScore Bet credentials, allowing for a seamless experience across online gaming platforms.
theScore Casino operates on the same cutting-edge proprietary technology platform as PENN’s online Hollywood Casino, which launched as a standalone product in the US in December. The product was recently ranked by Eilers & Krejcik as the #2 overall iCasino product in the US.
theScore Casino, also available within theScore Bet app, offers a variety of online slots, table games, and live dealer content, including original titles from PENN Game Studios, the company’s in-house game development studio. theScore Casino also includes bespoke live dealer tables and exclusive games such as Blue Jays Blackjack, an original title leveraging theScore Bet’s partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We’re excited to introduce our dedicated iCasino product in Ontario under the well-known and trusted theScore brand. We’ve built a strong online gaming foothold in the Ontario market and are primed to deliver an even better casino experience with our proven stand-alone app. Our customer-friendly platform features more than 1200 games, dozens of original titles and intuitive game play that distinguishes our product and positions us for even greater success,” said Aaron LaBerge, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Interactive at PENN Entertainment.
The post PENN Entertainment Launches Stand-alone iCasino App, theScore Casino, in Ontario appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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