Get your popcorn, MIXI’s bid for PointsBet Canada not over, yet
Shareholders still have to be heard from in a process Betr is contesting. Also ToonieBet becomes a partner of the CFL. A plethora of People on the Move and a cornucopia of job postings.
Japanese company MIXI has secured the blessing of both the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario (iGO) to acquire PointsBet Canada.
However, next.io’s Sonja Lindenberg wrote on Monday that it might not be a done deal just yet.
While, MIXI’s $402 million (AUD) off-market takeover bid is no longer subject to regulatory approval, it does still needs to win over enough PointsBet shareholders to achieve a 50.1% threshold in favour of the deal.
As we told you in our June 4 newsletter, MIXI and Betr have been in a bidding war for PointsBet.
Thumbs up on the MIXI acquisition from the AGCO and iGO comes days after PB issued a mea culpa about a system error in a key shareholder vote on MIXI’s offer.
“Registry provider Computershare mistakenly excluded a 19.9% stake held by rival bidder Betr Entertainment,” Lindenberg wrote, adding Betr blasted PB’s leadership, while MIXI moved to an off-market bit at the same $1.20-per-share price.
“Betr, meanwhile, said it is preparing its own takeover offer and called on PointsBet not to expedite MIXI’s bid. The company said the board appears intent on favouring MIXI and is demanding a fair competitive process.”
Stay tuned.
ToonieBet, CFL play Let’s Make A (Partnership) Deal
For the second time in three months, Soft2Bet has hitched its ToonieBet brand to a Canadian sports property.
Just as we pushed the Publish button on this morning’s dispatch, the Ontario-licensed operator let it be known it is becoming an official sports betting and official online casino partner of the Canadian Football League. The multiyear agreement also makes ToonieBet an official partner of the Grey Cup, which takes place this year in Winnipeg (November 16), and we’re told it includes broadcast and other media assets.
This partnership follows an April announcement with ToonieBet joining the Ottawa Senators as the NHL franchise’s official online casino partner.
“Partnering with the CFL will elevate our robust offerings in the Canadian market and allow us to continue building our passionate sports and online gaming community in Ontario,” said Steve Spindler, ToonieBet’s Canadian country manager. “Our team . . . is deeply committed to building a premium fan experience, while delivering exceptional customer hospitality and ensuring both responsible and safe game play.”
Added Martin Collins, Soft2Bet’s chief business development officer, in a statement to Gaming News Canada through the company’s PR agency: "This partnership with the CFL is more than visibility, it’s part of our strategy to build meaningful connections with the communities we serve. Just as we’ve done in Denmark and Romania, we’re planting long-term roots in Canada through partnerships that reflect passion, pride, and purpose. We’re thrilled to stand beside the CFL and its fans to deliver a world-class entertainment experience.”
The CFL now has gaming-related partnerships with two Ontario licensees (FanDuel became the league’s first authorized gaming partner and an official sportsbook partner in 2023), and the provincial gaming and lottery corporations in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba.
“This partnership is for the fans,” said CFL revenue chief Tyler Keenan. “Together with ToonieBet, we will unlock exciting avenues of entertainment, delivering new products, responsible gaming options and unique activations, to better serve the future of fandom. In the stadium, at home or online, we’re doubling down on engagement and innovation like never before.”
In May, Soft2Bet launched ToonieBet’s sportsbook app in Ontario.
RGC CEO Sarah McCarthy talks responsible gambling on latest episode of GNCS
Responsible Gambling Council CEO Sarah McCarthy joined Gaming News Canada Show host Steve McAllister this week for a show about all things RG, including a discussion about a Gambling, Marketing and Advertising report funded by Flutter Entertainment.
McAllister also asked the new RGC CEO about her decision to leave the Rick Hansen Foundation to lead the Council, and her transition into the new role, among other things.
Listen to the show here via your favourite podcast platform or watch it here:
Judge gives reasons for banning Bodog, legal firm takes issue
Last week, Tom Nightingale had a piece in Canadian Gaming Business with the Manitoba judge’s reasons for banning offshore online gambling operator Bodog and its affiliated companies.
“Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba judge Jeffrey Harris granted Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) a permanent injunction against Bodog’s parent company Il Nido Ltd. and its Canadian trademark owner Sanctum IP Holdings Ltd. on May 26. The Caribbean-based brand added Manitoba to its list of restricted provinces in June,” Nightingale wrote.
“[Harris] found that by taking customers’ money and advertising in the province, Bodog was in violation of the Criminal Code of Canada, the Competition Act and the Trademarks Act, and had ‘no lawful authority’ to offer or advertise online gambling through bodog.eu, its bodog.net platform (which the company markets as a “free play for amusement purposes only” site) or any other platform in Manitoba.”
On Tuesday, SEGEV LLP published an interesting take on Harris’ decision.
That piece argued, in part, that: “Unfortunately, the decision does a poor job of explaining why bodog.net’s free-to-play offerings constitute the advertising of unauthorized real money gaming products and services. Although not expressly stated, the Court seems to treat bodog.net as a part of a single, unlawful gambling enterprise because of the integrated branding and shared game catalogue. Reading between the lines, the decision implies that bodog.net serves as a promotional tool to attract Manitobans to the real money gambling offerings of bodog.eu.
“A cautious approach is recommended before drawing any hard conclusion from the Bodog decision: First, it was uncontested by Bodog. Had it been vigorously defended, the Court might have arrived at a different determination.
“Second, the Court did not explicitly articulate how bodog.net’s free-to-play offerings constituted unlawful advertising of gaming and betting. The Court’s reasoning leaves significant gaps in its analysis. While the court concluded that Bodog ‘conducts and manages’ lottery schemes in violation of Sections 202 and 206, it failed to analyze whether bodog.net’s free-play site independently constitutes an offense.”
Since we were gone…
From the “every time you take a week off department” comes more news than we expected, especially for a week featuring both Canada Day and the 4th of July holidays.
Here’s a quick roundup of the big stuff you might have missed while we weren’t publishing last week:
Record-breaking month for Ontario
The May Ontario online gambling numbers dropped after our last newsletter. Here are the highlights:
It was a record month for total gross online gambling revenue, which hit $338 million. It smashed the previous best of $328.4 million set in January. It was the third time GGR has exceeded $300 million in a month.
The gains were led, again, by online casino revenue, which hit a new high of $259.8 million, up 7% from the previous best of $242.8 million set in April. Online casino revenue has topped $200 million in the last eight straight months.
Sports betting revenue of $71.8 million was fairly healthy considering May isn’t exactly a choice month for sports betting options. It was up 11% from $64.5 million in April.
Lots of comings and goings with Ontario’s commission
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has been busy hammering operators of late.
On June 26, the AGCO fined Great Canadian Casino Resorts Toronto $350,000 for “multiple” and “serious” violations after a post-electronic dance party concert spilled onto the gambling floor. This one’s worth a read, so click on the hyperlink above).
Ten days before that (and one we missed earlier), Casino Days was hit with a $54,000 fine for a “deceptive bonus” on its platform. You know how the AGCO loves those enticement offers. . . .
SIGA reports gains as annual report drops
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Association (SIGA) annual report is out and it shows net income from slot and online gaming operations was up 5% to $154.9 million between 2024 and 2025 (fiscal year ending March 31). Revenue from table games was up 7% to $40.1 million. The total between the two categories was up 5% to $195 million.
SIGA operates PlayNow.com as well as seven retail casinos in Saskatchewan.
BetMGM introduces gift cards in Ontario
News landed yesterday that BetMGM, in collaboration with payments provider TAPPP, will start making BetMGM gift cards available at “premier retailers” across Ontari-ari-ari-o. According to BetMGM, it’s the first operator in the province to make a branded gift card available at retail outlets.
IAGR is coming to Toronto this fall
There was (at least) one omission from the things we learned at last month’s Canadian Gaming Summit/SBC Summit Canada.
A casual conversation with a leader of Ontario’s open gaming market revealed the International Association of Gaming Regulators is coming to the city below Aurora, October 20-23 for its annual conference. Tickets are already on sale, and Great Britain Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes is scheduled to be among the guest speakers on the opening day of the conference. Among the panelists on the tentative agenda are AGCO head honcho Dr. Karin Schnarr, Tracy Parker from the Responsible Gambling Council, Dr. Sasha Stark and Elizabeth Lusk from Greo Evidence Insights, and legal beagles Danielle Bush (McCarthy Tetrault LLP) and Peter Czegledy (Aird and Berlis LLP).
We’ll have more on the conference closer to the date.
People on the Move
Marc Pedersen leaves Better Collective after almost 18 years, the last six-plus turns of the calendar as Chief Executive Officer, North America.
Alex Macdonald returns to Toronto-based Enthusiast Gaming, this time as Chief Executive Officer.
Changes to the Board of Directors at the Western Canada Lottery Corporation include Kandice Machado taking over the Chair’s . . .er. . . chair from Gerry Sul, Steve Lautischer returning to the board after a one-year absence and Len Rhodes stepping down after a five-year tenure.
Sara Nunes says farewell to Rootz and becomes the Managing Director and Chief Commercial Officer, Finland for High Roller Technologies.
Jacqui Gatt departs BeyondPlay – now part of the FanDuel family – as Senior Director of Product Operations.
Rory Raine has a new business card at Better Collective with the title Senior Director of Corporate Development.
George Daskalakis steps down as CEO of Stoiximan to focus on the business that is Betano. Nikos Fligos moves into the boss’s chair at Stoiximan.
Shailagh Murray, who was a senior advisor to Barack Obama during his second term as U.S. President, is appointed Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at FanDuel. Joining Murray is Jonathan Nabavi, who leaves the NFL as VP, Public Policy and Government Affairs, to become FD’s Vice President of Federal Affairs.
Luka Pataky departs Sportradar after more than 11 years to become the Executive VP, AI & Innovation at Bragg Gaming.
Gaming industry veteran Jeffrey Haas is named Managing Director of the ID8 Global Gaming Business Accelerator in Copenhagen.
Katelyn Koval Stong, formerly of IGT, is the new Vice President of Sales for Pavilion Payments.
Jeremy Locke, the AGCO’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer of Compliance, is named President of the Board of Directors of the North American Gaming Regulators Association (NAGRA).
Former SBC executive Kelli Weaver is the new Gaming Commissioner for the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
Rogers Sports & Media sales executive Janice Smith is appointed Chair of the Board at thinkTV and Corus Entertainment sales exec Barb Mckergow is named Vice-Chair.
Yaspa introduces Christopher Lowe as its new Chief Financial Officer.
Gambly appoints Jason Shapiro as Vice President of Revenue.
Sports betting industry greybeard Joe Asher announces Boomer’s Sportsbook to be launched in Nevada around the start of the NFL regular season.
Alvaro Garcia is appointed Chief Marketing Officer of Flutter Brazil.
Oren Langburt is promoted to Chief Marketing Officer at Incline Gaming Marketing.
Michael Zitney departs Entain to join Hard Rock Digital as Director, Brand – International.
Alexander Fanti has a new role at the Daily Racing Form: Director of Data & Analytics.
Alex Dumais bids adieu to Bet99 to join Paramount Commerce as Legal Counsel.
With the election of Ross Garrow as Chief of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, Joe Jacob is named interim Inspector Manager of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Gaming Commission and Kanentiio Mitchell is appointed interim Chief Inspector.
Jenny Perez is appointed Head of Affiliates at Shark Partners.
The Curling Group appoints Jess Szabo as Vice President of Marketing.
Genius Sports introduces Drew Simon, formerly of CBS Sports, as Content Director.
Catena Media promotes Tristan Kay to Director, Content.
Finn Turner, who’s had stops at Chalkline, Atlantic Lottery and Wager Games, is named Marketing Specialist at Coolbet.
April Thomas is promoted to Account Manager at GBG Plc.
FOGNC Jamie Michaels’ role as Director, Brand Strategy and Creative for the Americas will now also include Latin America.
Hayley Moore in leaving her role as the AHL’s Vice President of Hockey Operations to join the Quartexx hockey agency.
Jo-Anne Polak is appointed Chair of the Board at Football Canada.
Hockey Canada hires Misha Donskov as Vice President of Hockey Operations.
Jason Diplock departs Golf Canada as Managing Director, Sales to take the newly created position of Senior Director, Franchise Business & League Development for the Ontario Hockey League.
Jonathan Blais is promoted by Bauer Hockey to Manager, Growth & Experience Initiatives.
Hayley McGoldrick joins the WNBA Toronto Tempo as Manager, Social Media Marketing.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Hard Rock Digital is hiring a Director, Corporate Development, a Director of Creative Strategy, and a Director of Social Media. It also has a hybrid role available in New Jersey for a Fraud Analyst, and is looking for a Hypercare Analyst in the UK. In the city below Malton, there’s a remote/hybrid role for a Technical Artist – Hard Rock Games.
Betting & Gaming has a cornucopia of employment opportunities up for grabs these days.
Wanted at BVGroup: a Senior Display Marketing Executive.
Aristocrat Gaming has an opportunity for a Business Development Executive.
The Responsible Gambling Council has an opening in the city below Terra Cotta for an Education Programs Manager.
BCLC is in hiring mode for a Senior Specialist, iGaming Performance Marketing Analyst.
Among the current openings at Atlantic Lottery is one for a Sports Trader.
Kaizen Gaming (Betano) is in hiring mode for a Toronto-based Social Media Specialist.
BetMGM wants to hire a Senior Leadership Development Manager in New Jersey. And it has a hybrid/remote role available in the U.S. of A. for a Director, Product – MarTech.
Better Collective business The Nation Network is in search mode for an Account Executive. And BC itself is seeking an Influencer Partnerships Manager in New York.
FanDuel is in the market for a Customer Marketing Strategy and Innovation Manager, and also has room for a Responsible Gaming Associate. Oh, FD is also hiring a Business Operations Analyst.
Wanted by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA): a Director, Accounting Services.
DraftKings is on the lookout for a Manager, Pick6 Analytics. DK also has an opening for a Senior Software Engineer, and for a Manager, Workplace Experience.
Among the eight job openings posted by NeoPollard Interactive are a couple of gigs with PlayAlberta.
Pinnacle is looking for an Azure Kubernetes Engineer. . . . and that’s not a typo, or two. The operator also needs a Machine Learning Engineer for its business in the city below Beeton.
Penn Interactive wants to bring on board a Manager, Strategy.
There’s an opportunity with SoftSwiss for a Senior Product Security Architect.
Rush Street Interactive has an entry-level position available for a Sportsbook and Online Casino Customer Support Agent.
Playtech’s Kyiv office is seeking a Game Animator.
Friends of GNC GBG Plc are searching for a trio of Salesforce professionals.
Communications agency Hot Paper Lantern, which has clients in the gaming industry, is hiring a Content Strategist & Writer.
Entain has at its Wien, Austria offices a gig available for an Application Security Specialist.
Netflix is in need of a Social Manager – Games.
Relax Gaming is looking for a Partner Commercial Manager.
There’s a remote opportunity for a Senior Director, Brand and Communications at PayNearMe.
ALT Sports Data is in hiring mode for a Motorsports Data Scientist – Sports Betting and Data Modelling.
IC360 is in hiring mode for a Business Development Coordinator.
William Hill has an opportunity in Leeds, UK for a Trading Analyst.
Esports and entertainment business Blast has a couple of openings.
Ontario-based SharpStakes is seeking a Sales & Business Development Intern.
Mkodo has an opening for a Web Software Engineer.
Malta-based PressEnter Group is searching for a Head of Group Finance.
Microsoft is in the market for a Research & Community Manager – Gaming AI, and is also looking to hire a Senior Communications Manager, Creator Engagement.
There’s an opportunity with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) for a Risk Management Specialist.
NBCUniversal has an opening for a VP, Sports & Entertainment Analytics.
Wanted by the National Hockey League: a Senior Counsel, IP.
The gang at Google is searching for a News Program Manager, Global Partnerships.
There’s an opportunity with the Canadian Elite Basketball League for a Director, Corporate Partnerships.
The National Football League has an opening for a Seasonal Product Operations Coordinator.
Yahoo is in hiring mode for a Principal Product Manager, Fantasy Plus.
The Associated Press has a trio of attractive opportunities for journalists.
The Walrus is seeking an Editorial Producer.
CasinoBeats has sounded the alarm for freelance writers.
Wanted by Live Nation: a LN Concerts, Tour and Festival Marketing Manager.
Canadian Women & Sport needs a Manager, Research & Insights.
Blue Ant Studios in Toronto are on the lookout for a Senior Director, International Distribution & Business Operations.
The WTA is hiring a Digital Content Editor.
PWHL Vancouver is seeking a Grassroots Growth Specialist.
The Curling Group is searching for an Editorial Contributor.
Hockey Canada is looking for people to help the national governing body create an Indigenous Advisory Circle.
The folks in charge of the Nielsen ratings are seeking to hire a Senior Director, Sports & Audience Communications.
Jomboy Media is looking for a Breakdown Editor and a Brand Sponsorships Manager.
FIFA has a Miami-based gig available for a Senior Content Production Manager.
The U.S. Soccer Federation wants to onboard a Senior Director, Media Relations.
First Tee – Alberta has an opening for a Development Officer.
Substack is seeking a Corporate Communications Manager.
The Ontario Ministry of Sport is hiring an Executive Assistant.
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