As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 1, 2020.

Registration No. 333-237372

 

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

Amendment No. 3

to

FORM F-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

GAN Limited

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Bermuda   7379   Not Applicable
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  (Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

 

Axe & Bottle Court

70 Newcomen Street

London SE1 1YT

+44 (0) 20 72926262

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

Dermot Smurfit

GAN Limited

400 Spectrum Center Drive

Suite 1900

Irvine, CA 92618

 

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

James A. Mercer III, Esq.

Robert L. Wernli, Jr., Esq.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

12275 El Camino Real, Suite 200

San Diego, CA 92129

(858) 720-7469

 

Sara L. Terheggen, Esq.

The NBD Group, Inc.

350 N. Glendale Avenue, Suite B522

Los Angeles, CA 91206

(310) 890-0110

 

     
 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.

 

Emerging growth company ☒

 

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

 

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of each class of
securities to be registered
  Amount to Be Registered(1)(2)     Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share     Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1)(2)     Amount of Registration Fee(3)  
Ordinary shares, par value $0.01 per share     7,337,000     $ 8.50     $ 62,364,500     $ 8,094.91  

 

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of determining the amount of the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(a) under the Securities Act of 1933.
(2) Including ordinary shares that may be purchased by the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any.
(3) $5,144.96 previously paid.

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject to Completion, Dated May 1, 2020

 

6,380,000 Ordinary Shares

 

 

GAN Limited

 

This is the initial public offering of ordinary shares, par value $0.01 per share (the “ordinary shares”), of GAN Limited, a Bermuda exempted company limited by shares. We currently estimate that the initial public offering price will be between $6.50 and $8.50 per ordinary share. We have applied for listing of our ordinary shares on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “GAN.”

 

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares in the United States. However, we are the successor entity to GAN plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. Since 2013, the ordinary shares of GAN plc have traded on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange plc (“London Stock Exchange”) under the symbol “GAN.” The last reported sales price of GAN plc on the London Stock Exchange on April 30, 2020 was £2.42 or $3.05 (based on the rate of exchange on that day). Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will affect a reorganization and share exchange, as described in “Corporate Structure” on page 36, in which approximately 21,593,910 ordinary shares of GAN Limited, together with cash consideration in the aggregate amount of £2 million, will be issued to the shareholders of GAN plc in exchange for 100% of the outstanding ordinary shares of GAN plc, after which time GAN plc will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAN Limited.

 

Before buying any ordinary shares, you should carefully consider the risk factors described in “Risk Factors” beginning on page 15.

 

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements.

 

Neither the United States Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

    Per
Share
    Total  
Public Offering Price   $       $    
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions (1)   $       $    
Proceeds, Before Expenses, to the Company   $       $    

 

 
(1) See “Underwriting” beginning on page 111 for disclosure regarding compensation payable to the underwriters.

 

The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional 957,000 ordinary shares from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, within 30 days from the date of this prospectus to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

The underwriters expect to deliver the ordinary shares on or about        , 2020.

 

B. Riley FBR

 

Macquarie Capital

 

Craig-Hallum Capital Group

 

The date of this prospectus is    , 2020

 

 
 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY 1
RISK FACTORS 15
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 35
CORPORATE STRUCTURE 36
USE OF PROCEEDS 38
DIVIDENDS AND DIVIDEND POLICY 39
CAPITALIZATION 40
DILUTION 42
SELECTED HISTORICAL CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA 44
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS 46
BUSINESS 63
MANAGEMENT 76
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS 85
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS 86
DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL 87
COMPARISON OF DELAWARE LAW AND BERMUDA LAW 92
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE 101
TAX CONSIDERATIONS 102
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON SERVICE OF PROCESS AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL LIABILITIES 110
UNDERWRITING 111
EXPENSES RELATED TO THIS OFFERING 121
LEGAL MATTERS 122
EXPERTS 122
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 122
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS F-1

 

ii
 

 

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

 

This summary highlights information contained in this prospectus. It does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making your investment decision. Before investing in our ordinary shares, you should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the GAN plc consolidated financial statements and related notes for a more complete understanding of our business and this offering.

 

Who We Are

 

GAN is an award-winning provider of enterprise Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) solutions for online casino gaming, commonly referred to as iGaming, and online sports betting applications. Our technology platform, which we market as the GameSTACK™ internet gaming ecosystem platform (“GameSTACK”), has been deployed in both Europe and the U.S. However, we are primarily focused on enabling the U.S. casino industry’s ongoing digital transformation, which is accelerating following the repeal of a federal ban on sports betting in May 2018. Our customers rely on our software to run their online casinos and sportsbooks legally, profitably and with engaging content.

 

Our customer base in the U.S. includes larger regional operators as well as individual tribal casino operators. At December 31, 2019 our customers operated 53 retail casino properties, racetracks and online sportsbooks. With recent customer acquisitions, the number of retail outlets operated by our customers is now 101. Our customers outside of the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana generally operate social casino or simulated gambling applications. The largest portion of our U.S. business is the real money gambling that our customers operate in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Based on state gaming commission data, we estimate that approximately half of all online sports wagers in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the two largest and fastest growing U.S. markets for online sports betting, are presently processed using our platform. Gross operator revenue generated on our technology platform increased 171.5% year-over-year in 2019 from $116.3 million in 2018 to $315.8 million.

 

Our GameSTACK platform and related managed services are designed to help our customers rapidly launch and scale their iGaming and online sportsbook operations. Our iGaming offerings support both social, or “freemium,” simulated online casino gaming (“simulated iGaming”) as well as real money online casino gaming (“real money iGaming”) for deployment in regulated markets. While simulated iGaming and real money iGaming are both revenue centers for our customers, real money iGaming accounted for 81% of our revenues in 2019. Both our real money iGaming and simulated iGaming offerings incorporate powerful loyalty and marketing features aimed at maximizing player engagement. We measure the level of player engagement though key performance measures including Active Daily Users, Gross Operator Revenue, and Average Revenue Per Daily Active User, which we track for both simulated iGaming and real money iGaming operations.

 

GameSTACK forms the technical hub of our customers’ online gaming presence. The platform provides the foundational technology and back-office tools necessary for a successful consumer experience, including intuitive player account activation, sophisticated payment services, geolocation, marketing, loyalty management and real-time analytics and reporting. GameSTACK further relies on a flexible integration services layer in order to integrate easily with other essential third-party systems such as casino management systems and sports betting engines.

 

The core of the GameSTACK platform is its player account management system, in which highly sensitive customer and player activity data is stored and processed. This is the layer of any casino operator’s online technology deployment that becomes the focal point of regulatory licensure since it is the kernel of player data and privacy. Because we are the trusted custodian of player transactional data, we have direct visibility into wagering activity. We deploy proprietary models to help our customers predict and identify, over time, their highest-value players. Our customers rely on our data models to best direct their retention marketing investments towards specific customer profiles, thereby optimizing player loyalty and player value.

 

Our ability to submit expeditiously to individual U.S. state gaming licensure has been a vital contributor to our success in the U.S. market. Between May 2018 and December 2019, 18 U.S. states legalized some form of sports betting, each with unique regulatory and licensure requirements. By rapidly obtaining regulatory licenses to operate GameSTACK, we enable our customers to deploy iGaming and online sportsbook offerings to their customers quickly, capturing valuable early-mover advantages in their relevant markets. We are presently licensed or approved to operate our real money iGaming platform in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and will pursue licensure in additional states in 2020 and beyond.

 

Sports betting activity in our core U.S. markets has been on a rapid growth trajectory, with New Jersey growing 75% year-over-year in December 2019 and Pennsylvania experiencing an approximate 20-fold increase in total handle compared with December 2018, the state’s second month of accepting online and retail sports bets. In our core U.S. markets of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana, total sports betting handle (aggregate value of bets placed on sports events) in the month of December 2019 exceeded $1.1 billion, compared with $335.3 million in December 2018.

 

In addition to our growth opportunity within our existing core markets, we see a large and growing universe of additional potential new customers for GameSTACK in selected U.S. states that have formally passed online sports betting but have not yet implemented a regulatory framework for governing real money gambling in their states. For instance, we believe we have a significant opportunity to expand our installed base into states which have passed mobile-friendly sports betting laws and, in select cases such as Michigan, real money iGaming laws as well.

 

 

  1  

 

 

 

Because GameSTACK incorporates a range of proprietary technologies that we have purpose-built and optimized, over many years, for the U.S. market, we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on this market opportunity. Our vision is to become the preeminent infrastructure software vendor for iGaming and online sportsbooks focused on the U.S. market.

 

iGaming and Online Sportsbook Industry Background

 

Our GameSTACK platform and related managed services are geared towards casino operators, with an emphasis on land-based commercial and tribal casinos in the U.S., although we have deployed our solutions in other geographies such as the U.K., Italy, and Australia. We also market our platform technology to gaming ecosystem partners, such as online sportsbooks and gaming content developers, who provide us with an indirect channel into casino operators.

 

As of December 31, 2018, there were 979 casino operators in the U.S., of which 465 were commercial casinos and 514 were tribal casinos. According to the American Gaming Association, commercial casinos generated record gross operator revenue in 2018, reaching $41.7 billion, up 3.5% year-over-year compared to 2017.

 

On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United Sates overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”), which since 1992 had prevented U.S. states, aside from Nevada, Delaware and Oregon from engaging in the regulation and taxation of sports betting activities at the intrastate level. The ruling paved the way for states to elect individually whether to allow for regulated sports betting and, by extension, real money iGaming within their borders. Prior to the Supreme Court of the United Sates overturning PASPA, U.S. casino operators were largely limited to retail slot and table gaming operations and, in the online channel, to simulated gaming operations offering no prospect for real money winnings.

 

Between May 14, 2018 and December 31, 2019, 18 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico passed laws legalizing some form of retail and/or online sports betting. Four of these states also legalized real money iGaming, joining Nevada and Delaware, which were the only states with full scale online gambling regulations in place prior to May 2018. Several additional states have active sports betting and iGaming legislation on ballots for approval in 2020 and beyond.

 

Full scale Internet sports betting launched in New Jersey on August 3, 2018; West Virginia on December 27, 2018; Pennsylvania on May 28, 2019; Oregon on October 16, 2019; and in New Hampshire on December 30, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, 20 states offer legalized sports betting: New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Arkansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Delaware, Oregon, Nevada, New Hampshire, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Montana, North Carolina and New Mexico. Real money iGaming is also presently legal in six states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Nevada and Delaware.

 

Online sports betting deployment models can vary widely due to state-specific regulatory and licensing mandates. However, licensed casino operators with land-based retail facilities tend to partner with online sportsbook operators in order to accelerate online customer acquisition. These operators generally rely on a technology platform, such as GameSTACK, for player onboarding, player account management, payment processing and various back-office tools designed to maintain regulatory compliance and real-time reporting. Additionally, the technology ecosystem for online sportsbooks incorporates a sports betting engine for pricing, trade execution and risk management. iGaming implementations, whether real money or simulated, further necessitate a gaming content engine to dynamically serve casino gaming content such as digital slot and table games.

 

Sports wagering activity in the U.S. has experienced strong growth in the post-PASPA era. According to Eilers & Krejcik reported sports betting handle in newly regulated states has grown from $0 in 2017, to $1.6 billion in 2018 to $7.7 billion in 2019. The corresponding sports betting tax revenue collected by states increased from $0 in 2017, to $20.0 million in 2018 to $103.4 million in 2019. Certain states with full-scale retail and internet (mobile and desktop) sports betting strategies, such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana, have exhibited particularly robust sports betting growth. For instance, New Jersey sports betting handle grew from $1.2 billion in 2018 to $4.6 billion in 2019. Pennsylvania’s handle, meanwhile, has grown from $17.6 million in 2018 to $1.5 billion in 2019. States with curtailed online sports betting regulations (e.g., requiring in-person registration or limiting online betting to on-premise only), are exhibiting more muted growth in sports betting handle.

 

Real money iGaming in the U.S., while less pervasive than sports betting, is similarly demonstrating robust growth trends in post-PASPA deployments. In 2019, gross operator revenue from real money iGaming grew 72.8% to $516.3 million from $298.7 million in 2018. In contrast, land-based casino gross operator revenue in the U.S. is growing in the low single-digit percentages. Importantly, evidence from the New Jersey and Pennsylvania markets suggest that iGaming is not cannibalizing retail operator revenue, proving instead to be accretive to overall operator revenue.

 

 

  2  

 

 

 

According to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, the global simulated iGaming market, defined as players who log in and use value of any kind in their account (simulated credits or real money), to play simulated casino games online for entertainment purposes only (as opposed to playing for the opportunity to win real money) grew 14.6% in 2018 to reach $5.2 billion in revenue. Simulated iGaming is more readily accessible nationwide than real money iGaming, which is presently restricted to states with legalized online gambling regulatory frameworks. We estimate the U.S. market to correspond to approximately 10% of the global simulated iGaming market.

 

In order to monetize players both online and offline in a coherent manner, casino operators pursue omni-channel marketing strategies necessitating deep integration of hardware and software elements, including computing infrastructure, CRM, casino management system and loyalty program management. Because of the complexity in deploying and maintaining iGaming and online sports betting infrastructures, casino operators may rely on third-party managed services providers to stand up, operate and maintain all or part of the technology infrastructure.

 

Market Trends

 

States with full-scale online models and competitive markets are capturing the most revenue from sports betting

 

While sports betting has been rapidly adopted since PASPA was repealed, there is significant state-by-state variance in how sports betting is implemented and regulated. Some states (e.g. New York, Montana, Arkansas, and Mississippi) have legalized retail-based sports betting only, requiring betters to be physically present within operators’ facilities in order to wager on sports. Others (e.g., Iowa, and Illinois) have taken a progressive approach to statewide mobile betting, requiring bettors to physically register in-person at an operator facility before allowing online bets. Full-scale online models (e.g. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, and Michigan) accept all account registration and funding requirements to be completed online and therefore allow bettors to place bets online anywhere and anytime within state borders. Friction points such as geofencing and in-person registration requirements are proving stifling to player engagement and ultimately, gaming tax revenue.

 

States have also opened their local sports betting industries to varying degrees. At one end of the continuum (e.g. Oregon), state lotteries control the sports betting experience, operating their own sportsbooks and customer acquisition strategies; at the other end (e.g. New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), states are inviting open competition amongst casino operators, online sportsbooks and other participants. Open, competitive markets are demonstrating the highest sports handle growth rates.

 

We purpose-built GameSTACK to form the foundational layer of any U.S. full-scale iGaming and online sports betting deployment. We believe that, over time, states will recognize the inherent advantages of full-scale online models, driving greater adoption of that approach and therefore increasing the market opportunity for GameSTACK.

 

Consumers are displaying a strong preference for mobile engagement

 

A corollary to the success of the full-scale online sports betting model is bettors’ strong preference for mobile forms of engagement. In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, over 80% of the two states’ $900.3 million in combined sports betting handle for the month of December 2019 originated on a mobile consumer device. In Indiana, the share of sports handle originating on mobile devices increased from approximately 50% in October 2019 to 63% in November 2019, corresponding to $102.7 million in mobile wagers. This is in stark contrast to mobile engagement levels in states requiring in-person registration, such as Rhode Island, where mobile traffic accounted for only approximately 20% of wagers.

 

 

  3  

 

 

 

In most of our deployments, we design our customers’ consumer-facing website and mobile applications. These front ends are the gateway to GameSTACK, which in addition to powering platform services for online sports betting, acts as a content management system serving compelling slot and table games in iGaming implementations.

 

Real money iGaming and online sportsbooks are proving synergistic in full-scale online deployments

 

GameSTACK supports real money iGaming and online sports betting in a unified environment, from a single internet gaming account. In states authorizing both real money iGaming and online sports betting, casino operators leverage our platform to enable their players to fund a single account for both gaming avenues. According to our transactional data, we estimate that approximately 10% of players who initially sign up for a real money iGaming account subsequently use that same account to place bets on sports events with the same operator. Conversely, we are observing that approximately 30% of players who initially open online sports betting accounts subsequently use that same account to place wagers on casino games with the same operator.

 

We believe that growing adoption of online sports betting is driving incremental online casino gaming activity for casino operators, greatly increasing lifetime value of players. We further believe that our heritage in powering iGaming properties and our proven ability to scale up online sportsbooks are our most powerful differentiators.

 

Online sportsbooks from DFS leagues are dominating sports betting handle in states with online sports betting

 

Daily Fantasy Sports (“DFS”) leagues made substantial investments in building out player databases prior to the elimination of PASPA. Leading DFS companies have since launched branded online sportsbooks that leverage their existing DFS subscriber bases to acquire online sports betting customers. This customer acquisition strategy is giving DFS-related online sportsbooks a significant competitive advantage in capturing and retaining sports wagering market share. DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook, for instance, collectively control a dominant market share of sports wagers in nearly all jurisdictions in which they participate.

 

Since 2018, FanDuel has relied on GameSTACK to support its sportsbook’s online betting activities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana. Moreover, FanDuel has licensed our intellectual property to enable its West Virginia online sportsbook. Our GameSTACK implementations for FanDuel in New Jersey and Pennsylvania also incorporate our real money iGaming functionality. We believe that our platform has played an important role in enabling FanDuel to attain early-mover advantages in states in which we have partnered.

 

Simulating iGaming remains strategically important in the U.S. in spite of the emergence of real money iGaming

 

In unregulated U.S. markets, simulated iGaming provides casino operators with an alternative online monetization opportunity in anticipation of potential regulated real money iGaming and online sports betting approvals. In simulated iGaming deployments, players buy time online for the entertainment value of playing casino games, without the opportunity to win real money. This is a ‘freemium’ business model, akin to myriad casual online videogames, wherein casino gaming enthusiasts purchase virtual chips/coins in order to virtually play traditional casino games such as slots and blackjack for the entertainment experience. These virtual casinos feature social gameplay, offering enthusiasts a way of playing their favorite casino games online while simultaneously allowing casino operators to lay the groundwork for their real money gaming presence.

 

In addition to providing immediate revenue generation opportunities for casino operators, simulated iGaming acts as a powerful marketing vehicle for enhancing customer loyalty in retail casino properties. Casino patrons who also engage online with simulated iGaming increase their visits to the retail casino as a consequence of also playing online. Simulated iGaming is a subset of our real money iGaming technology, leveraging a common code base with our real money iGaming offering. This allows us to pursue a land-and-expand strategy wherein we seek to deploy simulated iGaming instances of GameSTACK prior to upgrading customers to real money iGaming and online sports betting.

 

 

  4  

 

 

 

Our Platform and Services

 

Our overarching product strategy for GameSTACK is to provide a unified, flexible and highly scalable platform that can be rapidly licensed and deployed for simulated iGaming, real money iGaming and online sports betting. In addition to our platform, we offer a range of professional and managed services designed to fast-track deployments and provide ongoing operational support following commercial launch.

 

Our simulated iGaming and real money iGaming offerings share a common code base and user interface within GameSTACK, providing our simulated iGaming customers with a readily accessible upgrade path to real money iGaming. In developing GameSTACK, we remained fully committed to building an evergreen, and agile software architecture forged from a single code base, ensuring that developments in metagame mechanics, new back-office functionalities and integrations with leading third-party software could be capitalized on by our customers across all gameplay modalities. Importantly, we developed our code to operate in multiple jurisdictions and under different regulatory requirements, giving us the ability to leverage quickly different configurations to comply with newly regulated markets.

 

Simulated iGaming

 

For simulated iGaming implementations, we design the casino operator’s mobile application and website with a branded experience that is consistent with the casino operator’s brand and market positioning and streamlines player registration and account funding. We generally host our customers’ simulated iGaming operations on a combination of proprietary and cloud servers. GameSTACK features a gaming content engine that serves both internally developed slot and table games as well as third-party gaming content via a technical ‘abstraction layer’ that permits third party games to be published to end user players via GameSTACK. Simulated iGaming deployments of GameSTACK allow casino operators to put their offers, games and unique brand experience in their players’ hands around the clock. GameSTACK incorporates our proprietary iSight Back Office tool (“iSight”), which captures online player activity, giving marketers the equivalent visibility of 100% rated play.

 

While engaging online through our simulated iGaming offering, players receive “white glove” treatment using tools such as online chat hosts. The content management system within GameSTACK emphasizes social gameplay, while promoting slot and table game classics alongside new games from major slot machine manufacturers. While visiting our customers’ offline retail properties, players can be treated to exclusive rewards, loyalty points and in-casino amenities based on their online purchasing and activity within simulating iGaming (e.g. sign in 10 days in a row and make any online purchase in order to receive $25 worth of loyalty points redeemable in-casino). GameSTACK enables these omni-channel marketing strategies using our proprietary iBridge Framework (“iBridge”), which verifies whether a player is part of the existing loyalty database and, if the player does hold an operator’s club card, enables that player to see their in-casino comps, loyalty points and other offers via the online gaming website or mobile app which are stored in the casino management system and enabled by iBridge. The marketing costs associated with these player promotions redeemable on-property are borne in full by the retail casino operator.

 

Real Money iGaming

 

Our real money iGaming instances of GameSTACK augment our simulated iGaming product to further incorporate more comprehensive player registration, account funding and back-office accounting and management tools. Real money iGaming applications must comply with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 and with the federal Wire Act of 1961. Consequently, our real money iGaming customers must physically deploy our platform within their state’s boarders, typically inside their retail casino premises in order to comply with intrastate regulatory mandates. Our customers generally procure the hardware computing resources on which our software is deployed inside of our customers’ data centers. Payment aggregation services within GameSTACK integrate with a wide range of third-party payment processors while simultaneously allowing operators to accept cash deposits onsite within their retail casino properties which are credited to the players online account.

 

GameSTACK provides operators with a high degree of flexibility to pursue the business model best aligned with their strategic priorities and regulatory environment. For instance, GameSTACK can accommodate geofencing in order to restricting online gaming activity to exclude players present within a customers’ physical retail casino premises (as required by regulation in Pennsylvania, for example).

 

 

  5  

 

 

 

Online Sportsbook

 

For online sports betting applications, we integrate our real money iGaming version of GameSTACK with third-party services such as sports betting engines and the sportsbook operator’s user interface and user experience. The revenue from these services are recorded as part of real money iGaming revenue share.

 

Managed Services

 

We provide a range of term-based operational services to support our customers’ online gaming activities. Our tailored managed services include player customer support across email, phone and live chat, marketing agency services and network management with 24/7 uptime guarantee. We also provide custom game theme development services in select engagements where customers seek to differentiate with gaming content unique to a customer’s branded experience.

 

Our Business Model

 

We designed our business model to align our incentives with those of our operator partners. During the implementation phase of a new deployment, we bill our customers for professional services provided. We may occasionally source and bill customers for third-party hardware in deployments where the hardware is either not directly procured by the customer or not preinstalled within the customer’s data center. Upon the successful deployment of GameSTACK, we generally provide ongoing managed services pursuant to term-based agreements. Unlike traditional on-premise enterprise software deployments, which feature licenses and maintenance contracts, we retain exclusive access to our source code and provide software updates on a continuing basis.

 

In addition to professional service fees, we enter into revenue share agreements with our customers wherein we receive a percentage of the operator’s net gaming revenue generated on our platform. This percentage varies based on a range of factors, including the source of the operator revenue (iGaming versus online sports betting) and the source of the gaming content served to players on our platform (internally developed versus licensed from a third-party gaming developer).

 

Our Competitive Strengths

 

We believe we compete on the following bases:

 

  Optimized for the U.S. iGaming and Online Sportsbook Market: Since 2013, we have invested significant resources designing GameSTACK with a focus on serving the U.S. market for iGaming and online sports betting, including developing thousands of software optimizations for account management and U.S. payment aggregation. We believe our platform’s suitability for the U.S. market is born out in our market-leading transaction volumes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the two states at the forefront of the online betting industry in the U.S.

 

  Proven Track Record of Compliance with State-Specific Regulatory Mandates: In the U.S., we are licensed to operate GameSTACK in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana. We developed our code base to operate in multiple jurisdictions and under different regulatory requirements. Our code’s flexibility gives us the ability to refactor efficiently our software in order to adapt to the requirements of newly regulated markets. We intend to maintain our steadfast commitments to probity, compliance, strong regulatory relations and systems innovations in order to preserve this competitive advantage. In turn, we believe that our regulatory efforts help position our customers for success by enabling them to get to market rapidly with differentiated iGaming and online sportsbook offerings. In addition to our technological emphasis on compliance, we believe that our experienced management team, with years of experience navigating the U.S. regulatory landscape, is an important source of differentiation when engaging with potential new customers.

 

 

  6  

 

 

 

  Patent Protected Intellectual Property:  We believe we are the only SaaS vendor capable of unifying our customers’ existing retail loyalty programs across online, as well as offline gameplay by leveraging our patented iBridge technology. iBridge enables casino operators to treat patrons of their retail gambling establishments to exclusive rewards, loyalty points and other complimentary offers based on their online gaming activity on GameSTACK. We believe that this value proposition is a central consideration for any land-based casino operator concerned with maximizing the lifetime value of their players across both online and retail channels.

 

  iGaming content publishing and distribution: We believe that our ability to service real money iGaming markets with a mature gaming content engine is an important differentiator of our platform. Additionally, because we control the gaming content served on our platform, we have visibility into the slot and table games garnering the highest levels of engagement from players. We leverage these insights to inform our in-house game development decisions as well as our third-party game licensing decisions. We believe that our role as a distribution channel for iGaming content positions us well when seeking to maximize player engagement on behalf of our customers.

 

  Superior Data Analytics: Our transactional data collected throughout our years in operation suggests that approximately 7% of a customer’s iGaming users will generate approximately 80% of that customer’s iGaming revenue over time. During the initial deployment phases of GameSTACK, we provide data analytics services to our customer’s marketing team in order to assist in early identification of this high-value cohort. We believe that our transactional data lake, accumulated over a multi-year period in the U.S., represents a substantial long-term asset.

 

Our Growth Strategy

 

    Key elements of our growth strategy include:
     
  Supporting our existing customers as they continue to scale up their respective iGaming and online sportsbook operations. Gross operator revenue within our existing customer base grew 171.5% year-over-year in 2019 to over $315.8 million up from $116.3 million in 2018. As our customers’ online businesses continue to grow, we intend to deploy the necessary internal resources to support their evolving requirements. We will, for instance, continue to invest in the GameSTACK platform’s functionality by expanding our gaming content library and third-party integrations, and will move expeditiously to obtain regulatory approvals to operate in new states our existing customers do not yet operate in. Furthermore, we will continue to engage our simulated iGaming installed base in pursuit of opportunities to upgrade these customers to real money iGaming customers as the regulatory environment develops.
     
  Securing new casino operator customers in existing and new regulated markets. We continuously engage with casino operators in states that have yet to adopt regulated forms of real money iGaming and sports betting. These operators represent the majority of our total addressable market in the U.S. today. We intend to engage these new customers with our simulated iGaming offering, creating a path to real money iGaming deployments over time. In states with regulated online gambling markets, we are investing in sales and marketing initiatives to aggressively pursue new deployment opportunities.
     
  Expanding our gaming content development capabilities. In addition to distributing online facsimiles of third-party physical machine-based slots and table games via GameSTACK, we publish proprietary casino games that we display in both our simulated and real money iGaming online environments. Our margin retention rates generated from proprietary content are higher than margin retention rates from third-party content. We will invest in our gaming development capabilities in order to expand our library of high-quality, in-house content, which we will strategically serve within GameSTACK to optimize our margin profile.
     
  Growing our international business. In addition to our focus on the U.S. market, we have successfully established real money iGaming and simulated iGaming businesses in Europe and Australia. In 2019, we operated a real money iGaming website, mostly for U.K. players, in conjunction with a U.S. casino operator that acted as our sponsor. Revenues from that operation comprised 14.5% of our total revenues for 2019. We have also provided our platform and services in relation to real money iGaming business in Italy for several years, which comprised 15.3% of our total revenues for 2019. We expect our Italian business to continue to grow as we onboard additional operators and through our existing revenue share agreements. We deliver simulated iGaming to an operator in Australia as precursor to potential legalization of Australian real money iGaming. Additionally, we are exploring selected Latin American regulated markets for potential expansion.
     
  Selective merger & acquisition strategy. We intend to pursue a prudent inorganic growth strategy aimed at strengthening our competitive position in the markets where we compete. For instance, we believe there is an opportunity to acquire selective elements of the iGaming and online sportsbook technology ecosystem that we do not currently offer in order to integrate them within GameSTACK. Furthermore, we see an opportunity to selectively acquire independent slot and table game development studios in order to increase the share of in-house games we serve on our platform.

  

 

  7  

 

 

 

Risks associated with our business

 

Our business is subject to a number of risks of which you should be aware before making an investment decision. You should carefully consider all of the information set forth in this prospectus and, in particular, should evaluate the specific factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in deciding whether to invest in our shares. Among these important risks are the following:

 

  Changes in Regulations: Laws, regulations and taxation in the gambling sector are complex, inconsistent and evolving. We license our products to operators in the online gaming industry whose ability to operate in any jurisdiction may be impacted by changes in regulations. Even in markets where we are currently licensed, there can be no guarantee that a jurisdiction will not change its licensing requirements nor that revenue streams that currently do not require a license will continue without additional regulations or additional taxation or that further states will regulate online real money iGaming. In addition, new tax legislation in any of the markets in which we operate could negatively impact our results.
     
  Licensing Requirements: In newly regulated markets, new licensing regimes may impose licensing conditions, such as the requirement to locate significant technical infrastructure within the relevant territory or establish real-time data interfaces with the regulator, which may present operational challenges or may stop our customers from being able to offer the full range of our products. Additionally, we hold a number of licenses for our activities from regulators. The loss of all or any of these licenses may adversely impact our revenues and/or reputation.
     
  Dependence on Technology: Our operations are highly dependent on technology and advanced information systems and there is a risk that such technology or systems could fail. We may be adversely affected by activities such as system intrusions, denial of service attacks, virus spreading and phishing. Technological failures can affect our reputation with our operator customers, players, as well as regulators in the various markets in which we operate.
     
  Competition: The online gambling market is highly competitive. The ability to gain new end users and retain them as loyal, active customers can prove difficult in an industry with such wide competition. Failure to compete effectively for customers may result in a decrease in market share as well as a loss of licensees and also the inability to attract new licensees.
     
  Fraud: We experience efforts to conduct fraud using customer accounts such as deposits from stolen credit cards and debit cards. Fraudulent activity can damage our Company’s reputation, our product’s reputation, as well increase our liability if we do not have sufficient procedures in place to reduce and limit these occurrences. Any damage to our reputation can affect our ability to obtain licenses and regulatory approvals in our existing markets, as well our ability to expand into new markets.

 

 

  8  

 

 

 

  Operating Results: Since our inception, we have typically operated at a loss. At December 31, 2019 we had an accumulated deficit of $22.8 million. For the year ended December 31, 2018 we incurred a net loss of $7.7 million. The year ended December 31, 2019 was the first time in recent years that our revenues were sufficient to meet our operating expenses, and we generated net income of $1.8 million. If we incur a significant reduction in revenue, or unexpected operating expenses, we could again operate at a loss.
   
  Key Personnel: Our future success depends on the continued service of senior management and key technical personnel, the retention of whom cannot be guaranteed. Loss of these individuals could negatively affect our reputation and ability expand in new markets and to new customers. In addition, the loss of key personnel could result in additional operating losses or regulatory issues if not properly addressed.
     
  Filing Status: As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from a number of rules under the U.S. securities laws and Nasdaq corporate governance rules and are permitted to file less information with the SEC than U.S. domestic companies, which may limit the information available to holders of our shares. If we lose foreign private issuer status, we expect that our public company compliance costs will significantly increase.
     
 

COVID 19: The impact of COVID-19 on our business is uncertain at this time. The closing of casinos could drive more revenue to our online iGaming offerings. However, the economic disruption or uncertainty caused by COVID-19 may cause a general decline in gambling and iGaming. In addition, the cancellation of sporting events has reduced sports betting transactions. Any of these consequences may adversely impact player activity on our platforms, which would negatively impact our business.

 

Corporate Information

 

Our principal executive offices are located at Axe & Bottle Court, 70 Newcomen Street, London, SE1 1YT, United Kingdom. Our telephone number there is +44 (0) 20 7292 6262 and our web address is www.GAN.com. We do not incorporate the information on our website into this prospectus and you should not consider any such information that can be accessed through our website as part of this prospectus.

 

Reorganization and Share Exchange

 

GAN plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, is the current holding company of the GAN companies. We established GAN Limited in Bermuda to act as the new parent company for the group. GAN Limited was incorporated solely for this purpose on December 13, 2019. Prior to the Share Exchange (described below) and this offering, GAN Limited has had nominal assets and has had no historic operations.

 

In connection with the consummation of this offering, pursuant to a statutory scheme of arrangement under United Kingdom law, the shareholders of GAN plc will exchange their ordinary shares in GAN plc for ordinary shares of GAN Limited plus £2.0 million in cash consideration (the “Share Exchange”). Under the Share Exchange, GAN Limited will issue one ordinary share in exchange for every four outstanding shares of GAN plc. The per share information contained in this prospectus has been adjusted to reflect that capital consolidation. As a result of the Share Exchange, GAN plc will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAN Limited (the “Reorganization”) immediately prior to the consummation of this offering. Following the Share Exchange and this offering, the ordinary shares of GAN plc will no longer trade on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and GAN Limited will be owned by the former GAN plc shareholders and the shareholders who purchase in this offering. Refer to “Corporate Structure” for further detail.

 

The consolidated financial statements of GAN plc are included elsewhere in this prospectus on the basis that it will be the predecessor to, and following the Reorganization, a wholly-owned subsidiary of, GAN Limited.

 

Emerging Growth Company

 

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the requirement to present only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We are currently utilizing or intend to utilize both of these exemptions. We have not made a decision whether to take advantage of any other exemptions available to emerging growth companies. We do not know if some investors will find our ordinary shares less attractive as a result of our utilization of these or other exemptions. The result may be a less active trading market for our ordinary shares and our share price may be more volatile.

 

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We prepare our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and International Accounting Standards and Interpretations as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and as adopted by the European Union, which do not have separate provisions for publicly traded and private companies. However, in the event we convert to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) while we are still an “emerging growth company”, we may be able to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

 

We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of (a) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenues exceed $1.07 billion, (b) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, (c) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the preceding three-year period or (d) the last day of our fiscal year containing the fifth anniversary of the date on which our shares become publicly traded in the United States.

 

 

  9  

 

 

 

THE OFFERING

 

The following summary is provided solely for convenience and is not intended to be complete. You should read the full text and more specific details contained elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

Ordinary shares offered by us

6,380,000 ordinary shares

 

Underwriters’ over-allotment option

We have granted to the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 957,000 shares to cover over-allotment, which is exercisable at any time within 30 days after the date of this prospectus.

 

Ordinary shares to be outstanding

after this offering

27,983,910 shares, or 28,940,910 shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option, in full (assuming 21,593,910 ordinary shares of GAN Limited are issued pursuant to the Share Exchange, based on 86,375,639 ordinary shares of GAN plc outstanding as of April 29, 2020, and without giving effect to any adjustments for fractional shares).

   
Use of proceeds

We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of ordinary shares in this offering will be approximately $42.0 million (or approximately $48.7 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), based on an assumed initial public offering price of $7.50 per share (which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

 

We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including sales and marketing activities, product development and capital expenditures. The principal reasons for the offering are to strengthen the technical capabilities and market position of GAN and its product offerings.

 

 

In addition, we may use a portion of net proceeds of this offering to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, services, technologies or intellectual property rights. However, we do not have any agreements or commitments with respect to any such acquisitions or investments at this time.

 

Lock-up agreements

We have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell, or dispose of any of our ordinary shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any of our ordinary shares during the 180-day period following the date of this prospectus, subject to certain exceptions. Members of our Board of Directors and our executive officers, as well as certain of our shareholders, have agreed to substantially similar lock-up provisions, subject to certain exceptions.

 

Risk factors

Investing in our ordinary shares involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before investing in our ordinary shares.

 

Proposed listing

We have applied to have our ordinary shares listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market in connection with this offering. No assurances can be given that the listing will be approved.

 

Prior to this offering, the ordinary shares of GAN plc have traded on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange plc, under the symbol “GAN.” As part of the Reorganization and Share Exchange, as described in “Corporate Structure” on page 36, prior to the consummation of this offering, 21,593,910 ordinary shares of GAN Limited (based on 86,375,639 ordinary shares of GAN plc outstanding as of April 29, 2020, and without giving effect to any adjustments for fractional shares), together with cash consideration in the aggregate amount of £2 million, will be issued to the shareholders and other equity holders of GAN plc in exchange for 100% of the ordinary shares and other equity interests of GAN plc, after which time GAN plc will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAN Limited. Trading in GAN plc shares on the London Stock Exchange will then terminate, and all trading in our ordinary shares is expected to take place on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

Proposed Nasdaq Capital Market symbol “GAN”

 

Except as otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus assumes the following:

 

  the issuance of ordinary shares of GAN Limited in connection with the Share Exchange prior to the closing of this offering and Reorganization, including the exchange of one ordinary share of GAN Limited and certain cash consideration, for every four shares of GAN plc;
     
  no other issuances of options, warrants, convertible debt securities or ordinary shares after December 31, 2019, and no exercises of any outstanding options or other warrants after December 31, 2019; and
     
  no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to additional ordinary shares from us in this offering to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

 

  10  

 

 

 

SUMMARY HISTORICAL CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

 

You should read the following information together with the more detailed information contained in “Selected Consolidated Financial Data,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. The following tables set forth our summary consolidated financial data as of the dates and for the periods indicated below. The summary consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the consolidated statement of financial position as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The historical results presented below are not necessarily indicative of financial results to be achieved in future periods. All numbers are in thousands, except the per share data. We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS.

 

    Year Ended December 31,
    2019   2018
    in thousands, except share and per share data
Consolidated statements of comprehensive income data:        
Revenue   $ 29,971     $ 14,023  
Cost of revenue     11,356       11,894  
Impairment of intangible assets     626        
Gross profit     17,989       2,129  
Administrative expenses     15,091       10,230  
Impairment of trade receivables     424       95  
Operating income/(loss)     2,474       (8,196 )
Net finance costs     112       440  
Income/(loss) before taxes     2,362       (8,636 )
Income tax (expense)/benefit     (574 )     934  
Income/(loss) for the year attributable to equity holders     1,788       (7,702 )
Other comprehensive income/(loss)                
Items not to be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:                
Exchange difference on translating foreign currencies     385       817  
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the year attributable to the equity holders of the Company:     2,173       (6,885 )
Per share data:                
Net income/(loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic (1)     0.02       (0.10 )
Net income/(loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, diluted (1)     0.02       (0.10 )
Weighted average shares used in computing net income/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic (1)     85,471,792       78,586,012  
Weighted average shares used in computing net income/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders, diluted (1)     93,681,445       78,586,012  
                 
Pro forma net income/(loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic (2)     0.07       (0.41
Pro forma net income/(loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, diluted (2)     0.06       (0.41 )
                 
Pro forma weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic (2)     21,367,948       19,646,503  
Pro forma weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders, diluted (2)     23,420,361       19,646,503  

 

    As at December 31,  
    2019     2018  
    in thousands  
Consolidated statements of financial position data:                
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 10,098     $ 6,967  
Working capital (3)     8,777       4,113  
Intangible assets     5,164       6,755  
Total assets     26,112       22,613  
Total non-current liabilities     535       980  
Total liabilities     11,010       10,648  
Total equity     15,102       11,965  

  

 

  11  

 

 

 

(1)

Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders is computed based on the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during each period. For additional information, see Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.

(2)

Pro forma net income/(loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic and diluted, and pro forma weighted average shares used in computing the pro forma per share attributable to ordinary shareholders reflect the exchange of all outstanding ordinary shares of GAN plc into ordinary shares of GAN Limited at a ratio of four ordinary shares of GAN plc for each ordinary share of GAN Limited as part of the Share Exchange and Reorganization as described in “Corporate Structure.” As part of this reorganization, GAN Limited is securing £2.0 million ($2.6 million) in Cash Consideration to be paid on a pro rata basis to each shareholder of GAN plc through loans from Dermot S. Smurfit, the Company’s chief executive officer, and his father, Dermot F. Smurfit. The loans are unsecured and bear interest at 15% per annum subject to minimum interest fees of £300,000 ($0.4 million) in the aggregate. In calculating our proforma basic and diluted per share amounts, we adjusted our net income/(loss) to include annual interest of $0.4 million for the years ended 2019 and 2018.

(3) Working capital is defined as total current assets minus total current liabilities.

 

Non-IFRS Measures

 

Our management uses several financial measures, both IFRS and non-IFRS (adjusted EBITDA), in analyzing and assessing the overall performance of the business and for making operational decisions. Our annual financial plan is prepared on both an IFRS and adjusted EBITDA basis, both of which are approved by our Board of Directors. Historically, we have provided adjusted EBITDA to our shareholders. Our Board of Directors and management utilize both our IFRS and adjusted EBITDA measures in a number of ways, including: to facilitate our determination of our allocation of resources, to measure our actual performance against budgeted and forecasted financial plans and to establish and measure management’s compensation. We believe that adjusted EBITDA is also useful to investors and other users of our consolidated financial statements in evaluating our performance because adjusted EBITDA may be used as an additional tool to compare business performance across peer companies and across periods.

 

While we use adjusted EBITDA as a tool to enhance our understanding of certain aspects of our financial performance, we do not believe that adjusted EBITDA is a substitute for, or is superior to, the information provided by IFRS results. As such, the presentation of adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for any measure prepared in accordance with IFRS. The primary limitations associated with the use of adjusted EBITDA as compared to IFRS results are that adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry and that adjusted EBITDA may exclude financial information that some investors may consider important in evaluating our performance. We compensate for these limitations by providing disclosure of the differences between adjusted EBITDA and IFRS results, including providing a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to IFRS results, in order to enable investors to perform their own analysis of our operating results.

 

 

  12  

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS Company specific measure which reflects the loss for the year excluding finance costs, tax, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) as well as, share-based payment expense, other items which our Board of Directors believe do not reflect the underlying performance of the business, and non-recurring and significant non-cash items. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful to our management as a measure of comparative operating performance from period to period as it is reflective of changes in operating performance, and it removes the effect of items not directly resulting from our core operations. Our management also uses Adjusted EBITDA as a means of assessing our core business performance against other in the industries, because it eliminates some of the effects that are generated by differences in capital structure, depreciation, tax effects and non-recurring events. We caution that amounts presented in accordance with our definitions of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, because not all companies and analysts calculate Adjusted EBITDA in the same manner. Below is a reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA from loss for the year attributable to equity holders as presented in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the years specified:

 

    Year Ended December 31,  
    2019     2018  
   

in thousands

(unaudited)

 
Income/(loss) for the year attributable to equity holders   $ 1,788     $ (7,702 )
Add Back:                
Net finance costs     112       440  
Income tax expense/(benefit)     574       (934 )
Depreciation expense     638       1,062  
Amortization expense     4,105       5,126  
EBITDA     7,217       (2,008 )
Share-based payment expense     551       346  

Impairment of intangible assets

    626       -
Adjusted EBITDA     8,394       (1,662 )

 

Key Performance Indicators

 

Management uses the following key performance indicators (“KPIs”) as indicators of trends and results of the business. These KPIs give management an indication of the level of engagement between the player and the Company’s platforms. No estimation is necessary in quantifying these KPIs, nor do they represent IFRS based measurements. These KPIs are subject to various risks such as customer concentration, competition, licensing and regulation, and macroeconomic conditions. Refer to Risk Factors within this prospectus for further risks associated with our business which would affect these KPIs.

 

    Year Ended December 31,  
    2019     2018  
Other operating data (unaudited)            

Active Player - Days

    24,472,179       14,342,219  
Gross Operator Revenue   $ 315,757,701     $ 116,330,350  
Average Revenue per Daily Active User   $ 12.90     $ 8.11  

 

 

  13  

 

 

 

Active Player – Days

 

We define Active Player-Days as unique individuals who log on and gamble each day (either gambling with real money or ‘gambling’ with virtual credits used in simulated iGaming), aggregated during the calendar year period. By way of illustrative example: One (1) unique individual logging in and gambling each day in a single calendar year would, in aggregate, represent 365 Active Player-Days. Active Player - Days provides an indicator of consistent and daily interaction that individuals have with our platforms. Active Player – Days allows management and users to understand not only total users who interact with the platform but gives an idea of the frequency to which users are interacting with the platform, as someone who logs on and gambles multiple days are weighted heavier during the period than the user who only logs on and gambles one day.

 

Gross operator revenue

 

We define gross operator revenue as the sum of our corporate customers’ gross revenue from simulated iGaming, gross gaming revenue from real money regulated iGaming, and gross sports win from real money regulated sports betting. Gross operator revenue, which is not comparable to any GAN financial information, gives management and users an indication of the extent of transactions that have passed through their platforms and allows management to understand the extent of activity their IP is processing.

 

Average Revenue per Daily Active User (“ARPDAU”)

 

We define Average Revenue per Daily Active User (“ARPDAU”) as gross operator revenue divided by the identified number of Active Player - Days. This measure allows management to measure the value per daily user and track user interaction with the platforms. The helps both management and users of financial statements understand the value per user which is driven by marketing efforts and data analysis obtained from the Company’s platforms.

 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

 

Preliminary Estimates of Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 and Revenue Guidance for Fiscal Year 2020

 

We are in the process of finalizing our results for our fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020. Based on currently available information, we estimate that, for the first fiscal quarter:

 

  · Total revenue will be in the range of approximately $7.5 to $8.0 million.
  · Adjusted EBITDA will be in the range of approximately $1.8 to $2.2 million.
  · Total cash balance will be approximately $6.0 million.

 

This unaudited preliminary financial information for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020 is based upon our estimates and subject to completion of our quarter end financial results. Moreover, this financial information has been prepared solely on the basis of currently available information by, and is the responsibility of, management. The unaudited preliminary financial information for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020 has not been reviewed or audited by our independent public accounting firm. This preliminary financial information is not a comprehensive statement of our financial results for this period, and our actual results may differ materially from these estimates due to the completion of our financial closing procedures, final adjustments, and other developments that may arise between now and the time the closing procedures for the fiscal quarter are completed. There can be no assurance that these estimates will be realized, and estimates are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are not within our control.

 

We have not provided an estimate for income/loss attributable to equity holders for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020, or a reconciliation of estimated Adjusted EBITDA to estimated income/loss attributable to equity holders, the most comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with IFRS, for such period. Income/loss attributable to equity holders includes the impact of interest expense, income tax benefit or expense, depreciation and amortization expense and certain other items that impact comparability between periods and the tax effect of such items, which may be significant and which we are unable to estimate at this time with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Accordingly, estimated income/loss available to equity holders for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020, and a reconciliation of estimated Adjusted EBITDA to estimated income/loss attributable to equity holders for such period, are not available without unreasonable effort.

 

For 2020, we expect revenue to be in the range of $37 million to $39 million. This estimate is based on our management’s assessment of existing and anticipated customer opportunities, evaluated on a contract by contract basis, and discounted for probability of success.

 

For the first quarter of 2020, revenue from Internet sports betting, although impacted by COVID-19, appears to be more resilient than originally anticipated by management and we expect gross operator revenue to be approximately $141 million, up from $120.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, with gross operator revenues from Internet casino gaming in the United States increasing by 279% year-over-year, in part due to the impact of COVID-19 on the period beginning on March 12, 2020.

 

The foregoing revenue outlook is our management’s current estimate based on information available to us at this time. Estimates of future performance are forward-looking statements and our actual results may differ substantially based on a number of factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. This revenue guidance does not provide a complete profile of our expected results of operations or financial position for 2020. We have not provided guidance on expected net income or Adjusted EBITDA for 2020. You should consider our revenue outlook in the context of the totality of information described in this prospectus. 

 

 

  14  

 

 

RISK FACTORS

 

Investing in our ordinary shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and information below and elsewhere in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, before making an investment decision. We describe below risks that we currently believe are the material risks of our business, our industry, this offering, and our ordinary shares. These are not the only risks we face; we are subject to risks that are currently unknown to us, or that we may currently believe are remote or immaterial. If any of these risks or events occurs, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed. In that case, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline, and you might lose all or part of your investment in our ordinary shares.

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

We operate in a rapidly evolving industry and if we fail to successfully develop, market or sell new products or adopt new technology platforms, it could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

 

Our GameSTACK platform and other software products compete in a market characterized by rapid technological advances, evolving standards in software technology and frequent new product introductions and enhancements that may render existing products and services obsolete. Competitors are continuously upgrading their product offerings with new features, functions and gaming content. In addition, we continuously refine our software and technology platform to address regulatory changes in the markets in which we operate or plan to operate. In order to remain competitive, we will need to continuously modify and enhance our technology platform and service offerings.

 

We cannot assure you that we will be able to respond to rapid technological changes in our industry. In addition, the introduction of new products or updated versions of existing products has inherent risks, including, but not limited to, risks concerning:

 

  product quality, including the possibility of software defects, which could result in claims against us or the inability to sell our software products;
     
  the accuracy of our estimates of customer demand, and the fit of the new products and features with a customer’s needs;
     
  the need to educate our sales, marketing and services personnel to work with the new products and features, which may strain our resources and lengthen sales cycles;
     
  market acceptance of initial product releases; and
     
  competitor product introductions or regulatory changes that render our new products obsolete.

 

We cannot assure you that we will be successful in making the transition to new technology platforms for our products in the future. We may encounter errors resulting from a significant rewrite of the software code for our products or may be unable to complete the transition in a timely manner. In addition, as we transition to newer technology platforms for our products, our customers may encounter difficulties in the upgrade process, which could cause them to lose revenue or review their alternatives with a competing supplier.

 

Because we commit substantial resources to developing new software products and services, if the markets for these new products or services do not develop as anticipated, or demand for our products and services in these markets does not materialize or materializes later than we expect, we will have expended substantial resources and capital without realizing sufficient offsetting or resulting revenue, and our business and operating results could be materially adversely affected. Developing, enhancing and localizing software is expensive, and the investment in product development may involve a long payback cycle. Our future plans include significant additional investments in development of our software and other intellectual property. We believe that we must continue to dedicate a significant amount of resources to our development efforts to maintain our competitive position. However, we may not receive significant revenue from these investments for several years, if at all. In addition, as we or our competitors introduce new or enhanced products, the demand for our products, particularly older versions of our products may decline.

 

  15  

 

 

We rely on a small number of customers for a substantial portion of our revenues and the loss of one or more of these customers could seriously harm our business.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2019, our largest customer, FanDuel Group, Inc. (“FanDuel”) accounted for 46.3% of our revenue. A second customer, WinStar Casino, represented 19.8% of our 2019 revenue.

 

Our business strategy encompasses securing a diverse customer base including attempting to expand the amount of business with our current customers and expand into new customer accounts as we enter new geographic markets, particularly in the U.S. However, we operate in a dynamic industry, in which regulatory restrictions and enabling technologies are changing rapidly. As such, certain of our customers may experience more rapid growth than other customers, resulting in a concentration of revenue from time to time in one or a few significant customers. The risk of customer concentration will be more pronounced as we look to expand our revenues from a smaller base. This risk is further increased with the currency macroeconomic event driven by the COVID-19 virus disclosed below.

 

At any time that we experience significant customer concentration, the loss of a key customer, for any reason, would have a significant impact on our revenues, our ability to fund operating expenses, and our financial position. In addition, the loss of a material customers could significantly decrease our market share and harm our reputation which could affect our ability to grow and take advantage of new markets, access resulting data from such markets, and secure funding to invest into development of new products.

 

FanDuel, our largest customer in 2019 has the right under its agreement to migrate portions of its business away from our platform.

 

Under the terms of our agreement with FanDuel, we support both real money iGaming as well as sports betting operations. Both operations currently use our digital wallet technology. Under our agreements, FanDuel pays us for platform development service fees, and pays us a revenue share of the net gaming revenue generated from its real money iGaming and sports betting operations.

 

FanDuel’s agreement with us provides that FanDuel, upon notice and payment of fees, can migrate user accounts for its sports betting application away from our digital wallet technology to its own proprietary solution. If FanDuel exercises this option and completes the migration, we will receive a percentage of revenue share on the net gaming revenue generated from certain sports betting operations until August 2020, at which point we would stop receiving any revenue share of FanDuel’s migrated sports betting operations. 

 

The right of migration does not affect our revenue share of FanDuel’s real money iGaming operations. Our agreement with FanDuel provides that we will be the exclusive provider of their casino gaming operations for the initial three years following a launch date. Following that exclusivity period, FanDuel will have the right to use other casino gaming solutions, subject to a requirement to pay us revenue share of a minimum percentage of their net gaming revenue from real money iGaming operations.

 

FanDuel notified us in March 2019 that it intended to migrate certain jurisdictions from our digital wallet onto its proprietary technology for online sports betting. That notice subsequently expired in September 2019 without completion of the intended migration, which we believe was due to the satisfactory ongoing performance of our technology. FanDuel continues to use our digital wallet and continues to owe us our contractual share of sports betting revenue generated using our digital wallet services. FanDuel may again elect to migrate certain jurisdictions to its own digital wallet, resulting in the delivery of another notice of migration. For the year ended December 31, 2019, we derived $3.0 million of our revenue from FanDuel’s sports betting operations.

 

We recently acquired the U.K. online casino from WinStar Casino, our second largest customer in 2019 and cannot provide assurances that we will be able to successfully operate the online casino as a proprietary property.

 

During 2019, we operated two programs with the owner of WinStar Casino which, combined, accounted for 19.8% of our 2019 revenue. One program is a simulated iGaming business in the United States, which accounted for approximately 25% of the revenue we generated from the WinStar Casino. In addition, we operated a real money iGaming B2C online casino in the U.K. with WinStar Casino, using our U.K. gaming license. Revenue from the real money iGaming casino represented approximately 75% of the revenue we attributed to WinStar Casino in 2019, and substantially all of the $4.4 million in revenue that we generated in the U.K. in 2019.

 

On March 30, 2020, we entered into a cooperation exit agreement to acquire the online casino from WinStar Casino with effect from December 31, 2019. WinStar Casino transferred ownership of the customer base and appearance of the online casino to us, and licensed to us the right to use the WinStar name and URL www.winstar.com for the period from January 1 to March 31, 2020. Effective March 31, 2020, traffic to www.casino.winstar.com has auto-directed to our proprietary brand and website www.ReelsRoyale.com. In exchange for the transfer of the customer database, we will pay WinStar Casino a revenue share of 3.0% of net gaming revenues received from the website, or fifteen percent of the net proceeds from the sale of the website and customer base to a third party, during the two year period ending December 31, 2021 (or its earlier closure or transfer). In connection with the cooperation exit agreement we terminated WinStar’s  agreement not to contract with a third party to operate a competing online casino, our agreement not to operate another B2C online casino in the U.K. or E.U. and our agreement to extend to WinStar exclusivity in  B2B real money iGaming in the states of Oklahoma and Texas, if legislation approving real money gaming is adopted in those states during the term. We will continue to operate the online casino as a proprietary B2C online casino under our U.K. gaming license while we seek an alternative casino operator or other corporate client to sponsor or provide marketing capital to develop and otherwise grow the ReelsRoyale.com Internet gaming business. We are continuing to operate the simulated iGaming business for WinStar Casino in the United States.

 

We cannot provide assurances about our ability to operate the online casino as successfully under our own ReelsRoyale brand. WinStar Casino is a well-known retail casino, and we cannot predict at this time whether we will be able to monetize the customer base effectively without the association of the WinStar Casino brand. In addition, under our prior agreements WinStar Casino was required to commit a marketing budget intended to drive awareness and traffic to the online casino. We will be required to self-fund the marketing budget for the ReelsRoyale online casino. If we fail to monetize the existing customer base for the casino, or to attract additional customers to the casino, our revenues and results of operations will be negatively affected.

 

The online gaming industry is highly competitive, and if we fail to compete effectively we could experience price reductions, reduced margins or loss of market share.

 

The online gaming industry is highly competitive. A number of companies offer products that are similar to our products and target the same markets as we do. Certain of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources, greater name recognition, broader or more integrated product offerings, larger technical staffs and a larger installed customer base than we do. These competitors may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements, develop superior products, and devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can.

 

Because of the rapid growth of our industry, and the relatively low capital barriers to entry in the software industry, we expect additional competition from other established and emerging companies. Some of our customers are land-based casinos that use our GameSTACK platform for rapid access to the online iGaming and sports betting markets. As these customers become more experienced or successful they may look to develop their own proprietary solutions or may look more aggressively at competing platforms. Additionally, our competitors could combine or merge to become more formidable competitors or may adapt more quickly than we can to new technologies, evolving industry trends and changing customer requirements. If we fail to compete effectively, (a) we could be compelled to reduce prices in order to be competitive, which could reduce margins and profitability, or (b) we would lose market shares any of which could materially adversely affect our strategy, our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

We have incurred net losses in the past with negative cash flows and may not be able to generate and sustain profitability.

 

Since our inception, we have typically operated at a loss. At December 31, 2019 we had an accumulated deficit of $22.8 million. For the year ended December 31, 2018 we incurred a net loss of $7.7 million. The year ended December 31, 2019 was the first time in recent years that our revenues were sufficient to meet our operating expenses, and we generated net income of $1.8 million. A significant portion of our operating expenses are fixed. If we incur a significant reduction in revenue, or unexpected operating expenses, we could again operate at a loss. Additional losses would impair our liquidity and may require us to raise additional capital or to curtail certain of our operations in an effort to preserve capital. Incurring additional losses could also erode investor confidence in our ability to manage our business effectively and result in a decline in the price of our ordinary shares.

 

Our revenue share model is predicated on customers continuing to license our products. If existing customers do not continue, or expand, the use of our products or services, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

 

We generate revenues under contracts with our customers that contemplate ongoing revenue sharing arrangements. The success of our business depends on our ability to retain our existing installed base of customers and to increase the scale of gaming and transactions that they run on our platform. We may experience the loss of a customer if the customer determines to close its operations, elects to develop its own online platform, or elects to contract with one of our competitors.

 

If our customers terminate their license agreements with us, we will incur a reduction in revenues unless we are able to secure new customers in amounts sufficient to offset the loss. The sales cycle for our platform can be long, and there are no assurances that we will be able to rapidly replace the loss of a significant customer. A substantial portion of our expenses are fixed, and a loss of revenue would have a material adverse impact on our profitability and our financial position.

 

  16  

 

 

A reduction in discretionary consumer spending, from an economic downturn or disruption of financial markets or other factors, could negatively impact our financial performance.

 

We generate the majority of our revenues based on revenue sharing arrangements with the casino operators that license our GameSTACK and other iGaming and sports betting products. In addition, we earn revenue from commission charged or tournament entry fees where the player has concluded his or her participation in a tournament. This aligns our interests in helping our casino operators increase their revenues, giving us an incentive in converting new customers and retaining existing customers to ensure that total revenue earned through our platform continues to grow for both parties.

 

Gaming and other leisure activities that our customers offer represent discretionary expenditures and players’ participation in those activities may decline if discretionary consumer spending declines, including during economic downturns, when consumers generally earn less disposable income. Changes in discretionary consumer spending or consumer preferences are driven by factors beyond our control, such as:

 

  perceived or actual general economic conditions;
     
  fears of recession and changes in consumer confidence in the economy;
     
  high energy, fuel and other commodity costs;
     
  the potential for bank failures or other financial crises;
     
  a soft job market;
     
  an actual or perceived decrease in disposable consumer income and wealth;
     
  increases in taxes, including gaming taxes or fees; and
     
  terrorist attacks or other global events.

 

During periods of economic contraction, our revenues may decrease while most of our costs remain fixed and some costs even increase, resulting in decreased earnings.

 

We face the risk of fraud, theft, and cheating.

 

We face the risk that players may attempt or commit fraud or theft or cheat in order to increase winnings. Such risks include stolen credit or charge cards and hacked or stolen customer accounts. Failure to discover such acts or schemes in a timely manner could result in losses in our operations. Negative publicity related to such acts or schemes could have an adverse effect on our reputation, potentially causing a material adverse effect on our business.

 

We face cyber security risks that could result in damage to our reputation and/or subject us to fines, payment of damages, lawsuits and restrictions on our use of data.

 

We rely extensively on computer systems to process transactions, maintain information and manage our businesses. In addition, our business involves the collection, storage, processing, and transmission of end users’ personal data, including financial information and information about how they interact with our games and platform. We have built our reputation, in part, on the sophistication and security of our payment and financial processing.

 

Our information systems and data, including those we maintain with our third-party service providers, may be subject to cyber security breaches in the future. Computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate, copy or pirate our confidential information or that of third parties, create system disruptions or cause interruptions or shutdowns of our internal systems and services. Our website may become subject to denial of service attacks, where a website is bombarded with information requests eventually causing the website to overload, resulting in a delay or disruption of service. Computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that attack our products or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities of our products. Also, there is a growing trend of advanced persistent threats being launched by organized and coordinated groups against corporate networks to breach security for malicious purposes.

 

  17  

 

 

The techniques used to obtain unauthorized, improper, or illegal access to our systems, our data or customers’ data, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems are constantly evolving and have become increasingly complex and sophisticated, may be difficult to detect quickly, and often are not recognized or detected until after they have been launched. Although we have developed systems and processes designed to protect our data and customer data and to prevent data loss and other security breaches and expect to continue to expend significant resources to bolster these protections, there can be no assurance that these security measures will provide absolute security.

 

Disruptions in the availability of our computer systems, through cyber-attacks or otherwise, could damage our computer or telecommunications systems, impact our ability to service our customers, adversely affect our operations and the results of operations, and have an adverse effect on our reputation. The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and the efforts to address these problems could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers and may impede our sales, distribution and other critical functions. We may also be subject regulatory penalties and litigation by customers and other parties whose information has been compromised, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

 

Systems failures and resulting interruptions in the availability of our websites, applications, products, or services could harm our business.

 

Our systems may experience service interruptions or degradation because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, distributed denial-of-service and other cyberattacks, human error, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, and other natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, computer viruses or other malware, or other events. Some of our systems are not fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning may not be sufficient for all eventualities. In addition, as a provider of payments solutions, we are subject to heightened scrutiny by regulators that may require specific business continuity, resiliency and disaster recovery plans, and more rigorous testing of such plans, which may be costly and time-consuming and may divert our resources from other business priorities.

 

A prolonged interruption in the availability or reduction in the availability, speed, or functionality of our products and services will result in a loss of revenue and could materially harm our business. Frequent or persistent interruptions in our services could cause current or potential customers to believe that our systems are unreliable, leading them to switch to our competitors or to avoid or reduce the use of our products and services, and could permanently harm our reputation and brands. Moreover, if any system failure or similar event results in damages to our customers or their business partners, these customers or partners could seek significant compensation or contractual penalties from us for their losses, and those claims, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time-consuming and costly for us to address.

 

The full-time availability and expeditious delivery of our products and services is a critical part of our solution offering to our consumers. We continually refine our GameSTACK platform, implementing system upgrades and re-platforming efforts designed to improve our reliability and speed. Despite network security, disaster recovery and systems management measures in place, we may encounter unexpected general systems outages or failures that may affect our ability to conduct development activities, provide maintenance services for our products, manage our contractual arrangements, accurately and efficiently maintain our books and records, record our transactions, provide critical information to our management and prepare our consolidated financial statements. Additionally, these unexpected systems outages or failures may require additional personnel and financial resources, disrupt our business or cause delays in the reporting of our financial results. We may also be required to modify, enhance, upgrade or implement new systems, procedures and controls to reflect changes in our business or technological advancements, which could cause us to incur additional costs and require additional management attention, placing burdens on our internal resources.

 

We also rely on facilities, components, and services supplied by third parties, including data center facilities and cloud storage services. If these third parties cease to provide the facilities or services, experience operational interference or disruptions, breach their agreements with us, fail to perform their obligations and meet our expectations, or experience a cybersecurity incident, our operations could be disrupted or otherwise negatively affected, which could result in customer dissatisfaction and damage to our reputation and brands, and materially and adversely affect our business. We do not carry business interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for all losses that may result from interruptions in our service as a result of systems failures and similar events.

 

  18  

 

 

Our business strategy anticipates substantial growth, and if we fail to adequately scale product offerings and manage our entry into new territories, our business and reputation may be harmed.

 

A core element of our business strategy is to grow with our existing customer base, attempting to capture a larger share of a dynamic and growing iGaming and sports betting market. We will be required to add infrastructure, expand our systems and harden our control processes to accommodate this increased scale. In addition, we intend to expand our operations into new markets in the United States as they implement regulations approving iGaming and sports betting. That geographic expansion will require us to comply with additional regulatory regimes, secure licenses and permits, build additional equipment and maintain human resources to service customers in those markets. 

 

Our growth has placed, and is expected to continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, operational and financial resources and our infrastructure. Our future success will depend, in part, upon the ability of our senior management to manage growth effectively. This will require us to, among other things:

 

  implement additional management information systems;
     
  further develop our operating, administrative, legal, financial and accounting systems and controls;
     
  hire additional personnel;
     
  develop additional levels of management within our Company;
     
  locate additional office space in various countries; and
     
  maintain close coordination among our engineering, operations, legal, finance, sales and marketing and customer service and support organizations.

 

Failure to accomplish any of these requirements could adversely affect our ability to deliver our product and service offerings in a timely fashion, fulfill existing customer commitments or attract and retain new customers.

 

Our business plan includes the evaluation and potential integration of acquisitions, which if not done successfully could adversely affect our operating results and result in charges to earnings, impairing our financial condition.

 

We may look to acquire additional software technologies, platforms or gaming content through strategic transactions. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, any of which could harm our business, including:

 

  difficulties in integrating the operations, technologies, services and personnel of acquired businesses;
     
  cultural challenges associated with integrating employees from an acquired company into our organization;
     
  ineffectiveness or incompatibility of acquired technologies or services;
     
 

additional financing required to complete acquisitions;

     
  potential loss of key employees of acquired businesses;
     
  inability to maintain the key business relationships and the reputations of acquired businesses;
     
  diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns;

 

  19  

 

 

  inability to maintain our standards, controls, procedures and policies;
     
  litigation for activities of the acquired company, including claims from terminated employees, customers, former shareholders or other third parties;
     
  in the case of acquisitions made across multiple geographic areas, the need to integrate operations across different cultures and languages and to address the particular economic, currency, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries;
     
  failure to successfully further develop the acquired technology; and
     
  increased fixed costs.

 

We will incur costs in connection with executing any acquisition strategy, including the time of our management and employees as wells as amounts to professional service firms and advisers during the evaluation of possible acquisition targets. All fees relating to our acquisition strategy are expensed as incurred, whether or not we complete the acquisition. We may also record a significant amount of other charges to our operating results that are directly related to our acquisitions, including those acquisitions that are deemed to be operationally or strategically successful, including: the amortization of intangible assets acquired; charges to our operating results due to the accounting for contingent payments made in connection with acquisitions; costs incurred to combine the operations of companies we acquire, such as employee retention, redeployment or relocation expenses; charges to our operating results to eliminate certain duplicative pre-acquisition activities, to restructure our combined operations or to reduce our cost structure; charges to our operating results due to changes in deferred tax asset valuation allowances and liabilities related to uncertain tax positions after the measurement period of any given acquisition has ended; and charges to our operating results due to the expensing of certain equity awards assumed in an acquisition.

 

The accounting for acquisitions requires consideration paid, assets, and liabilities to be stated at their acquisition date fair value, which generally results in an increase being recorded to the historic value of net assets, including recording the fair value of acquired assets such as identified intangible assets and goodwill, and also including a reduction in the value of acquired deferred revenue. The increased value of net assets generally results in lower post-acquisition earnings when compared to the pre-acquisition earnings of the acquired businesses as a result of the increased amortization costs. These costs, when and if recorded, could be material and could differ substantially from similar costs recorded in prior years. In addition, intangible assets and goodwill periodically required to be evaluated for impairment which can result in charges against earnings.

 

We rely on relationships with third party content partners for a significant portion of our revenue.

 

We currently license intellectual property rights from third-party software providers for inclusion in our online games and content offerings. We license these rights to provide our customers with access to online version of popular casino-based games, reduce our development costs, to expand our content offerings and to shorten our time to market with new products and solutions. Our business model is predicated on sharing revenue with our casino operators. If we were to lose access to popular game titles and content, our casino operators may experience a decline in wagering, reducing their revenue and ours. We could be compelled to pay higher prices for licenses, or increased expenses in an effort our own proprietary content, but there are no guarantees that we would be successful in either approach. The loss of compelling content could also make our solution and product offering less competitive, and our operator customers may look for alternative vendors with access to different content.

 

In addition, a significant portion of customers are introduced to us by our network of content manufacturer partners. These content manufacturer partners include casino equipment manufacturers and casino gaming content designers which do not manufacture physical gaming equipment. We may experience difficulty in maintaining or establishing third-party relationships with our content manufacturer partners. If we are unable to maintain good relations with our content manufacturer partners, our ability to organically grow our business could be harmed, which may materially adversely affect operating results and financial condition. Additionally, we are exposed to the risk that the content manufacturer partners through which we indirectly promote our products and services will not devote sufficient time, attention and resources to learning our products, markets and potential customers and may promote and sell competing products and services.

 

  20  

 

 

We have business operations located in many countries and a significant level of operations outside of the U.S., which subjects us to additional costs and risks that could adversely affect our operating results.

 

A significant portion of our operations are located outside of the U.S. In addition to customer bases in Italy and Australia, we have software development centers in London and Bulgaria, which account for most of our software development personnel.

 

Compliance with international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. As a result of our international operations, we are subject to a variety of risks and challenges in managing an organization operating in various countries, including those related to:

 

  challenges caused by distance as well as language and cultural differences;
     
  general economic conditions in each country or region;
     
  regulatory changes;
     
  political unrest, terrorism and the potential for other hostilities;
     
  public health risks, particularly in areas in which we have significant operations;
     
  longer payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;
     
  overlapping or changes in tax regimes;
     
  difficulties in transferring funds from certain countries;
     
  laws such as the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and local laws which also prohibit corrupt payments to governmental officials; and
     
  reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries.

 

If we are unable to expand or adequately staff and manage our existing development operations located outside of the U.S., we may not realize, in whole or in part, the anticipated benefits from these initiatives (including lower development expenses), which in turn could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

Our results of operations may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency values.

 

The majority of our revenue is transacted in the U.S. Dollar and the Euro, and we incur the majority of our costs in the British Pound, U.S. Dollar, and the Euro, and to a lesser extent in other currencies. Changes in the relative value of major currencies, particularly the U.S. Dollar as compared to each of the Euro and the British pound, may significantly affect our operating results. In fiscal 2019, 69.5% and 15.3% of our revenue were transacted in U.S. Dollars and Euros, respectively; and in fiscal 2019, 47.2%, 34.0%, and 9.6% of our expenses were transacted in British Pounds, U.S. Dollars, and Euros, respectively.

 

As we have a larger amount of our Euro-denominated transactions associated with revenue, a devaluation of the euro relative to the U.S. Dollar would adversely affect our results of operations reported in U.S. Dollars. As the transactions in British pounds are primarily expenses, a decline of the U.S. Dollar relative to the British pound would negatively impact our results of operations reported in U.S. Dollars. We also maintain intercompany trade balances and cash balances that are subject to currency remeasurement, and for which a change in currency exchanges rates between U.S. Dollars, Euros, British Pounds, Bulgarian Lev, Israeli Shekel and Australian Dollar could result in an adverse charge being recorded to our income statement. Our currency remeasurement gains and losses are charged against earnings in the period incurred.

 

  21  

 

 

We depend on the services of key personnel to execute our business strategy. If we lose the services of our key personnel or are unable to attract and retain other qualified personnel, we may be unable to operate our business effectively.

 

We believe that the future success of our business depends on the services of a number of key management and operating personnel. Some of these key employees have strong relationships with our customers and our business may be harmed if these employees leave us. In addition, our ability to manage our growth depends, in part, on our ability to identify, hire and retain additional qualified employees. We face intense competition for qualified individuals from numerous technologies, software and service companies. Competition for qualified personnel is particularly intense in many of the large, international metropolitan markets in which we have offices, including for example, London. Several positions require significant training and new hires may, in some cases, take more than a year before they achieve full productivity. Further, given the pace of our expansion to date, we may be unable to attract and retain suitably qualified individuals who are capable of meeting our growing operational and managerial requirements, or may be required to pay increased compensation in order to do so.

 

If we are unsuccessful in attracting and retaining these key management and operating personnel, including as a result of limitations on the size of stock awards that can be granted to such persons under our existing equity compensation plans (unless the availability of stock awards thereunder is approved for increase by our shareholders or our shareholders approve a new equity compensation plan), our ability to operate our business effectively could be negatively impacted and our business, operating results and financial condition would be materially adversely affected.

 

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights, our competitive position and our business could be materially adversely affected.

 

We regard the protection of our developed technologies and intellectual property rights as an important element of our business operations and crucial to our success. In particular, we view our iBridge technology and the ability to allow our customers to link their customers online and casino-based loyalty programs as a competitive differentiation. Unauthorized use of our intellectual property and proprietary rights may reduce our revenue, devalue our brands and property and harm our reputation.

 

We rely primarily on a combination of patent laws, trademark laws, copyright laws, trade secrets, confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary technology. As of December 31, 2019, we held one issued U.S. patent (patent number 8,821,296 dated September 2, 2014) with multiple claims within that single patent. The failure of our patents, or our reliance upon copyright and trade secret laws to adequately protect our technology, might make it easier for our competitors to offer similar products or technologies. In addition, patents may not be issued for any of our current or any future applications.

 

We generally require our employees, consultants and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements. These agreements provide that all confidential information developed or made known to the individual during the course of the individual’s relationship with us is to be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties except under specific circumstances. In the case of our employees, the agreements provide that all of the technology which is conceived by the individual during the course of employment is our exclusive property. The development of our technology and many of our processes are dependent upon the knowledge, experience and skills of key technical personnel.

 

Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly. Our efforts to protect our proprietary rights may not be adequate to prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property. Further, we may not be able to detect unauthorized use of, or take appropriate steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights. The laws of many countries, including countries where we conduct business, do not protect our proprietary rights to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States and European countries. Further, the laws in the United States and elsewhere change rapidly, and any future changes could materially adversely affect us and our intellectual property.

 

  22  

 

 

We may in the future need to initiate infringement claims or litigation. Litigation, whether we are a plaintiff or a defendant, can be expensive, time-consuming and may divert the efforts of our technical staff and managerial personnel, which could harm our business, whether or not such litigation results in a determination favorable to us. In addition, litigation is inherently uncertain, and thus we may not be able to stop our competitors from infringing upon our intellectual property rights.

 

We face the risk that third parties will claim that we infringe on their intellectual property rights, which could result in costly license fees or expensive litigation.

 

The iGaming and sports betting industries are subject to rapid technological change and we and a number of our competitors are developing technology and intellectual property that we believe is unique and provides us with a commercial advantage. While we respect third parties’ intellectual property rights and have procedures designed to avoid the inadvertent use of third-party intellectual property, we may face claims in the future that the products or solutions that we develop, or those provided to us by third parties or used by our customers, infringe on third parties’ intellectual property rights.

 

We may face claims from our competitors that our products infringe upon their intellectual property rights. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources than we do and are able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater degree and for longer periods of time than we could. In addition, patent holding companies that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target us.

 

Any such claim may seek to prohibit our use of the third party’s intellectual property rights or may require us to we obtain licenses from the holders of the patents or other intellectual property rights. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain any such licenses on commercially favorable terms, or at all. If we do not obtain such licenses, we could, for example, be required to cease or materially alter our product offerings and our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

 

Future litigation may be necessary to defend ourselves, our customers or our partners by determining the scope, enforceability and validity of third-party proprietary rights or to establish our proprietary rights. Regardless of whether the infringement claims have any merit, defense of intellectual property litigation is time-consuming, costly to evaluate and defend, and could:

 

  adversely affect our relationships with our current or future customers or partners;
     
  cause delays or stoppages in providing new sales of our products;
     
  cause us to have to cease use of certain technology or products
     
  require technology changes that would cause us to incur substantial cost;
     
  require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements on unfavorable terms; and
     
  divert management’s attention and resources.

 

In addition, many of our contracts provide our customers or partners with indemnification with respect to their use of our intellectual property. We cannot predict whether any existing or future third-party intellectual property rights would require us to alter our technologies, obtain licenses or cease certain activities.

 

Our sales cycles require significant time and effort and are therefore difficult to predict accurately.

 

Our sales efforts to attract new customers requires substantial time and effort, and we cannot assure you that we will be successful in establishing new relationships or maintaining or advancing our current relationships. Many of our customers typically require one or more internal levels of approval before they can purchase our products and services. As a result, during our sales efforts, we must identify multiple people involved in the purchasing decision and devote a sufficient amount of time to presenting our products and services to those individuals. The breadth of our offerings often requires us to spend substantial time and effort assisting potential customers in evaluating our products and services, including providing demonstrations and benchmarking against other available offerings. This process can be costly and time consuming, and we often do not know if any given sales efforts will be successful until the latter stages of those efforts. Additionally, if we are unable to forecast market demand and conditions, we may not be able to expand our sales efforts at appropriate times and our revenue and related results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

 

  23  

 

 

We are subject to risks related to corporate social responsibility, responsible gaming, reputation and ethical conduct.

 

Many factors influence our reputation and the value of our brands, including the perception held by our customers, business partners, investors, other key stakeholders and the communities in which we operate, such as our social responsibility, corporate governance and responsible gaming practices. We have faced, and will likely continue to face, increased scrutiny related to social, governance and responsible gaming activities, and our reputation and the value of our brands can be materially adversely harmed if we fail to act responsibly in a number of areas, such as diversity and inclusion, workplace conduct, responsible gaming, human rights, philanthropy and support for local communities. Any harm to our reputation could impact employee engagement and retention, and the willingness of customers and partners to do business with us, which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.

 

We believe that our reputation is critical to our role as a leader in the online and gaming industries and as a publicly traded company. Our Board has adopted a Code of Business Conduct as well as other related policies and procedures, and management is heavily focused on the integrity of our directors, officers, senior management, employees, other personnel and third-party suppliers and partners. Illegal, unethical or fraudulent activities perpetrated by any of such individuals, suppliers or partners for personal gain could expose us to potential reputational damage and financial loss.

 

We face risks related to health epidemics and other widespread outbreaks of contagious disease, which could disrupt our operations and impact our operating results.

 

Significant outbreaks of contagious diseases, and other adverse public health developments, could have a material impact on our business operations and operating results.

 

The impact of COVID-19 on our business is uncertain at this time. The closing of casinos could drive more revenue to our online iGaming offerings. However, the economic disruption or uncertainty caused by COVID-19 may cause a general decline in gambling and iGaming. In addition, the cancellation of sporting events has reduced sports betting transactions. Any of these consequences may adversely impact player activity on our platforms, which would negatively impact our business.

 

We continue to monitor the global spread of COVID-19 and have put in place and will continue to put in place measures as appropriate and necessary for our business. Any prolonged deviations from normal daily operations could negatively impact our business. While the full impact of this outbreak is unknown at this time, we are closely monitoring the rapid developments in countries that have become exposed to the virus and continually assessing the potential impact on our business. Any prolonged disruption of our content providers, customers, players or regulatory reviewers could delay regulatory approvals or conclusions related to new products or the finalization of new contracts entered into by us.

 

Risks Related to Regulation

 

GAN’s offerings are part of new and evolving industries, which presents significant uncertainty and business risks.

 

The online gaming and interactive entertainment industries are relatively new and continue to evolve. Whether these industries grow and whether our business will ultimately succeed, will be affected by, among other things, developments in social networks, mobile platforms, legal and regulatory developments (such as passing new laws or regulations or extending existing laws or regulations to online gaming and related activities), taxation of gaming activities, data and information privacy and payment processing laws and regulations, and other factors that we are unable to predict and which are beyond our control.

 

Given the dynamic evolution of these industries, it can be difficult to plan strategically, including as it relates to product launches in new or existing jurisdictions which may be delayed or denied, and it is possible that competitors will be more successful than GAN at adapting to change and pursuing business opportunities. Additionally, as the online gaming industry advances, including with respect to regulation in new and existing jurisdictions, we may become subject to additional compliance-related costs, including regulatory infractions, licensing and taxes. Consequently, we cannot provide assurance that our online and interactive offerings will grow at the rates expected or be successful in the long term. If our product offerings do not obtain popularity or maintain popularity, or if they fail to grow in a manner that meets our expectations, or if we cannot offer our product offerings in particular jurisdictions that may be material to our business, then our results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.

 

  24  

 

 

The online gaming industry is heavily regulated and GAN’s failure to obtain or maintain applicable licensure or approvals, or otherwise comply with applicable requirements, could be disruptive to our business and could adversely affect our operations.

 

Our Company, officers, directors, major shareholders, key employees and business partners are generally subject to the laws and regulations relating to online gaming of the jurisdictions in which we conduct business, as well as the general laws and regulations that apply to all e-commerce businesses, such as those related to privacy and personal information, tax and consumer protection. These laws and regulations vary from one jurisdiction to another and future legislative and regulatory action, court decisions or other governmental action, which may be affected by, among other things, political pressures, attitudes and climates, as well as personal biases, may have a material impact on our operations and financial results. In particular, some jurisdictions have introduced regulations attempting to restrict or prohibit online gaming, while others have taken the position that online gaming should be licensed and regulated and have adopted or are in the process of considering legislation to enable that to happen. Even where a jurisdiction purports to license and regulate online gaming, the licensing and regulatory regimes can vary considerably in terms of their business-friendliness and at times may be intended to provide incumbent operators with advantages over new licensees. As such, some “liberalized” regulatory regimes are considerably more commercially attractive than others.

 

Regulatory regimes imposed upon gaming providers vary by jurisdiction. Typically, however, most regulatory regimes include the following elements:

 

  the opportunity to apply for one or more gaming licenses for one or more categories of products, whether as part of a general round of license issuance (for example, Spain) or as and when the applicant chooses to apply;
     
  a requirement for gaming license applicants to make detailed and extensive disclosures as to their beneficial ownership, their source of funds, the probity and integrity of certain persons associated with the applicant, the applicant’s management competence and structure and business plans, the applicant’s proposed geographical territories of operation and the applicant’s ability to operate a gaming business in a socially responsible manner in compliance with regulation;
     
  interviews and assessments by the relevant gaming authority intended to inform a regulatory determination of the suitability of applicants for gaming licenses;
     
  ongoing reporting and disclosure obligations, both on a periodic and ad hoc basis in response to material issues affecting the business;
     
  the testing and certification of software and systems, generally designed to confirm such things as the fairness of the gaming products offered by the business, their genuine randomness and ability accurately to generate settlement instructions and recover from outages;
     
  the need to account for applicable gaming duties and other taxes and levies, such as fees or contributions to bodies that organize the sports on which bets are offered, as well as contributions to the prevention and treatment of problem gaming; and
     
  social responsibility obligations.

 

Gaming licenses are subject to condition, suspension or revocation by the issuing regulatory authority at any time. The industry has recently experienced significantly more enforcement actions, particularly in United Kingdom, where the U.K. Gambling Commission has issued fines against numerous operators for regulatory failings.

 

The U.K. Gambling Commission performed compliance assessments on our U.K. online, direct-to-consumer gaming operations in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the Gambling Commission informed us that it would be initiating a review of our U.K. operating license, asserting that certain issues identified in the assessments constituted breaches of the conditions of our operating license. The Gaming Commission review could result in one or more penalties ranging from a warning to additional conditions or limitations on our license, monetary penalties, or suspension or revocation of our U.K. gaming license.

 

We have assessed the issues and intend to work with the Commission and to take other actions available to it to mitigate any potential loss. We do not know at this time what the outcome of the review will be, and the financial statements included in this prospectus do not include any provision for this loss as such amounts cannot be reliably measured.

 

Although, we have taken, and will continue to take, steps to strengthen GAN’s compliance with its regulatory obligations in the U.K. and other jurisdictions globally, we cannot predict the outcome of any current or future regulatory review. The loss of a gaming license in one jurisdiction could trigger the loss of, or affect our eligibility for, a gaming license in another jurisdiction. Any such losses, or the potential for such loss, could cause us to have to cease offering some or all of our product offerings in the affected jurisdictions.

 

We may be unable to obtain or maintain all necessary registrations, licenses, permits or approvals, and could incur fines or experience delays related to the licensing process, which could adversely affect our operations and financial viability.

 

The determination of suitability process may be expensive and time-consuming. Our delay or failure to obtain gaming licenses in any jurisdiction may prevent us from distributing our product offerings, increasing our customer base and/or generating revenues. A gaming regulatory body may refuse to issue or renew a gaming license if the Company, or one of our directors, officers, employees, major shareholders or business partners:

 

  is considered to be a detriment to the integrity or lawful conduct or management of gaming,
     
  no longer meets a licensing or registration requirement,

 

  25  

 

 

  has breached or is in breach of a condition of licensure or registration, a gaming law or regulation or an operational agreement with a regulatory authority,
     
  has made a material misrepresentation, omission or misstatement in an application for licensure or registration or in reply to an inquiry by a person conducting an audit, investigation or inspection for a gaming regulatory authority,
     
  has been refused a similar gaming license in another jurisdiction, (vi) has held a similar gaming license in that province, state or another jurisdiction which has been suspended, revoked or cancelled, or
     
  has been convicted of an offense in any jurisdiction that calls into question the honesty or integrity of the Company or any of our directors, officers, employees or associates.

 

Additionally, a gaming regulatory body may refuse to issue or renew a gaming license or restrict or condition the same, based on the historic activities of GAN or our current or former directors, officers, employees, major shareholders or business partners, which could adversely affect our operations or financial condition.

 

Our product offerings must be approved in most regulated jurisdictions in which they are offered; this process cannot be assured or guaranteed.

 

If we fail to obtain the necessary gaming license in a given jurisdiction, we would likely be prohibited from distributing and providing its product offerings in that particular jurisdiction altogether. If we fail to seek, do not receive, or receive a suspension or revocation of a license in a particular jurisdiction for our product offerings (including any related technology and software) then we cannot offer the same in that jurisdiction and our gaming licenses in other jurisdictions may be impacted. Furthermore, some jurisdictions require license holders to obtain government approval before engaging in some transactions, such as business combinations, reorganizations, stock offerings and repurchases. We may not be able to obtain all necessary gaming licenses in a timely manner, or at all. Delays in regulatory approvals or failure to obtain such approvals may also serve as a barrier to entry to the market for our product offerings. If we are unable to overcome the barriers to entry, it will materially affect our results of operations and future prospects.

 

To the extent new online gaming jurisdictions are established or expanded, we cannot guarantee we will be successful in penetrating such new jurisdictions or expanding our business or customer base in line with the growth of existing jurisdictions. As we directly or indirectly enter into new markets, we may encounter legal, regulatory and political challenges that are difficult or impossible to foresee and which could result in an unforeseen adverse impact on planned revenues or costs associated with the new market opportunity. If we are unable to effectively develop and operate directly or indirectly within these new markets or if our competitors are able to successfully penetrate geographic markets that we cannot access or where we face other restrictions, then our business, operating results and financial condition could be impaired. Our failure to obtain or maintain the necessary regulatory approvals in jurisdictions, whether individually or collectively, would have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

Because our systems operate online, we face the risk that our customers, their third-party vendors, or end users will implement technologies that intentionally or unintentionally circumvent our compliance checks and violate regulatory restrictions.

 

We develop our GameSTACK platform with a number of tools, such as geo-verification, that are designed to ensure that our customer’s gaming systems are used only in circumstances where it is legal to do so. However, because our systems operate online, and networking technologies are continuing to develop rapidly, we face the risk that our customers, their party vendors, or end users will implement a technology that evades our compliance checks.

 

On December 4, 2019, our operations team was alerted by a combination of automated alerts and inbound queries from a small number of end users stating that they could not view their transaction history online for the sports bets they had placed on that date. On investigation, our technical specialists confirmed that the GameSTACK platform was properly geo-locating the users in the State where they were physically present, but the casino operator customer implemented a third-party tool with incorrect navigation links that placed the sports bets on servers located in an adjacent State, where Internet sports betting was also permitted.

 

We implemented a technical ‘back stop’ in our technology platform to detect and prevent future instances of this event. All information related to this event was shared with the applicable regulatory bodies in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana. Our customer elected to ‘unwind’ and cancel/refund each of the sports bets placed incorrectly, and in all cases make the end user ‘whole’ (as if they’d placed their sports bet on the correct third-party sports betting server).

 

To date, we have not received any communications from any regulatory authority in the affected states and remain in good standing with each. Although there is no current expectation of any recurrence or any associated regulatory risk from this incident, our business is susceptible to the risk that our back-stop verification procedures will be circumvented, or that our customers or their end user members will implement technologies that, intentionally or inadvertently, permit our platform to be used in a manner that violates State regulations.

 

Compliance with evolving data privacy regulations may cause us to incur additional expenses, and any violation could result in damage to our reputation and/or subject us to fines, payment of damages, lawsuits and restrictions on our use of data.

 

We collect and process information relating to our employees, our customer operators, our customers’ end user players, and others for various business purposes, including payment processing, marketing and promotional purposes. The collection and use of personal data are governed by privacy laws and regulations enacted by the various states, the United States and other jurisdictions around the world. Privacy laws and regulations continue to evolve and on occasion may be inconsistent between jurisdictions. Various federal, state and foreign legislative or regulatory bodies may enact or adopt new or additional laws and regulations concerning privacy, data retention, data transfer, and data protection. For example, the European Union has adopted a data protection regulation known as the General Data Protection Regulation, which became fully enforceable in May 2018, that includes operational and compliance requirements with significant penalties for non-compliance. In addition, California has enacted a new privacy law, known as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which takes effect in 2020 and provides some of the strongest privacy requirements in the United States.

 

  26  

 

 

Compliance with applicable privacy laws and regulations may increase our operating costs and/or adversely impact our ability to provide and market our products, properties and services. In addition, non-compliance with applicable privacy laws and regulations by us (or in some circumstances non-compliance by third parties engaged by us), including accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure, unapproved dissemination or a breach of security on systems storing our data may result in damage to our reputation and/or subject us to fines, payment of damages, lawsuits or restrictions on our use or transfer of data. We rely on proprietary and commercially available systems, software, and tools to provide security for processing of customer and employee information, such as payment card and other confidential or proprietary information. Our data security measures are reviewed and evaluated regularly; however, they might not protect us against increasingly sophisticated and aggressive threats including, but not limited to, computer malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks by third parties.

 

Any violation of the Bank Secrecy Act or other similar anti-money laundering laws and regulations could have a negative impact on us.

 

Our operations are subject to various reporting and anti-money laundering (“AML”) regulations in various jurisdictions. In recent years, governmental authorities have been increasingly focused on AML policies and procedures, with a particular focus on the gaming industry. Any violation of AML or regulations by any of our resorts could have a negative effect on our results of operations.

 

As a “foreign private issuer”, we are subject to different U.S. securities laws and rules than a domestic U.S. issuer, which may limit the information publicly available to our U.S. shareholders.

 

We are a foreign private issuer under applicable U.S. federal securities laws, and therefore, we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to a domestic U.S. issuer. As a result, we will not file the same reports that a U.S. domestic issuer would file with the SEC. Our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the proxy rules under the Exchange Act. In addition, as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from many of the corporate governance requirements that apply to domestic U.S. issuers under applicable rules of The Nasdaq Capital Market, Inc., or Nasdaq.

 

  27  

 

 

We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which would result in significant additional costs and expenses.

 

Foreign private issuer status is predicated on a multi-factor analysis, that includes an assessment of the location our assets, where our business is principally managed, the residency and citizenship of our directors and management, and the residency of our shareholders. Qualification as a foreign private issuer status is determined on an annual basis on the last business day of an issuer’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter and, accordingly, the next determination with respect to our status will be made on June 30, 2020.

 

If we lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, we will have to comply with all U.S. federal securities laws that apply to domestic U.S. companies, including enhanced periodic reporting, proxy requirements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders will become subject to the short-swing profit disclosure and recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. We will be required to file periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms containing financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. In addition, if we lose our status as a foreign private issuer we will become subject to the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, which are more strenuous than the corporate governance requirements under Bermuda law and those applicable to companies with shares admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange. As a result, our regulatory and compliance costs may be significantly higher if we cease to qualify as a foreign private issuer.

 

We identified a material weakness in connection with our internal control over financial reporting. Although we are taking steps to remediate this material weakness, we may not be successful in doing so in a timely manner, or at all, and we may identify other material weaknesses.

 

In connection with the audit of the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, our management and independent registered public accounting firm concluded that we had a combination of control deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019 that comprised a material weakness, primarily relating to:

 

  · the lack of a sufficient number of personnel with an appropriate level of knowledge and experience in the application of International Financial Reporting Standards and International Accounting Standards and Interpretations as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and as adopted by the European Union (IFRS), commensurate with our financial reporting requirements; and
      
  · the design and operation of our accounting and financial reporting close functions, in which required policies and procedures either were not designed or were not operating effectively at period end, resulting in a number of adjustments to our consolidated financial statements during the course of the audit.

 

A material weakness is a deficiency or combination of deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

 

We are currently not yet required to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and are therefore not required to make an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Further, our independent registered public accounting firm has not been engaged to express, nor have they expressed, an opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Had we and our independent registered public accounting firm performed an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, additional control deficiencies may have been identified by our management or independent registered public accounting firm, and those control deficiencies could have also represented one or more material weaknesses, which could negatively impact our business and reputation. In an effort to remediate the control deficiencies, during 2019 we have expanded our accounting and compliance teams with additional staff with public company experience and technical accounting knowledge including a new Chief Financial Officer and Controller; we have also began the process of adopting a more rigorous period-end review process for financial reporting, including adopting improved month-end close processes and accounting processes and we have adopted a new ERP platform.

 

  28  

 

 

We are an “emerging growth company” which may make our ordinary shares less attractive to investors.

 

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

 

In addition, an emerging growth company can take advantage of extended transition periods for adopting with new or revised accounting standards. We currently prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS, which do not have separate provisions for publicly traded and private companies. However, in the event we convert to U.S. GAAP while we are still an “emerging growth company”, we may be able to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

 

Because of the exemptions from various reporting requirements provided to us as an “emerging growth company” and because, if we convert to U.S. GAAP, we will have an extended transition period for complying with new or revised financial accounting standards, we may be less attractive to investors if they believe that our financial accounting is not as transparent as other companies in our industry. That may result in a decrease on our stock price and it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital as and when we need it. If we are unable to raise additional capital as and when we need it, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

 

A change in our tax residence could have a negative effect on our future profitability.

 

Although we are organized under the laws of Bermuda, a British overseas territory that is an island located off the coast of the United States, we are a resident in the United Kingdom for tax purposes. It is possible that in the future, whether as a result of a change in law or the practice of any relevant tax authority or as a result of any change in the conduct of our affairs following a review by our directors or for any other reason, we could become, or be regarded as having become, a resident in a jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom. Should we cease to be tax resident in the United Kingdom, we may have exposure related to unexpected tax liabilities, such as a charge of United Kingdom capital gains tax on a deemed disposal at market value of our assets and of unexpected tax charges in other jurisdictions on our income.

 

Similarly, if the tax residency of any of our subsidiaries were to change from their current jurisdiction for any of the reasons listed above, we may be subject to a charge of local capital gains tax on the assets. Furthermore, while we expect we and certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries will qualify for the benefits of the Convention Between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, etc., or the U.S.-U.K. Treaty, we have not sought or obtained a ruling from the IRS or an opinion of counsel addressing the issue, and there can be no assurances we or our non-U.S. subsidiaries will qualify for the benefits of the U.S.- U.K. Treaty.

 

Our business could suffer as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the U.K. withdrawal from the European Union and, if completed, the terms of such withdrawal.

 

Our principal office is located in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom formally exited the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit, on January 31, 2020. Under the terms of its departure, the United Kingdom will enter a transition period during which it will continue to follow all European Union rules and the trading relationship will remain the same. The transition period is scheduled to end on December 31, 2020. However, substantially uncertainty remains concerning which EU laws and regulations will continue to be implemented in the U.K. after Brexit (including financial laws and regulations, tax and free trade agreements, intellectual property rights, data protection laws, supply chain logistics, environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, immigration laws and employment laws).

 

  29  

 

 

The uncertainty concerning the U.K.’s legal, political and economic relationship with the EU after Brexit may negatively impact direct foreign investment in the U.K., increase costs, depress economic activity and restrict access to capital. It may also be a source of instability in the international markets, create significant currency fluctuations, and/or otherwise adversely affect trading agreements or similar cross-border cooperation arrangements (whether economic, tax, fiscal, legal, regulatory or otherwise) beyond the date of Brexit. We may also face new regulatory costs and challenges that could have an adverse effect on our operations. Depending on the terms of the U.K. withdrawal from the EU, the U.K. could lose the benefits of global trade agreements negotiated by the EU on behalf of its members, which may result in increased trade barriers that could make our doing business in the EU and the EEA more difficult.

 

Risks Related to this Offering

 

We have had no prior public market in the U.S. for our ordinary shares, the trading price of our ordinary shares is likely to be volatile, and you might not be able to sell your shares at or above the initial public offering price.

 

There has been no public market in the U.S. for our ordinary shares prior to this offering. Since November 2013, the ordinary shares of GAN plc have been listed for trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. The per share price of the ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange has been highly volatile. For example, the highest price at which the ordinary shares traded in fiscal 2019 (without giving effect to the Share Exchange) was 187.00 p and the lowest price was 43.50 p. Investors who purchase our ordinary shares in this offering may not be able to sell their ordinary shares at or above the initial public offering price. Market prices for companies similar to us experience significant price and volume fluctuations.

 

An active or liquid market for our ordinary shares in the U.S. may not develop upon completion of this offering or, if it does develop, it may not be sustainable given the limited number of ordinary shares being issued in this offering. The initial public offering price for our ordinary shares will be determined through negotiations with the underwriter, and the negotiated price may not be indicative of the market price of the ordinary shares after this offering. This initial public offering price will vary from the market price of our ordinary shares after the offering. As a result of these and other factors, you may be unable to resell your ordinary shares at or above the initial public offering price.

 

The following factors, in addition to other risks described in this prospectus, may have a significant effect on the market price of our ordinary shares:

 

  variations in our operating results;
     
  actual or anticipated changes in the estimates of our operating results;
     
  changes in stock market analyst recommendations regarding our ordinary shares, other comparable companies or our industry generally;
     
 

macro-economic conditions in the numerous countries in which we do business;

     
  currency exchange fluctuations and the denominations in which we conduct business and hold our cash reserves;
     
  market conditions in our industry, the industries of our customers and the economy as a whole;
     
  actual or expected changes in our growth rates or our competitors’ growth rates;
     
  changes in the market valuation of similar companies;
     
  the trading volume of our shares on The Nasdaq Capital Market;
     
  sales of our ordinary shares by us or our shareholders; and
     
  the adoption or modification of regulations, policies, procedures or programs applicable to our business.

 

  30  

 

 

In addition, if the market for technology stocks or the stock market in general experiences a loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or operating results. The trading price of our ordinary shares might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry, even if these events do not directly affect us. Each of these factors, among others, could harm the value of your investment in our ordinary shares. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

As a new investor, you will experience dilution as a result of this offering.

 

The public offering price per ordinary share will be higher than the net tangible book value per ordinary share prior to the offering. Consequently, if you purchase ordinary shares in this offering at an assumed public offering price of $7.50 per ordinary share, you will incur immediate dilution of $5.77 per ordinary share, based on our capitalization as of December 31, 2019. For further information regarding the dilution of our ordinary shares, please see the section entitled “Dilution.” In addition, you may experience further dilution if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option.

 

Our management will have broad discretion over the use and investment of the net proceeds we receive in this offering and might not apply the proceeds in ways that increase the value of your investment.

 

Our management will have broad discretion over the use and investment of the net proceeds from this offering, and you will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of these net proceeds. Our management intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes. Pending this use, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term bank deposits or interest-bearing, investment-grade securities. Our management might not be able to yield a significant return, if any, on any investment of these net proceeds. You will not have the opportunity to influence our decisions on how the net proceeds from this offering are used. If the banking system or the fixed income, credit or equity markets deteriorate or remain volatile, our investment portfolio may be impacted, and the values and liquidity of our investments could be adversely affected.

 

We may need to raise additional funds to support our business operations or to finance future acquisitions, including through the issuance of equity or debt securities, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to grow our business.

 

If we do not generate sufficient cash from operations or do not otherwise have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to support our business operations or to finance future acquisitions, we may need raise addition capital through the issuance of debt or equity securities. We do not have any arrangements for any credit facility, or any other sources of capital. We may not be able to raise cash in future financing on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

 

Financings, if available, may be on terms that are dilutive to our shareholders, and the prices at which new investors would be willing to purchase our securities may be lower than the current price of our ordinary shares. The holders of new securities may also receive rights, preferences or privileges that are senior to those of existing holders of our ordinary shares. If new sources of financing are required but are insufficient or unavailable, we would be required to modify our plans to the extent of available funding, which could harm our ability to grow our business.

 

  31  

 

 

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company in the United States and our management expects to devote substantial time to public company compliance programs.

 

As a public company in the United States, we will incur significant legal, insurance, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as an AIM listed company on the London Stock Exchange. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Nasdaq Capital Market listing requirements and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on U.S. public companies. Our management and administrative staff will need to devote a substantial amount of time to compliance with these requirements.

 

We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment will result in increased general and administrative expenses and may divert management’s time and attention away from product development and other commercial activities. If for any reason our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.

 

In connection with this offering, we intend to obtain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance coverage, which will increase our insurance cost. In the future, it may be more expensive for us to obtain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified executive officers and qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee.

 

We are not currently required to comply with the SEC’s rules that implement Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and are therefore not yet required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. Upon becoming a public company, we will be required to comply with certain of these rules, which will require management to certify financial and other information in our annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting commencing with our second annual report. This assessment will need to include the disclosure of any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting identified by our management or our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we will be engaged in a costly and challenging process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting. We will also need to continue to improve our control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that our controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for our internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404.

 

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control of our financial reporting as of December 31, 2019. See the risk factor entitled “We identified a material weakness…” above. Any material weakness could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our consolidated financial statements. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until the later of our second annual report or the first annual report required to be filed with the SEC following the date we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. We cannot assure you that there will not be additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls in the future.

 

Certain of our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders will continue to have significant influence over matters subject to shareholder approval.

 

The Smurfit family has a substantial ownership stake and management control over our Company and will continue to do so after the offering. Sir Michael Smurfit Sr. is our largest stockholder. His son, Michael Smurfit Jr. is also a significant stockholder and is a member of our Board of Directors. Our Chief Executive Officer, Dermot S. Smurfit, is a nephew of Michael Smurfit Sr. and a first cousin of Michael Smurfit Jr. The Smurfit family beneficially owned approximately 27.4% of our outstanding ordinary shares as of March 31, 2020, and we expect that, upon completion of this offering, that same group will beneficially own at least 20.4% of the combined total of our outstanding ordinary shares after the offering, assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option.

 

There is no formal arrangement among the members of the Smurfit family with respect to the voting or disposition of their ordinary shares. However, they comprise two of the five positions on our Board of Directors. In addition, if they act together, they will be able to exercise influence over all matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of corporate transactions, such as a merger or sale of our Company or its assets, for the foreseeable future. This concentration of ownership could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in our control or otherwise discouraging a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on the market value of our ordinary shares. For information regarding the ownership of our outstanding ordinary shares by our executive officers and directors and their affiliates, please see the section entitled “Principal Shareholders.”

 

  32  

 

 

Risks related to our Ordinary Shares

 

Ownership in our ordinary shares is restricted by gaming laws and our bye-laws, and persons found “unsuitable” may be required to dispose of their shares.

 

Gaming authorities have the right to investigate any individual or entity having a relationship to, or involvement with, our Company or any of its subsidiaries, to determine whether such individual or entity is suitable as a business associate of the Company. Many jurisdictions also require any person who acquires beneficial ownership of more than a certain percentage of voting securities of a gaming company and, in some jurisdictions, non-voting securities, sometimes 5%, to report the acquisition to gaming authorities, and gaming authorities may require such holders to apply for qualification or a finding of suitability, subject to limited exceptions for “institutional investors” that hold a company’s voting securities for investment purposes only.

 

Gaming authorities have very broad discretion in determining whether an applicant should be deemed suitable. Subject to certain administrative proceeding requirements, the gaming regulators have the authority to deny any application or limit, condition, restrict, revoke or suspend any license, registration, finding of suitability or approval, or fine any person licensed, registered or found suitable or approved, for any cause deemed reasonable by the gaming authorities.

 

Any person found unsuitable by a gaming authority may not hold directly or indirectly ownership of any voting security or the beneficial or record ownership of any nonvoting security or any debt security of any public corporation which is registered with the relevant gaming authority beyond the time prescribed by the relevant gaming authority.

 

Our bye-laws include certain provisions to ensure that we comply with applicable gaming laws. These provisions provide, among other things, that our Board of Directors has the right to cause a forced sale of the ordinary shares held by an unsuitable person. Any such forced sale may negatively affect the trading price of our ordinary shares and may negatively affect the liquidity of the ordinary shares.

 

We do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

We do not currently pay dividends and do not anticipate paying any dividends for the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors, subject to compliance with applicable laws and covenants under any future credit facility, which may restrict or limit our ability to pay dividends. Payment of dividends will depend on our financial condition, operating results, capital requirements, general business conditions and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant at that time. Unless and until we declare and pay dividends, any return on your investment will only occur if our share price appreciates.

 

We are a Bermuda company and it may be difficult for you to enforce judgments against us or certain of our directors or officers.

 

We are a Bermuda exempted company. As a result, the rights of holders of our ordinary shares will be governed by Bermuda law and our memorandum of association and bye-laws. The rights of shareholders under Bermuda law may differ from the rights of shareholders of companies incorporated in other jurisdictions. Bermuda legislation regarding companies is largely based on English corporate law principles. However, there can be no assurance that Bermuda law will not change in the future or that it will serve to protect investors in a similar fashion afforded under corporate law principles in the U.S., which could adversely affect the rights of investors. Most of our directors and some of the named experts referred to in this prospectus are not residents of the U.S., and a substantial portion of our assets are located outside the U.S. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process on those persons in the U.S. or to enforce in the U.S. judgments obtained in U.S. courts against us or those persons based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws. We have been advised by our special Bermuda counsel that uncertainty exists as to whether courts in Bermuda will enforce judgments obtained in other jurisdictions, including the U.S., or entertain action in Bermuda against us or our directors or officers.

 

Furthermore, we have been advised by our special Bermuda counsel that Bermuda courts will not recognize or give effect to U.S. federal securities laws that such Bermuda courts consider to be procedural in nature, are revenue or penal laws or the application of which would be inconsistent with public policy in Bermuda. Certain remedies available under the laws of U.S. jurisdictions, including certain remedies under U.S. federal securities laws, will not be recognized or given effect to in any action brought before a court of competent jurisdiction in Bermuda where the application of such remedies would be inconsistent with public policy in Bermuda. Further, no claim may be brought in Bermuda against us or our directors and officers in the first instance for violations of U.S. federal securities laws because those laws do not have the force of law in Bermuda. A Bermuda court may, however, impose civil liability on us or our directors and officers if the facts alleged in a complaint constitute or give rise to a cause of action under Bermuda law.

 

Shareholders of a Bermuda company may have a cause of action against us or our directors for breach of any duty in the bye-laws or any shareholders’ agreement owed personally by us to the shareholder. Directors of a Bermuda company may be liable to the company for breach of their duties as directors to the company under the Bermuda Companies Act, and under common law. Such actions must, as a general rule, be brought by the company. Where the directors have carried on an act which is ultra vires or illegal, then the shareholder has the right, with leave of the court, to bring a derivative action to sue the directors on behalf of the company with any damages awarded going to the company itself. Shareholders are also able to take action against a company if the affairs of the company are being conducted in a manner which is oppressive or unfairly prejudicial to the shareholders or some number of them, and to seek either a winding-up order or an alternative remedy if a winding-up order would be unfairly prejudicial to them.

 

Our bye-laws restrict shareholders from bringing legal action against our officers and directors.

 

Our bye-laws that are to be effective upon completion of the Share Exchange contain a broad waiver by our shareholders of any claim or right of action, both individually and on our behalf, against any of our officers or directors. The waiver applies to any action taken by an officer or director, or the failure of an officer or director to take any action, in the performance of his or her duties, except with respect to any matter involving any fraud or dishonesty on the part of the officer or director or any claims of violations of the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 the waiver of which would be prohibited by Section 14 of the Securities Act and Section 29(a) of the Exchange Act. This waiver limits the right of shareholders to assert claims against our officers and directors unless the act or failure to act involves fraud or dishonesty.

 

  33  

 

 

We have provisions in our bye-laws that may discourage a change of control.

 

Our bye-laws that are to be effective upon completion of the Share Exchange contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without the consent of our Board of Directors. These provisions include, among others:

 

  restrictions on the time period in which directors may be nominated;
     
  the prohibition of cumulative voting in the election of directors;
     
  the requirement for shareholders wishing to propose a person for election as a director (other than persons proposed by our Board of Directors) to give advance written notice of nominations for the election of directors; and
     
  certain provisions to ensure that we comply with applicable gaming laws, which provide, among other things, that our Board of Directors has the right to cause a forced sale of the ordinary shares held by an “unsuitable” person (see the risk factor above entitled “Ownership in our ordinary shares is restricted by gaming laws and our bye-laws, and persons found “unsuitable” may be required to dispose of their shares”).

 

These provisions could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if the third party’s offer may be considered beneficial by many shareholders. As a result, shareholders may be limited in their ability to obtain a premium for their shares. See “Description of Share Capital.”

 

U.S. Holders of our ordinary shares could be subject to material adverse tax consequences if we are considered a Passive Foreign Investment Company for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

There is a risk that we will be classified as a Passive Foreign Investment Company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Our status as a PFIC could result in a reduction in the after-tax return to U.S. Holders (as defined below under “Tax Considerations—United States Tax Consequences”) of our ordinary shares and may cause a reduction in the value of our ordinary shares. A corporation is classified as a PFIC for any taxable year in which either (i) at least 75% of its gross income is “passive income” or (ii) at least 50% of the average quarterly value of all its assets consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income. For this purpose, passive income generally includes among other things, dividends, interest, certain rents and royalties, annuities, certain gains from the sale of stock and securities, and certain gains from commodities transactions.

 

Based on the projected composition of our income and valuation of our assets, we do not believe we were a PFIC in any previous taxable year, and we do not expect to become a PFIC in the foreseeable future, although there can be no assurance in this regard. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service or a U.S. court could determine that we are or were a PFIC in any past, current, or future taxable years. The determination of whether we are a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis applying principles and methodologies which in some circumstances are unclear and subject to varying interpretation. If we were classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders of our ordinary shares could be subject to greater U.S. income tax liability than might otherwise apply, imposition of U.S. income tax in advance of when tax would otherwise apply and detailed tax filing requirements that would not otherwise apply. The PFIC rules are complex and a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to it in its particular circumstances. See “Tax Considerations—United States Taxation Consequences—Taxation of U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company”.

 

  34  

 

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This prospectus, including the sections entitled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business,” contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current expectations and views of future events. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “should,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to our goals and strategies, our competitive strengths, our expectations and targets for our results of operations, our business prospects and our expansion strategy. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this prospectus, we caution you that these statements are based on our projections of the future that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, to differ.

 

The forward-looking statements included in the prospectus are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about our Company. Our actual results of operations may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors described under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus, including, among other things:

 

  our ability to successfully meet anticipated revenue levels from sales of our software licenses;
     
  our ability to successfully develop, market or sell new products or adopt new technology platforms;
     
  our ability to continue to grow through acquisitions or investments in other companies or technologies;
     
  our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of our consummated acquisitions or investments in other companies;
     
 

risks related to the continued uncertainty in the global financial markets and unfavorable global economic conditions; including as a result of the global outbreak of the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic;

     
  our installed customer base continuing to license additional products, renew maintenance agreements and purchase additional professional services;
     
  our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel;
     
  our ability to adequately manage our growth;
     
  risks related to competition;
     
  our ability to maintain good relations with our channel partners;
     
  risks associated with our international operations and fluctuations in currency values;
     
  risks related to unanticipated performance problems or bugs in our software product offerings; and 
     
  our ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights.

 

These risks are not exhaustive. Other sections of this prospectus include additional factors that could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment and new risk factors emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

 

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this prospectus. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus. We do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless the securities laws require us to do so.

 

  35  

 

 

CORPORATE STRUCTURE

 

We began operations in the U.K. in 2002. Since that time, our business and corporate structure has evolved to include GAN plc, as the parent corporation, with operating subsidiaries in Alderney, Bulgaria, Israel, the U.K. and the U.S. Commencing in December 2019, we began the process to restructure the Company under a new holding company, GAN Limited, in anticipation of an initial public offering in the United States (the “Reorganization”).

 

GAN plc is currently organized as a public limited company under the laws of England and Wales. Under English law, it is not possible to change the place of incorporation of GAN plc from one jurisdiction to another, requiring us to complete the Reorganization by establishing GAN Limited separately, and then affecting the Share Exchange (described below) to establish GAN Limited as the new parent company of GAN plc. The principal steps in the Reorganization are described below.

 

We established GAN Limited in Bermuda to act as the new parent company. GAN Limited was incorporated solely for this purpose on December 13, 2019. Prior to the Share Exchange and this offering, GAN Limited has had nominal assets and has had no historic operations.

 

The establishment of GAN Limited as the new parent company of GAN plc will be achieved through a statutory scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the U.K. Companies Act of 2006, pursuant to which the shareholders of GAN plc have agreed to exchange their ordinary shares in GAN plc for (i) the issuance of ordinary shares in GAN Limited and (ii) an aggregate amount of £2 million cash consideration to be paid on a pro rata basis to each shareholder of GAN plc in relation to their respective shareholdings in GAN plc (“Cash Consideration”).

 

GAN Limited is securing the Cash Consideration through loans from Dermot S. Smurfit, the Company’s chief executive officer, and his father, Dermot F. Smurfit. The loans are unsecured and bear interest at 15% per annum subject to minimum interest fees of £300,000 in the aggregate. The loans are expected to be repaid in full promptly following the Reorganization from existing cash resources of GAN plc.

 

The scheme of arrangement provides for one ordinary share of GAN Limited to be issued in exchange for every four ordinary shares of GAN plc (together with the Cash Consideration, the “Share Exchange”). No fractional shares will be issued, and holders will receive cash in lieu of any fractional share.

 

In connection with the Share Exchange and this offering, outstanding options to purchase ordinary shares of GAN plc will be automatically converted into options to purchase ordinary shares of GAN Limited, subject to adjustment of the exercise price and the number of shares underlying the option based on the capital consolidation effected through the Share Exchange.

 

The Share Exchange requires the approval of the shareholders of GAN plc and the sanction of the English courts, although it only becomes effective when a copy of the order of the court approving the Share Exchange is delivered to the registrar of companies in England for registration. GAN plc and GAN Limited have agreed to be bound by the Share Exchange and to do what is necessary to facilitate its implementation. The approval of the shareholders of GAN plc and the sanction of the court will have been obtained and the directors of GAN plc will proceed to deliver the court order sanctioning the Share Exchange to the registrar of companies in England immediately prior to the closing of this offering.

 

Pursuant to the above Reorganization steps and subject to the Share Exchange becoming effective, and prior to the closing of this offering, GAN plc will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAN Limited. The Share Exchange will have no effect on the manner in which our business is currently conducted through GAN Plc and its subsidiaries and GAN Limited will operate purely as an equity holding company following the Share Exchange.

 

  36  

 

 

Following the Reorganization and Share Exchange, and at the same time as the consummation of this offering, our corporate structure will be as follows:

 

 

  37  

 

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering (based on the midpoint of the price range on the cover page of this prospectus), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, and the estimated offering expenses payable by us, will be approximately $42.0 million (or approximately $48.7 million if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), assuming an initial offering price of $7.50 per ordinary share.

 

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $7.50 per ordinary share would increase (decrease) the net proceeds from this offering by $5.9 million, assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option and no other change to the number of ordinary shares offered as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. An increase (decrease) of 100,000 in the number of ordinary shares offered by us would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us by $0.7 million.

 

We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including sales and marketing activities, product development and capital expenditures.

 

In addition, we may use a portion of net proceeds of this offering to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, services, technologies or intellectual property rights. However, we do not have any agreements or commitments with respect to any such acquisitions or investments at this time.

 

Pending our use of the net proceeds as described above, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term bank deposits or interest-bearing, investment-grade securities.

 

The foregoing represents our current intentions with respect to the use and allocation of the net proceeds of this offering based upon our present plans and business conditions, but our management will have significant flexibility and discretion in applying the net proceeds. The occurrence of unforeseen events or changed business conditions could result in the application of the net proceeds of this offering in a manner other than as described above.

 

The principal reasons for the offering are to provide the working capital necessary to support our continued product development efforts, strengthen and extend our operating systems, and support our growth strategy. We also intend for the offering to create a more robust public market for our shares, increasing opportunities for us to access capital, while enhancing value and liquidity for the benefit of all shareholders.

 

  38  

 

 

DIVIDENDS AND DIVIDEND POLICY

 

Our Board of Directors has discretion as to whether we will pay dividends in the future, subject to restrictions under the Bermuda Companies Act and in accordance with our bye-laws. Under the Bermuda Companies Act, we may not declare or pay dividends if there are reasonable grounds for believing that either we are, or would after the payment be, unable to pay our liabilities as they become due, or that the realizable value of our assets would thereby be less than our liabilities. See “Description of Share Capital.”

 

We do not currently pay dividends. Accordingly, we may, but do not anticipate, declaring or paying any dividends for the foreseeable future.

 

  39  

 

 

CAPITALIZATION

 

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of December 31, 2019:

 

  on an actual historic basis for GAN plc;
     
  on a pro forma basis to give effect to the Share Exchange and Reorganization into GAN Limited, including the borrowing of £2 million ($2.6 million based on the exchange rate on December 31, 2019), as disclosed more fully under “Corporate Structure”; and
     
  on a pro forma, as adjusted, basis to give effect to the issuance and sale by us of 6,380,000 ordinary shares in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $7.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range listed on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us and the repayment of the borrowing of £2 million and related interest thereon.

 

The pro forma, as adjusted information is illustrative only, and our capitalization following the closing of this offering will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at the time of pricing. You should read the information in this table together with “Use of Proceeds,” our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this prospectus and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section, and other financial information contained elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

    As at December 31, 2019(1)  
   

GAN plc

Actual

   

GAN Limited

Pro Forma
(unaudited)(1)

   

GAN Limited

Pro Forma, As Adjusted

(unaudited)(2)

 
    (In thousands, except share data)  
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 10,098     $ 10,098       49,135  
                         
Related party loan, current and non-current             2,641          
Lease liabilities, current and non-current     1,227       1,227       1,227  
Equity:                        
Share Capital     1,280       215       271  
Share premium account     38,558       36,982       78,889  
Foreign exchange translation reserve     (1,887 )     (1,887 )     (1,887 )
Accumulated deficit     (22,849 )     (22,849 )     (23,782 )
Total equity     15,102       12,461       53,490  
Total capitalization     16,329       16,329       54,717  

 

(1) GAN Limited Pro Forma reflects the consummation of the Share Exchange and Reorganization as of December 31, 2019. Pursuant to the Share Exchange, four ordinary shares of GAN plc will be exchanged for one ordinary share of GAN Limited, thereby reducing the share capital amount to $215 thousand. The exchange also includes a pro rata portion of £2 million aggregate cash consideration, noted as $2.6 million related party loan in the table above. Resulting from the exchange, the adjusted value of GAN Limited’s Pro Forma share premium is $37.0 million, a net reduction of $1.6 million. The Share Exchange and Reorganization will take effect prior to the closing of this offering.
(2) GAN Limited Pro Forma As Adjusted reflects the GAN Limited Pro Forma adjustment and the sale of 6,380,000 GAN Limited ordinary shares in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $7.50 per share (which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions, estimated offering expenses and interest on the related party loan payable by us.

 

  40  

 

 

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $7.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the amount of our pro forma, as adjusted, cash and cash equivalents, equity attributable to equity holders and total capitalization by $5.9 million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. An increase or decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma, as adjusted, cash and cash equivalents, equity attributable to equity holders and total capitalization by approximately $7.0 million, assuming that the assumed initial offering price remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated operating expenses payable by us.

 

If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ordinary shares is exercised in full, the pro forma, as adjusted, amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, equity attributable to equity holders, and total capitalization would be $55.8 million, $60.2 million and $61.4 million, respectively, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated operating expenses payable by us.

 

The number of ordinary shares shown above that will be issued and outstanding is based on ordinary shares of GAN plc outstanding as of December 31, 2019, adjusted to reflect the exchange of all outstanding ordinary shares of GAN plc into ordinary shares of GAN Limited at a ratio of four ordinary shares of GAN plc for each ordinary share of GAN Limited as part of the Share Exchange and Reorganization, excluding:

 

  2,739,938 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of stock options outstanding as of December 31, 2019, at a weighted average exercise price of 203.10 pence per share ($2.68 based on the exchange rate on December 31, 2019).

 

  41  

 

 

DILUTION

 

If you invest in our ordinary shares in this offering, your ownership interest will be immediately diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our ordinary shares and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our ordinary shares after this offering. Dilution results from the fact that the initial public offering price per share is substantially in excess of the net tangible book value per share attributable to the existing shareholders for the presently outstanding ordinary shares.

 

Net tangible book value per share represents, at any date, our total tangible assets (total assets less intangible assets) less total liabilities divided by the total number of ordinary shares outstanding as of such date. As of December 31, 2019, our pro forma net tangible book value was $6.9 million, or $0.32 per ordinary share, after giving effect to the Share Exchange and Reorganization and the borrowing of $2.6 to finance the Cash Consideration component thereof and related interest thereon.

 

Our pro forma net tangible book value as of December 31, 2019 would have been $48.3 million, or $1.73 per ordinary share, after giving effect to this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $7.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. This represents an immediate increase in pro forma, as adjusted, net tangible book value of $1.41 per share to existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in pro forma, as adjusted, net tangible book value of $5.77 per share to investors purchasing ordinary shares in this offering. The following table illustrates this per share dilution:

 

Assumed initial public offering price per share           $ 7.50  
Pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share as of December 31, 2019   $ 0.32          
Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors in this offering    

1.41

         
Pro forma, as adjusted, net tangible book value per share immediately after this offering           $ 1.73  
                 
Dilution in pro forma, as adjusted, net tangible book value per ordinary share to new investors in this offering           $

5.77

 

 

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $7.50 per share (which is the midpoint of the offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma, as adjusted, net tangible book value per share to new investors by $5.9 million, and would increase or decrease, as applicable, dilution per share to new investors in this offering by $0.21, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

Similarly, each increase or decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma, as adjusted, net tangible book value by $0.18 per share and increase or decrease, as applicable, the dilution to new investors by $0.18 per share, assuming the assumed initial public offering price remains the same, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The pro forma information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering to be determined at pricing.

 

If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full in this offering, the pro forma, as adjusted, net tangible book value after the offering would be $1.91 per share, the increase in pro forma, as adjusted, net tangible book value per share to existing shareholders would be $1.59 and the dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors would be $5.59 per share, in each case assuming an initial public offering price of $7.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

 

  42  

 

 

The following table shows, as of December 31, 2019, on the pro forma, as adjusted, basis described above, the difference between existing shareholders and new investors with respect to the number of shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid to us and the average price paid per share by existing shareholders and by investors purchasing shares in this offering (assuming an initial offering price of $7.50 per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us:

 

    Shares Purchased     Total Consideration     Average Price
Per Share
 
    Number     Percent     Amount     Percent        
    (in thousands, except shares or percentages)  
Existing shareholders     21,496,059       77.1 %   $ 37,197       43.7 %   $ 1.73  
New investors     6,380,000       22.9       47,850       56.3       7.50  
Total     27,876,059       100.0 %   $ 85,047       100.0 %     3.05  

 

If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares:

 

  the percentage of shares held by existing shareholders will decrease to approximately 74.6% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding after this offering; and
     
  the number of shares held by new investors will increase to 7,337,000, or approximately 25.4% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding after this offering, in each case assuming the shares are offered at $7.50 per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

 

The table and discussion above is based upon 21,367,948 ordinary shares of GAN plc outstanding as of December 31, 2019, adjusted to reflect the exchange of all outstanding ordinary shares of GAN plc into ordinary shares of GAN Limited at a ratio of four ordinary shares of GAN plc for each ordinary share of GAN Limited as part of the Share Exchange and Reorganization (without any adjustments based on fractional shares), excluding:

 

  2,739,938 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of stock options outstanding as of December 31, 2019, at a weighted average exercise price of 203.10 pence per share ($2.68 based on the exchange rate on December 31, 2019).

 

To the extent any of our outstanding options are exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors. The above table assumes that none of our existing shareholders will purchase ordinary shares in this offering. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital because of market conditions or strategic conditions, even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. If we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our shareholders.

 

  43  

 

 

SELECTED HISTORICAL CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

 

The following tables set forth our selected consolidated financial data for the years indicated. We have derived the consolidated statement of comprehensive income data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the consolidated statement of financial position data as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that should be expected for any future period. You should read the following summary consolidated financial data together with the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and the sections titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

 

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS. We report our financial results in U.S. Dollars.

 

    Year Ended December 31,
    2019   2018
    in thousands, except share and per share data
Consolidated statements of comprehensive income data:        
Revenue   $ 29,971     $ 14,023  
Cost of revenue     11,356       11,894  
Impairment of intangible assets     626        
Gross profit     17,989       2,129  
Administrative expenses     15,091       10,230  
Impairment of trade receivables     424       95  
Operating income/(loss)     2,474       (8,196 )
Net finance costs     112       440  
Income/(loss) before taxes     2,362       (8,636 )
Income tax (expense)/benefit     (574 )     934  
Income/(loss) for the year attributable to equity holders     1,788       (7,702 )
Other comprehensive income/(loss)                
Items not to be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:                
Exchange difference on translating foreign currencies     385       817  
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the year attributable to the equity holders of the Company:     2,173       (6,885 )
Per share data:                
Net income/(loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic (1)     0.02       (0.10 )
Net income/(loss) per share attributable to ordinary shareholders, diluted (1)     0.02       (0.10 )
Weighted average shares used in computing net income/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders, basic (1)     85,471,792       78,586,012  
Weighted average shares used in computing net income/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders, diluted (1)     93,681,445       78,586,012  

 

  44  

 

 

    As at December 31,  
    2019     2018  
    in thousands  
Consolidated statements of financial position data:                
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 10,098     $ 6,967  
Working capital (2)     8,777       4,113  
Intangible assets     5,164       6,755  
Total assets     26,112       22,613  
Total non-current liabilities     535       980  
Total liabilities     11,010       10,648  
Total equity     15,102       11,965  

 

(1) Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders is computed based on the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during each period. For additional information, see Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
(2) Working capital is defined as total current assets minus total current liabilities.

 

  45  

 

 

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto and other financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this prospectus, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should review the “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” sections of this prospectus for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.

 

Overview

 

GAN is an award-winning provider of enterprise software solutions designed to accelerate the casino industry’s digital transformation towards internet casino gambling and online sports betting.

 

We began our operations in Europe and have deployed our solutions in the U.K., Italy, and Australia. However, over the past several years we have had an emphasis on supporting land-based commercial and tribal casinos in the U.S. with their online sports betting and real money gambling operating in the U.S. On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United Sates overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”), which since 1992 had prevented U.S. states, aside from Nevada, Delaware and Oregon from engaging in the regulation and taxation of sports betting activities at the intrastate level. The ruling paved the way for states to elect individually whether to allow for regulated sports betting and, by extension, real money iGaming within their borders. Between May 14, 2018 and December 31, 2019, 18 U.S. states passed laws legalizing some form of retail and/or online sports betting. 10 of these 18 states also legalized real money online sports betting. As a result of that change we began supporting real money iGaming operations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 2018 and in Indiana in 2019. We are actively targeting expansion into additional states as they adopt regulations around legalized sports betting and real money iGaming.

 

Our GameSTACK platform and related managed services are geared towards casino operators. We also market our platform technology to gaming ecosystem partners, such as online sportsbooks and gaming content developers, who provide us with an indirect channel into casino operators. Our software platform enables our customers to rapidly setup and launch an internet gaming and/or sports betting business by publishing websites and mobile apps to end user residents in these highly regulated markets, each of which have their own technology requirements driven by state specific regulation. Importantly, our GameSTACK platform, adheres to stringent regulatory mandates, giving our customers peace of mind when deploying real money internet gambling properties.

 

We offer our solutions in three primary product groupings: GameSTACK platform for real money iGaming, GameSTACK platform for simulated iGaming and the GameSTACK platform for distributing gaming content. Each product offering requires technical infrastructure which we provide either as a custom deployment dedicated to an individual customer’s requirements and business activity or as a managed multi-customer solution.

 

The principal customers for our real money iGaming solutions are retail casino operators who require a regulated and complete technology solution provider for setting up, launching and operating an internet gambling business representing incremental and complementary revenues to their existing retail gaming business. Within our customers’ organizations, their marketing, financial and operational departments rely on GAN’s software-based tools, reporting systems and other back office features of our software platform in order to operate their internet gambling business. From the perspective of an individual player, our software enables them to create a regulated internet gambling account online, to have their credentials properly validated in order to activate their account, to deposit money into their account and proceed to gamble that money on any content published by the Company on the relevant customer’s website or mobile app. Content might comprise a casino game such as roulette, blackjack or a casino slot machine game. Content might also comprise a myriad of sporting events on which the diverse outcomes can be wagered on.

 

For simulated iGaming implementations, we design the casino operator’s mobile application and website with a branded experience that is consistent with the casino operator’s brand and market positioning and streamlines player registration and account funding. We generally host our customers’ simulated iGaming operations on a combination of proprietary and cloud servers. GameSTACK features a gaming content engine that serves both internally developed slot and table games as well as third-party gaming content via an abstraction layer. Simulated iGaming deployments of GameSTACK allow casino operators to put their offers, games and unique brand experience in their players’ hands around the clock. GameSTACK incorporates our proprietary iSight Back Office tool (“iSight”), which captures online player activity, giving marketers the equivalent visibility of 100% rated play.

 

  46  

 

 

At the end of 2018, we entered into a binding agreement to license our strategic U.S. patent to a major U.S. Internet gambling operator and their affiliated land-based U.S. casino group. This patent governs the linkage of on-property reward cards to their counterpart Internet gambling accounts together with bilateral transmission of reward points between the Internet gambling technology system and the land-based casino management system present in all U.S. casino properties. In addition, the agreement included an extension for the provision of additional services in New Jersey, West Virginia and Pennsylvania together with an option over additional services in additional U.S. States. Revenue is recognized based on the allocated consideration as services are performed, or when the patent is transferred.

 

In addition, we sell hardware appliances upon which the GameSTACK software platform is pre-installed. GAN will source the hardware and obtain control while we pre-install the required software on the physical computing servers and other technical devices. GAN will charge the customer on a cost-plus basis as they take control of the hardware and the related risk, acting as the principle in the agreement. Revenue is recognized whenever control transfers to the customer which will vary on a case-by-case basis.

 

We also sell support, development and maintenance services for software and hardware systems. Support and maintenance service agreements consist of fees for providing software updates when and if available and for providing technical support for software products for a specified term.

 

Components of Results of Operations

 

The following discussion summarizes our consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the periods indicated. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

  47  

 

 

Revenue

 

We provide platform and software services to our customers which are central to their real money and simulated iGaming operations. As part of supporting these customers, we also provide associated services including development of software, sale of hardware and licensing of patents used in these operations. We earn revenue through a number of different streams, including:

 

  - Online iGaming platform and software services
  - Development services
  - Hardware sales
  - Licensing

 

In respect of revenue share earned through our iGaming platform and software services, we record as revenue our share of the revenues generated by our customers’ use of our platform and software in their offering of real money iGaming and simulated iGaming to their players.

 

Other than where we license our patents to customers, the arrangements with customers do not provide the customer with the right to take possession or control of our IP at any time.

 

We set out below additional detail regarding how we recognize revenue for each of these revenue streams.

 

Online iGaming platform and software services

 

Real Money iGaming

 

GAN generates revenue through service agreements with customers, whereby our customers use our platform and software in operating their real money iGaming offerings. We record revenue using a usage-based model based on prescribed calculations of gambling activity detailed in our customer contracts, exclusive of our customer’s share of proceeds. In accordance with IFRS 15, the performance obligations within these real money gaming service agreements are identified where:

 

  a good or service (or a bundle of goods or services) is distinct; or
  a series of distinct goods or services that are substantially the same and that have the same pattern of transfer to the customer.

 

Our performance obligations are the platform services delivered to our customers. In certain instances, within real money iGaming, GAN’s performance obligations include the operation of real money gaming online sites directly to end users, on behalf of our customer.

 

Revenue for these services is recognized over time as the revenue share is earned. Where the consideration is variable over a longer period, revenue is only recognized when it is highly probable that there will not be a future reversal in the amount of revenue recognized.

 

Outside of this core activity, GAN also provides other services to its customers, such as marketing services, customer services and game content hosting. We generate revenue from these services based on fees charged pursuant to applicable contracts, which revenue is recognized over the time during which the services are provided.

 

Simulated iGaming

 

GAN provides simulated iGaming applications and associated services to its land-based casino operator customers. We record revenue using a usage-based model based on prescribed calculations of gambling activity detailed in our customer contracts, exclusive of our customer’s share of proceeds. The performance obligations within these service agreements, which are identified in the same way as described within real money iGaming above, are concluded to be the platform services in relation to simulated iGaming applications being provided to our land-based casino customers. Our customers generate the simulated iGaming revenue through these products by virtue of credits purchased by end users.

 

In accordance with IFRS 15, GAN recognizes revenue share from simulated iGaming applications over time as the revenue share is generated and associated services are performed. Associated services that GAN provides include customer services, payment services and marketing services for which GAN charge a fee, typically as a per month charge which we recognize over the time during which the services are provided.

 

Development services

 

Gaming Development Services

 

We generate revenue based on fees earned from development of games for use on GAN’s real money and simulated iGaming platforms. We recognize game development revenue when we have satisfied our performance obligations based on indicators of the transfer of control, typically the earlier of customer acceptance or upon receipt of certification of the game.

 

Platform Development Services

 

We generate revenue from platform development services based on fees earned from the provision of platform development and related services. Revenue from platform and other development services is recognized over time as we transfer control of the good or service and, accordingly, satisfy our performance obligation. In accordance with IFRS 15, the performance obligation is satisfied when one of the following criteria is met:

 

  the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits provided by the entity’s performance as the entity performs;
  the entity’s performance creates or enhances an asset that the customer controls as the asset is created or enhanced; or
  the entity’s performance does not create an asset with an alternative use to the entity and the entity has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date.

 

Our platform development services are provided to the customer over time and typically meet one or more of the above criteria for which we have an enforceable right to payment, billed at a daily rate, for performance completed to date.

 

Where revenue is recognized over time, we measure progress toward the completion of our performance obligations satisfied based on the nature of the services performed. For arrangements related to platform development, revenue is recognized over time and measured using an input method based on effort expended, measured using direct labor incurred in development. As the performance obligations in these instances relate to the provision of development services over time, this method best reflects the transfer of control as we meet our performance obligation. In contracts that require a portion of the consideration to be received in advance, at the commencement of the contract, such advance payment is initially recorded as a contract liability.

 

Hardware Sales

 

GAN earns revenue from the sale of hardware appliances upon which the GameSTACK software platform is pre-installed. GAN’s activities include pre-specification and sourcing of the hardware. We obtain control as we pre-install the required software on the physical computing servers and other technical devices. GAN acts as the principal under such arrangements because we take control of the hardware and the related risk. Revenue is recognized at the point in time where our performance obligation has been met, typically when control of the hardware transfers to the customer.

 

Licensing

 

GAN generates revenue from the license of our U.S. patent to a major U.S. internet gambling operator and their affiliated land-based U.S. casino group. We assess whether our license provides for:

 

  a right to access our intellectual property throughout the license period, which results in revenue that is recognized over time; or
  a right to use our intellectual property as it exists at the point in time in which the license is granted, which results in revenue that is recognized at a point in time.

 

We identified a performance obligation in line with the right to use the entity’s license, which was determined to be distinct, as it exists at the point in time in which the license is granted. The revenue is recorded upon grant of the license to the customer.

 

  48  

 

 

Cost of Revenue

 

Cost of revenue represent the costs of delivering the service to the customer and primarily consist of royalty expenses, amortization of intangible assets including development costs, marketing costs, and technology infrastructure all of which are recognized on an accrual basis. We incur royalty expenses paid to third parties for gaming content which are expensed as incurred. Royalty expenses are calculated in accordance with agreements on a monthly basis and are based on net gaming revenues. Marketing costs primarily consists of advertising expenses to attract new players and gamblers to the gaming provided on our platform. Marketing expenses are expensed as they are incurred.

 

We recorded impairment charges on our intangible assets of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, with no impairment recorded in the year ended December 31, 2018. The impairment loss relates to our U.K. B2C technology and services, which was internally developed to provide gaming directly to the customer and was impaired as of result of the anticipated termination of the collaboration agreement between the Company and the casino effective December 31, 2019. The impairment was recorded to the RMiG segment.

 

Operating expenses

 

Operating expenses consist primarily of staff expenses, including salaries, bonuses, and benefits, as well as corporate and professional expenses, director remuneration, depreciation expense, and share-based payment expenses all of which are recognized on an accrual basis, being expensed as incurred. Staff expenses primarily consists of employee compensation and benefits for functions such as office administrative, finance, accounting, legal, and human resources. Corporate and professional fees consist primarily of external accounting, consultancy, and legal fees. Director remuneration are those costs paid to the members of the Board of Directors.

 

Within operating expenses, we have recorded impairment changes on our trade receivables $0.4 million and $0.1 million in years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 respectively. This was the result of an agreement of one customer that experienced cash flow issues and management turnover in 2019 to which we agreed on a new contract that resulted in a write off of the related open receivable at the time.

 

Net Finance Costs

 

Net finance costs consist of interest paid on our lease liabilities, as well as the interest and prepayment penalties of our loan notes, which were due 2022 and were paid off in 2018.

 

Taxation

 

We are subject to income taxes in the U.K., U.S., Israel and Bulgaria. Due to the nature of our business, we have a recent history of generating losses, with the exception of the year ended December 31, 2019 in which we generated net income. As of December 31, 2019, and 2018, we had cumulative carryforward tax losses generated of $21.0 million and $24.4 million, with $20.1 million and $24.0 million of these losses being generated in the U.K. respectively. Subject to any relevant restrictions, we expect these to be available to carry forward and offset against future operating profits. As a company that carries out development activities, we benefit from the U.K. research and development small or medium-sized enterprise tax credit regime and are able to surrender some of our trading losses that arise from our research and development activities for a cash rebate of up to 33.35% of eligible research and development expenditure. If GAN were to no longer qualify as a small or medium-sized company, we may instead be eligible for a R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) under the UK large company regime, worth up to approximately 10% of the eligible research and development expenditure (after tax).

 

Foreign Currency

 

As part our results of operations, we consider the effect of foreign currency translation rates used by us that could affected the results presented in our consolidated financial statements. During 2019 and 2018, the foreign currency translation rate that has the greatest effect on our business is the GBP to USD rate. Refer to our analysis of this risk within Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements of GAN plc. For those financial statement line items where there is the greatest foreign currency risk, which during the years presented are cost of revenue and operating expenses, we have included that in our comparison of results herein.

 

Critical Accounting Estimates and Judgements

 

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with IFRS. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and related disclosures. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. Our estimates are based on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Our actual results could differ from these estimates. We review our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of the revisions and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

 

We believe that the following accounting policies involve the most complex judgments concerning assumptions and estimates with the greatest potential impact on our consolidated financial statements. Therefore, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies and estimates. For further information on all of our significant accounting policies, see the notes to our consolidated financial statements.

 

Revenue recognition

 

Agent vs Principal

 

GAN’s enterprise software platform service offerings include B2B iGaming and sportsbook, B2C iGaming and sportsbook and iGaming content licensing. In accordance with IFRS 15 we assess at the outset of each arrangement the nature of our performance obligation and whether we act as principal or agent for the delivery of services. In making this determination, the Company considers at the instance of each arrangement who owns the relationship with the end-user player as a key determinant in which party controls the goods or services being provided to the player.

 

In our commercial arrangements related to enterprise software platform services for B2B iGaming and sportsbook services, our performance obligation is limited to the provision of our software to our customer, the casino operator. The casino operator controls the URL for the online casino, controls its trademarks and branding, controls the gaming content and maintains ownership of the player database and loyalty programs related to players in the online casino. The casino operator is the licensed entity which is legally permitted to offer the real money iGaming to the players.

 

In these B2B arrangements we act a principal only for the services that we deliver to our customer the casino operator. Accordingly, we recognize as revenues only the payments that we receive from our customer for the provision of those services, including any amounts owed to us as a share of net gaming revenue generated from the customer’s online casino.

 

In one instance in 2019, we entered into an arrangement for B2C iGaming enterprise software platform services with a commercial partner customer, whereby GAN’s performance obligations include the operation of real money gaming online sites on behalf of such customer. Management has concluded that, under this arrangement, our commercial partner customer controls the relationship with the end-user players and owns the player database and that GAN acts as an agent for this commercial partner customer in providing services to end-user players. As such, in this instance of B2C iGaming enterprise software platform services we recognize revenue as the revenue we earn from our commercial partner customer rather than the revenues earned from end-user players. This is consistent with our principal revenue recognition for B2B iGaming and sportsbook as described above and is in line with our revenue recognition policy as described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.

 

Our real money and simulated iGaming and sportsbook enterprise software platform offerings include iGaming content licensing services. The GameSTACK platform is capable of supporting, and we make available to our customers, both proprietary and third-party licensed gaming content. Our casino operator customers generally control the determination of which gaming content will be offered in their online casinos.

 

Where a casino operator customer directs us to provide proprietary GAN gaming content, we act as principal in providing the content licensing services, recording the related revenue as gross. In accordance with IFRS 15 paragraph 31, where the casino operator customer directs us to procure third party gaming content, we are deemed to be the agent in providing the content licensing services, recording the corresponding revenue net of licensing costs paid to the owners that own the content.

 

We act as principal in a majority of its simulated iGaming and Italy-based real money iGaming content licensing service arrangements and is primarily agent in a majority of its US-based real money iGaming content licensing service arrangements.

 

Allocation of transaction price

 

For performance obligations that involve multiple products or services management allocates the transaction price to be applied to each performance obligation based on an estimation of the stand-alone selling price. This is a significant management estimate, impacting the revenue allocation to the performance obligation. In situations where the transaction price is based on a residual approach, the allocation would then impact the revenue recognized in the period. During the ended year 2019, we concluded that the license of our patent was at a transaction price of $4.0 million, with the remainder of the transaction price outlined in the contract being related to the other performance obligation of platform development services. Any changes in this conclusion could result in additional or less revenue being recognized during the year if a higher or lower portion of the transaction price is allocated to the patent license, respectively.

 

  49  

 

 

Share-Based Payments

 

Management measures equity settled share-based payments at fair value at the date of grant and expenses the cost on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, based upon management’s estimate of equity instruments that will eventually vest, along with a corresponding increase in equity. At each statement of financial position date, management revises its estimate of the number of equity instruments expected to vest as a result of the effect of non-market-based vesting conditions. The impact of the revision of the original estimates, if any, is recognized in profit or loss such that the cumulative expense reflects the revised estimate, with a corresponding adjustment to equity reserves.

 

The fair value of share options is determined using a Black Scholes model, taking into consideration management’s best estimate of the expected life of the option and the estimated number of shares that will eventually vest. The expected life used in the model has been adjusted, based on management’s best estimate, for the effects of non-transferability, exercise restrictions and behavioral considerations. Where existing share options are modified, the increase in fair value is spread over the remaining vesting period.

 

Capitalization and impairment of internally generated intangible assets

 

Management reviews expenditures, including wages and benefits for employees, incurred on development activities and based on their judgment of the costs incurred assesses whether the expenditure meets the capitalization criteria set out in IAS 38 and the intangible assets accounting policy within note 2 to the consolidated financial statements. Management specifically considers if additional expenditure on projects relates to maintenance or new development projects.

 

Management reviews their assets at each reporting period to determine whether there is any indication of impairment. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). To calculate the recoverable amount of the asset, management must make estimates related to future cash flows and discount rates that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.

 

If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash generating unit) is estimated to be less than it’s carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (cash generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognized as an expense immediately.

 

  50  

 

 

Useful life of capitalized development costs

 

The useful life of capitalized development costs is determined by management at the time the software is brought into use and is regularly reviewed for appropriateness. For unique software products controlled and developed by the Company, the life is based on historical experience with similar products as well as anticipation of future events, which may impact their useful economic life, such as changes in technology.

 

Taxation and indirect taxes

 

Deferred tax assets are recognized to the extent that it is probable future taxable profits will be available against which the temporary differences can be utilized. The key area of judgement is therefore an assessment of whether it is probable that there will be suitable taxable profits against which any deferred tax assets can be utilized. We operate in a number of international tax jurisdictions. Judgement is required in respect of the interpretation of state, federal and international tax law and practices as e-commerce and tax continues to evolve. We file our tax returns and duty calculations and estimate our tax and indirect tax provisions based on current tax rules and practices and our transfer pricing policy, together with advice received from professional advisors and believe that our accruals for tax liabilities are adequate.  Further details of our accounting policy in relation to deferred tax assets are discussed in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements.

 

Research and development tax relief is recognized as an asset once it is considered that there is sufficient assurance that any amount claimable will be received. The key judgement therefore arises in respect of the likelihood of a claim being successful when a claim has been quantified but has not been received. In making this judgement we consider the nature of the claim and in particular the track record of success of previous claims.

 

The Company is subject to income taxes in numerous jurisdictions and there are transactions for which the ultimate tax determination cannot be assessed with certainty in the ordinary course of business. The Company recognizes a provision for situations that might arise in the foreseeable future based on an assessment of the probabilities as to whether additional taxes will be due. An uncertain tax position is recognized as a benefit only if it is “more likely than not” that the tax position would be sustained in a tax examination, with a tax examination being presumed to occur. The amount recognized is the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized on examination. For tax positions not meeting the “more likely than not” test, no tax benefit is recorded. Penalties and interest incurred related to underpayment of income tax are classified as income tax expense in the period incurred.

 

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

 

In the fiscal years presented, we have adopted all of the new and revised standards and interpretations issued by the IASB and the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee of the IASB, as they have been adopted by the European Union, that are relevant to our operations and effective for accounting years beginning from January 1, 2019, including IFRIC 23, as detailed below:

 

On January 1, 2019, we adopted International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (“IFRIC”) Interpretation 23, Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments. We concluded that our current accounting policies for estimating uncertain tax positions is in line with IFRIC Interpretation 23. The impact on adoption did not have any material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

 

  51  

 

 

In addition to these adopted standards, we analyzed the following new and revised standards and interpretations issued by the IASB and the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee of the IASB, as they have been adopted by the European Union, and determined they had no effect on our Company nor are they relevant to its operations:

 

  Amendments to IFRS 9 - Financial Instruments - Prepayment Features with Negative Compensation
  Amendments to IAS 28 - Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures - Long-term Interest in Associates and Joint Ventures
  Amendments to IAS 19 - Employee Benefits - Plan Amendment, Curtailment or Settlement
  Annual Improvements to IFRS 2015 - 2017 Cycle

 

New Accounting Pronouncements not yet adopted

 

We do not anticipate that adoption of the following IFRSs will have a significant effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

 

Effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 2020:

 

  Amendments to References to the Conceptual Framework in IFRS Standards

 

Effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 2021:

 

  IFRS 17 – Insurance Contracts

 

  52  

 

 

Impact of COVID-19

 

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 is having a significant impact on most businesses globally including GAN and our casino operator customers.

 

The direct impact on our operations relates primarily to “shelter in place” or work from home orders that apply to employees across the geographies where we operate. By the nature of our business and international operations, our systems and employees are designed to support remote access and communication. We have implemented additional infrastructure and programs to ensure that our employees and contractors are safe and that our business operations continue to function seamlessly while our employees are working remotely. To date, we have not seen any adverse impact on the ability of our employees to continue to function and we have not identified any issues that would reasonably be expected to have an adverse impact on our users’ ability to access our product offerings.

 

The more significant impact on our business is the impact of the coronavirus on the operations of our customers. We derive most of our revenues under revenue share agreements with our customers and the coronavirus is impacting them differently:

 

  Real Money iGaming - Substantially all of our land-based casino customers have had to close their physical operations. In the short term, our iGaming platform and solutions offers casino operators an opportunity to stay in front of their gaming players and offers the gaming players a venue to continue gaming. Similarly, we are seeing increased interest from additional customers looking to implement an online presence. Longer term, our casino operator customers could face existential risks, if they are not able to re-establish some form of operations.

 

  o New Jersey. We recently analyzed the expected impact of current economic conditions, in light of the disruption caused by COVID-19, on RmiG in New Jersey, which state we view as a bellwether for U.S. Internet gambling. Prior to March 12, 2020, we expected the New Jersey Internet gambling market to generate $976 million in gross revenue in 2020, comprising $312 million from sports betting and $665 million from Internet gaming. As of the date of this prospectus, we believe that Internet gaming in New Jersey may increase by 2% to $677 million in gross revenue in 2020, to reflect the substitution effect as Internet sports bettors shift a proportion of their wallet into Internet gaming, which we have already experienced as an emerging trend. On the other hand, we believe that Internet sports betting in New Jersey may decline by 14% in 2020 from $312 million to $255 million, which we have already experienced as an emerging trend. The foregoing estimates assume the regular U.S. sports calendar substantially resumes in August 2020 and the 2020/2021 NFL Sports betting season commences in September 2020.
     
  o

Italy. In the Italian regulated Internet gambling market, we have experienced significant increases of betting activity by end user players. Following imposition of certain measures on February 23, 2020, 16.2% more online bets have been processed year-on-year via GAN’s technology platform in Italy during the subsequent 24 days. This trend continued from March 2020 into April 2020.

 

  53  

 

 

  Simulated iGaming – Our simulated iGaming business is not directly affected by the coronavirus.  However, the majority of our U.S. casino operator customers (all of which customers have been required to close their retail casino properties temporarily as of the date of this prospectus) have undertaken unprecedented marketing promotion of our SiG service in order to continue to engage and monetize their patrons online, while the retail gaming properties are closed. As a direct result, we have seen an acceleration of revenue among those customers, which we expect to drive growth in revenue, income attributable to equity holders and Adjusted EBITDA from SiG in 2020.
     
 

Sports Betting – Our sports betting customers are experiencing a disruption as a result of the suspension, postponement or cancellation of sports events and seasons. In the short-term, the NCAA college basketball tournament was cancelled and the fate of the NBA season is uncertain. This has reduced the amount of revenue that we would otherwise have derived from sports betting during the period. However, our sports betting business has historically been driven significantly by the NFL season. In addition, our sports betting customers are actively promoting and continuing to operate Daily Fantasy Sports. For example, FanDuel is currently running competitive Daily Fantasy Sports 'betting' on the performance of a simulated PGA golf tournament based on historical PGA golf tournaments and the historic performance of these past participating players. Despite the cessation of live sporting events in the U.S. the operators of Daily Fantasy Sports are capable of engineering their own virtual simulated sporting events, thereby continuing to engage the more recreational players of Daily Fantasy Sports. Based on those observations, we believe a number of our customers in the sports betting market will bolster their investments in real money and simulated iGaming, given the temporary limitations on sports betting.

 

Our management has considered potential adverse effects to the business such as our ability to retain and sign new customers, the ability of customers to continue operations and remit payable balances, or the risk that a shutdown of gaming regulators could slow or halt our operations. We reviewed public information on our largest customers and performed sensitivity analyses to determine what effects we would see if the customers halted operations and defaulted on payment. Based on that analysis, we believe that for the gaming sector, many operators have ample liquidity to last 2-3 quarters and, in some cases, in excess of a year.

 

The ultimate impact of COVID-19 on our financial and operating results is unknown and will depend on the length of time that these disruptions exist, including the global economic impact and possible long term disruptions in discretionary income and consumer spending, and the duration of any suspension in sports seasons and sporting events that would impact sports betting. On balance, even without a return of sports betting this year, we do not expect a long-term financial impact on our financial condition and results of operation. However, as noted in “Risk Factors — Risk Factors Relating to Our Business  — A reduction in discretionary consumer spending, from an economic downturn or disruption of financial markets or other factors, could have a negative impact on our financial performance” any significant or prolonged decrease in consumer spending on entertainment or leisure activities could adversely affect the demand for our offerings, reducing our cash flows and revenues, and thereby materially harming our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Recent Developments

 

Preliminary Estimates of Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 and Revenue Guidance for Fiscal Year 2020

 

We are in the process of finalizing our results for our fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020. Based on currently available information, we estimate that, for the first fiscal quarter:

 

  Total revenue will be in the range of approximately $7.5 to $8.0 million.
  Adjusted EBITDA will be in the range of approximately $1.8 to $2.2 million.
  Total cash balance will be approximately $6.0 million.

 

This unaudited preliminary financial information for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020 is based upon our estimates and subject to completion of our quarter end financial results. Moreover, this financial information has been prepared solely on the basis of currently available information by, and is the responsibility of, management. The unaudited preliminary financial information for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020 has not been reviewed or audited by our independent public accounting firm. This preliminary financial information is not a comprehensive statement of our financial results for this period, and our actual results may differ materially from these estimates due to the completion of our financial closing procedures, final adjustments, and other developments that may arise between now and the time the closing procedures for the fiscal quarter are completed. There can be no assurance that these estimates will be realized, and estimates are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are not within our control.

 

We have not provided an estimate for income/loss attributable to equity holders for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020, or a reconciliation of estimated Adjusted EBITDA to estimated income/loss attributable to equity holders, the most comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with IFRS, for such period. Income/loss attributable to equity holders includes the impact of interest expense, income tax benefit or expense, depreciation and amortization expense and certain other items that impact comparability between periods and the tax effect of such items, which may be significant and which we are unable to estimate at this time with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Accordingly, estimated income/loss available to equity holders for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020, and a reconciliation of estimated Adjusted EBITDA to estimated income/loss attributable to equity holders for such period, are not available without unreasonable effort.

 

For 2020, we expect revenue to be in the range of $37 million to $39 million. This estimate is based on our management’s assessment of existing and anticipated customer opportunities, evaluated on a contract by contract basis, and discounted for probability of success.

 

For the first quarter of 2020, revenue from Internet sports betting, although impacted by COVID-19, appears to be more resilient than originally anticipated by management and we expect gross operator revenue to be approximately $141 million, up from $120.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, with gross operator revenues from Internet casino gaming in the United States increasing by 279% year-over-year, in part due to the impact of COVID-19 on the period beginning on March 12, 2020.

 

The foregoing revenue outlook is our management’s current estimate based on information available to us at this time. Estimates of future performance are forward-looking statements and our actual results may differ substantially based on a number of factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. This revenue guidance does not provide a complete profile of our expected results of operations or financial position for 2020. We have not provided guidance on expected net income or Adjusted EBITDA for 2020. You should consider our revenue outlook in the context of the totality of information described in this prospectus.

 

  54  

 

 

Results of Operations

 

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, presented as a percentage of our total revenue for those periods:

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
(in thousands)
    As a
percentage
of revenue
   

Change

(2019 to 2018)

 
    2019     2018     2019     2018     ($000’s)     %  
Revenue   $ 29,971     $ 14,023       100.0 %     100.0 %     15,948       113.7 %
Impairment of intangible assets     626       -       2.1 %     - %     626       100.0 %
Cost of revenue     11,356       11,894       37.9 %     84.8 %     (538 )     (4.5 )%
Gross profit     17,989       2,129       60.0 %     15.2 %     15,860       745.0 %
Operating expenses     15,515       10,325       51.8 %     73.6 %     5,190       50.3 %
Operating income/(loss)     2,474       (8,196 )     8.3 %     58.4 %     10,670       130.2 %
Net finance costs     112       440       0.4 %     3.1 %     (328 )     (74.5 )%
Income/(loss) before taxes     2,362       (8,636 )     7.9 %     61.6 %     10,998       127.4 %
Income tax (expense)/benefit     (574 )     934       1.9 %     6.7 %     (1,508 )     (161.5 )%
Income/(Loss) for the year attributable to equity holders     1,788       (7,702 )     6.0 %     54.9 %     9,490       123.2 %

 

Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

 

Revenue

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
(in thousands)
    As a
percentage
of revenue
   

Change

(2019 to 2018)

 
    2019     2018     2019     2018     ($000’s)     %  
Real money iGaming (“RMiG”)   $ 24,228       8,290       80.8 %     59.1 %     15,938       192.3 %
SaaS revenue     15,396       6,445       51.4 %     46.0 %     8,951       138.9 %
Service revenue     3,918       1,845       13.1 %     13.2 %     2,073       112.4 %
Other     4,914       -       16.4 %     -       4,914       100.0 %
Simulated Gaming (“SiG”)     5,743       5,733       19.2 %     40.9 %     10       0.2 %
SaaS Revenue     4,615       4,354       15.4 %     31.0 %     261       6.0 %
Service Revenue     1,128       1,377       3.8 %     9.8 %     (249 )     (18.1 )%
Other     -       2       -       0.0 %     (2 )     (100.0 )%
Total:     29,971       14,023       100.0 %     100.0 %     15,948       113.7 %

 

  55  

 

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
(in thousands)
    As a
percentage
of revenue
   

Change

(2019 to 2018)

 
    2019     2018     2019     2018     ($000’s)     %  
U.K. and Channel Islands   $ 4,359       98       14.5 %     0.7 %     4,261       4,348.0 %
Italy     4,599       5,221       15.3 %     37.2 %     (622 )     (11.9 )%
United States     20,935       8,651       69.9 %     61.7 %     12,284       142.0 %
Other     78       53       0.3 %     0.4 %     25       47.2 %
Total:     29,971       14,023       100.0 %     100.0 %     15,948       113.7 %

 

The increase in real money iGaming is directly related to the legalization of real money iGaming and sports betting in the U.S. Our 2018 results include real money iGaming in New Jersey beginning in July 2018 and in Pennsylvania in October 2018. Our 2019 results benefitted from a full years’ activity in those states along with the addition of real money iGaming and sports betting in Indiana beginning in September 2019. As a result of this change in legislation, the Company saw an increase in revenue earned in the U.S. of $12.3 million, which is related to real money iGaming.

 

A significant portion of our revenue growth was generated under our agreements with FanDuel. In 2018, FanDuel accounted for $2.1 million, or 15%, of our 2018 revenue. In 2019, FanDuel accounted for $13.9 million, or 46%, of our 2019 revenue. FanDuel was an early entrant into Internet gaming markets in the U.S. including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Indiana as those states regulated real money iGaming and sports betting. Consequently, our revenues from the FanDuel agreements increased with FanDuel’s early entry into those markets. In addition, our 2019 revenue from FanDuel benefitted by $4.0 million as a result on a one-time patent license described below. Based on our historic relationship, we expect the revenues from FanDuel to continue to increase on a dollar basis as our revenue share arrangements grow with FanDuel’s core business. However, we expect revenue growth from other customers to increase more rapidly, increasing our customer diversity and resulting in FanDuel being a substantially lower portion of our overall revenues for 2020.

 

Included in this RMiG increase of revenue is $4.0 million as a result of licensing GAN’s strategic U.S. patent (“Patent”) to FanDuel and its affiliated land-based U.S. casino group during 2019. In addition, in the U.S. we operationally managed GAN’s technology platform throughout New Jersey’s first legal online betting experience during the NFL Super Bowl in 2019, with all-time record number of active real money internet gamblers, who used GAN’s technology platform to bet on both sports and casino gaming. Also included in the real money iGaming increase is $0.9 million of sales of hardware to customers onto which the Company’s software is pre-installed.

 

In the U.K., we saw an increase in revenue in our real money iGaming segment of $4.2 million. During 2018 we developed assets in conjunction with an online B2C gaming website for WinStar Casino, a U.S. casino operator sponsor, which was deployed to U.K. consumers using our U.K. gambling license. That site was launched in September 2018, and our growth in U.K. revenue in 2019 was attributable to the operation of that B2C gaming website for a complete year of operations. Substantially all of the real money iGaming revenue we received in the U.K. for 2019 was attributable to the online casino that we operated for WinStar Casino. Effective December 31, 2019, we acquired ownership of the online casino and customer database from WinStar Casino. We entered into a license to continue to operate under the WinStar Casino brand through March 30, 2020, at which time we transitioned the online casino to our proprietary brand and website www.ReelsRoyale.com. We will continue to operate the online casino as a proprietary B2C online casino under our U.K. gaming license, but cannot provide assurances about our ability to operate the online casino as successfully under our own ReelsRoyale brand. Under our prior agreements WinStar Casino was required to commit a marketing budget intended to drive awareness and traffic to the online casino. We may be required to self-fund the marketing budget for the ReelsRoyale online casino if we fail to secure an alternative casino sponsor or provider of marketing capital in the manner contemplated. If we fail to monetize the existing customer base for the casino, or to attract additional customers to the casino, our real money iGaming revenues for the U.K. may decline substantially from 2019 levels.

 

Real money iGaming service revenue increased $2.1 million in 2019 compared to 2018 as a result of migration services and development provided in 2019 to our largest customer, FanDuel.

 

Revenue earned by our simulated iGaming segment remained consistent in 2019 compared to 2018 with a higher portion of revenue being earned through SaaS revenue, as opposed to service revenue. This is the result of greater development activities in prior years related to the simulated iGaming enterprise software platform which is driving the increase in revenue earned through the platform in 2019.

 

Segment Results

 

Real Money iGaming

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
(in thousands)
    As a
percentage
of revenue
   

Change

(2019 to 2018)

 
    2019     2018     2019     2018     ($000’s)     %  
Revenue   $ 24,228     $ 8,289       100.0 %     100.0 %     15,939       192.3 %
Impairment of intangible assets     (626 )     -       2.6 %     -       (626 )     (100.0 )%
Cost of revenue (excluding depreciation and amortization)     (4,833 )     (5,182 )     19.9 %     62.5 %     349       6.7 %
Segment results (excluding depreciation and amortization)     18,769       3,107       77.5 %     37.5 %     15,662       504.1 %

 

Segment results for real money iGaming, which excludes depreciation and amortization and is a measure of gross profit, increased by $15.7 million, or 504.1%, in 2019. This increase is a result of higher real money iGaming revenues directly related to the legalization of real money iGaming and sports betting in the U.S.

 

The 2019 segment profit margin of 77.5% in 2019 includes real money iGaming revenue of $4.0 million as a result of licensing GAN’s strategic U.S. patent (“Patent”) to a U.S. internet gambling operator and their affiliated land-based U.S. casino group during 2019. Also included in the real money iGaming revenue increase is $0.9 million of sales of hardware to customers onto which our software is pre-installed. These revenues within real money iGaming had no corresponding cost of revenue.

 

Simulated iGaming

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
(in thousands)
    As a
percentage
of revenue
   

Change

(2019 to 2018)

 
    2019     2018     2019     2018     ($000’s)     %  
Revenue   $ 5,743     $ 5,734       100.0 %     100.0 %     9       0.2 %
Cost of revenue (excluding depreciation and amortization)     (2,270 )     (1,465 )     39.5 %     25.5 %     (805 )     (54.9 )%
Segment results (excluding depreciation and amortization)     3,473       4,269       60.5 %     74.5 %     (796 )     (18.6 )%

 

Segment results for simulated iGaming, which excludes depreciation and amortization and is a measure of gross profit, decreased by $0.8 million, or 18.6%, in 2019.

 

Segment profit margin earned by our simulated iGaming segment declined year-over-year, from 74.5% to 60.5%, as a result of both a mix shift in services revenue, as well as increased third-party costs in 2019. Services revenue may include game and platform development, marketing and customer services, and integration fees for new customers. The margin profile of each of these types of revenue varies, and we had a higher contribution from integration fees in 2018. Additionally, in 2019, simulated iGaming segment cost of sales increased as a result of other expenses, such as cash processing fees from third-party collection of end user deposits. Market pricing of the simulated iGaming enterprise software platform product was not a contributing factor in the decline of the segment profit margin year-over-year.

 

Impairment of intangible assets

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
(in thousands)
    As a
percentage
of revenue
   

Change

(2019 to 2018)

 
    2019     2018     2019     2018     ($000’s)     %  
Impairment of intangible assets   $ 626           -       2.1 %         - %     626       100 %

 

We recorded impairment charges on our intangible assets of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, with no impairment recorded in the year ended December 31, 2018. The impairment loss relates to our U.K. B2C technology and services, which was internally developed to provide gaming directly to the customer and was impaired as of result of the anticipated termination of the collaboration agreement between the Company and Winstar Casino effective December 31, 2019. The impairment was recorded to the RMiG segment.

 

Operating expenses

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
(in thousands)
    As a
percentage
of revenue
    Change
(2019 to 2018)
 
    2019     2018     2019     2018     ($000’s)     %  
Operating Expenses   $ 15,515       10,325       51.8 %     73.6 %     5,190       50.3 %

 

The increase in operating expenses is primarily the result of increased developer wages of $1.5 million, and increased wages and costs related to remaining staff, such as admin, finance and HR, of $1.8 million. These increased wages are to support the continued expansion of our market and customers which increased our IT support hours and total staff. In addition, we had an increase of professional and consultancy fees of $1.1 million as a result of our U.S. Registration process which began in 2019 and additional accounting and finance personnel to assist in financial reporting and the monthly close process. We incurred an increased $0.4 million in foreign currency exchange in 2019 primarily as a result of increased foreign transactions both between the U.K. entity and the U.S. transactions and increased activity in Israel. We had an increase in bad debt expense of $0.3 million, driven by a write off related to one customer in 2019 in which we agreed to settle during 2019.

 

Net finance costs

 

Net finance costs decreased $0.3 million, or 74.5%, from $0.4 million in 2018 to $0.1 million in 2019. This decrease is the result of the $0.1 million in interest expense and $0.2 million repayment penalties from the early retirement of the 9.0% convertible loan notes in 2018.

 

  56  

 

 

Income tax (expense)/benefit

 

Income tax expense increased $1.5 million, or 161.5%, from a $934 thousand benefit in 2018 to $574 thousand in expense in 2019. The increase is the result of increased taxable income as the result of the improved net income in 2019, and the decrease of $1.1 million in recognized research and development credits in 2019 from to nothing recognized in 2019.

 

Non-IFRS Measures

 

Management uses several financial measures, both IFRS and non-IFRS (adjusted EBITDA), in analyzing and assessing the overall performance of the business and for making operational decisions.

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

One non-IFRS measure we use is Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as earnings for excluding finance costs, tax, depreciation, and amortization, as adjusted to exclude the effect of non-recurring items, significant non-cash items, share-based payment expense and other items which our Board of Directors believe do not reflect the underlying performance of the business

 

We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful to our management as a measure of comparative operating performance from period to period as it removes the effect of items not directly resulting from our core operations. Our management also uses Adjusted EBITDA as a means of assessing our core business performance against other in the industries, because it eliminates some of the effects that are generated by differences in capital structure, depreciation, tax effects and non-recurring events.

 

While we use adjusted EBITDA as a tool to enhance our understanding of certain aspects of our financial performance, we do not believe that adjusted EBITDA is a substitute for, or is superior to, the information provided by IFRS results. As such, the presentation of adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for any measure prepared in accordance with IFRS. The primary limitations associated with the use of adjusted EBITDA as compared to IFRS results are that adjusted EBITDA as we define it may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in our industry and that adjusted EBITDA may exclude financial information that some investors may consider important in evaluating our performance.

 

Below is a reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA from loss for the year attributable to equity holders as presented in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income for the years specified:

 

    Year Ended December 31,  
    2019     2018  
   

in thousands

(unaudited)

 
Income/(loss) for the year attributable to equity holders   $ 1,788     $ (7,702 )
Add Back:                
Net finance costs     112       440  
Income tax expense/(benefit)     574       (934 )
Depreciation expense     638       1,062  
Amortization expense     4,105       5,126  
EBITDA     7,217       (2,008 )
Share-based payment expense     551       346  
Impairment of intangible assets     626       -  
Adjusted EBITDA     8,394       (1,662 )

 

  57  

 

 

Key Performance Indicators

 

Our management uses the following key performance indicators (“KPIs”) as indicators of trends and results of the business. These KPIs give our management an indication of the level of engagement between the player and the Company’s platforms. No estimation is necessary in quantifying these KPIs, nor do they represent IFRS based measurements. These KPIs are subject to various risks such as customer concentration, competition, licensing and regulation, and macroeconomic conditions. Refer to Risk Factors within this prospectus for further risks associated with our business which would affect these KPIs.

 

Active Player – Days

 

We define Active Player-Days as unique individuals who log on and gamble each day (either gambling with real money or ‘gambling’ with virtual credits used in simulated iGaming), aggregated during the calendar year period. By way of illustrative example: one (1) unique individual logging in and gambling each day in a single calendar year would, in aggregate, represent 365 Active Player-Days. Active Player - Days provides an indicator of consistent and daily interaction that individuals have with our platforms. Active Player – Days allows management and users to understand not only total users who interact with the platform but gives an idea of the frequency to which users are interacting with the platform, as someone who logs on and gambles multiple days are weighted heavier during the period than the user who only logs on and gambles one day. The table below sets forth our Active Player - Days for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
   

Change

(2019 to 2018)

 
    2019     2018     Active Player -Days     %  
Active Player - Days     24,472,179       14,342,219       10,129,960       70.6 %

 

The increase in Active Player - Days in 2019 over 2018 was primarily attributable to the continued expansion of existing U.S. customers and business, as well as the result of new states passing regulation allowing for online real money and sports gaming. Between May 14, 2018 and December 31, 2019, 18 U.S. states passed laws legalizing some form of retail and/or online sports betting. 10 of these 18 states also legalized real money online sports betting.

 

Gross operator revenue

 

We define gross operator revenue as the sum of our corporate customers’ gross revenue from simulated iGaming, gross gaming revenue from real money regulated iGaming, and gross sports win from real money regulated sports betting. Gross operator revenue, which is not comparable to any GAN financial information, gives management and users an indication of the extent of transactions that have passed through their platforms and allows management to understand the extent of activity their IP is processing. The table below sets forth our gross operator revenue for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
   

Change

(2019 to 2018)

 
    2019     2018     $     %  
Gross operator revenue   $ 315,757,701     $ 116,330,350       199,427,351       171.4 %

 

The increase in Gross Operator revenue in 2019 compared to 2018 is primarily the result new states passing legislation relating to iGaming in 2019 (Indiana), increasing both the players which are active, and the handle processed on our platforms. In addition, for those states which passed legislation to allow iGaming effective in 2018 (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia), they had a full fiscal year in 2019 compared to a partial year in 2018 based the timing of when PASPA was overturned and states legislation became effective.

 

  58  

 

 

Average Revenue per Daily Active User (“ARPDAU”)

 

We define Average Revenue per Daily Active User (“ARPDAU”) as gross operator revenue divided by the identified number of Active Player - Days. This measure allows our management to measure the value per daily user and track user interaction with the platforms. The helps both management and users of financial statements understand the value per user which is driven by marketing efforts and data analysis obtained from the Company’s platforms. The table below sets forth our ARPDAU for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018: