2021 was unlike other years for global gaming business Super Group, the parent company of online sports betting brand Betway and online casino offering Spin. “It has been a landmark year for the business in so many ways, but primarily the announcement of the SPAC deal with SEAH and then our eventual listing on the New York Stock Exchange,” Richard Hasson, President of Super Group, tells Yogonet.
While the company wasn’t necessarily out there looking for a SPAC combination, the merger was recommended by a trusted advisor as a natural fit for expansion plans for U.S., CEO Neal Menashe told Yogonet in an interview earlier this year. Thus, it made sense for the firm to complement its status as a global business by being on the largest exchange in the world.
“Our global teams across both Betway and Spin have stayed focused on delivering the same outstanding results while we prepare for this exciting change to the business as a whole,” Hasson now updates Yogonet, while reflecting on the closing year of 2021. However, the period was not only signed by the company’s road to going public, but also positive results posted in the different markets in which the business operates.
“We operate across such a broad range of territories that developments in markets and verticals are felt in different ways,” says Hasson. “We’re delighted to have achieved another year of significant growth in both existing and new markets.” Among these landmarks, in terms of expansion, the Betway brand has now added a fifth US market to its operations.
Even though 2022 is set to be the first year for Super Group as a listed business -a significant milestone in itself, says Hasson- the president of the company explains that not everything will change: much of what has driven Super Group so far will remain untouched in the coming year.
“In reality our goals and priorities remain the same, delivering world-class sports betting and gaming brands and products to our global online audience in a fair, safe, secure and responsible way,” he states. Plans also remain the same in respect of continuing to expand the group’s global footprint.
This includes further expansion plans for the U.S., where the brand has not only gone live in more states when compared to the prior year —currently five— but also signed a series of high-profile partnerships, including NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, and NHL’s New Jersey Devils. “Our enviable list of sponsorship assets paves the way in terms of brand awareness,” says the executive.
It is no secret the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as changing tendencies in the industry, impose new challenges to operators. But Super Group remains confident in its ability to face new issues driving the gaming agenda in 2022.
“We are uniquely positioned in global online sports betting and gaming and we aim to take those advantages into any new challenges that come our way,” the Super Group president says. “In the last two years we’ve seen huge changes to the way we do business worldwide, but it’s shown we’re very agile.”
While regulation is set to continue driving the agenda across many of the territories the business is present, Hasson claims that has also been the case for over a decade now in the majority of the markets Super Group is established in.
“Again we have to show agility to continue to be compliant and responsible, while using our leading technology to keep customers safe while they enjoy their online entertainment with our brands and products,” he concludes.
