Online gaming technology provider GAN has officially been awarded its first US real-money online gambling license from New Jersey regulators.
On Tuesday, GAN announced that it was the proud recipient of a privileged Casino Service Industry Enterprise license courtesy of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). GAN submitted its initial DGE application way back in 2013, so this bottle of bubbly should be well chilled.
GAN CEO Dermot Smurfit referred to its DGE honor as further evidence of the company’s “guaranteed integrity and strong compliance profile of our current and historic business activities, clean source of investment funds and the unquestioned suitability of our major shareholders, directors and employees.” Also, GAN employees reportedly all smell like a warm apple pie cooling on a windowsill.
Smurfit said the significance of the new license “should not be underestimated” given how the DGE’s approval will stand GAN in good stead when it comes to acquiring similar licenses in other US states, presuming any states ever get around to joining New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware in the regulated online gambling club.
GAN provided the technology platform for the 2013 launch of Betfair’s New Jersey online casino, back when GAN was known as GameAccount Network. GAN also has a presence in Italy’s real-money online gambling market but the bulk of GAN’s business comes from its online free-play Simulated Gaming social casino product.
Earlier this month, GAN released Q1 2017 key performance indicators for its online operations, which showed active player days up 9.3% from Q4 2016, while average revenue per daily active user rose 3.7% quarter-on-quarter to $7.69. GAN will release its official 2016 results on May 30.
GAN announced last week that it had conditionally placed £2m worth of convertible notes, with all of these notes being placed with CEO Smurfit. GAN said it required the loan to ensure it had sufficient wherewithal to take advantage of new US intrastate online gambling opportunities, with Pennsylvania singled out as the most likely contender on the regulatory horizon.
GAN has a tentative deal to supply Philadelphia’s Parx Casino with a real-money online gambling product, if/when state legislators approve the activity. Ironically, Parx came out swinging last month against the idea of Pennsylvania regulating online gambling, and it’s anyone’s guess whether the state’s tangled web of gaming interests can reach consensus before the end of the current legislative session.
