LeoVegas AB is a Swedish
mobile gaming
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to h ...
company and provider of
online casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional ("brick and mortar") casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet. It is a prolific form of o ...
and
sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
services such as
table game Table game may refer to:
* Table game (casino), games of chance that are played against the casino and operated by one or more live dealers
* Tables game, a class of board game that includes backgammon
* Tabletop game, games that are normally play ...
s,
video slots, progressive jackpots,
video poker
Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.
History
Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like moni ...
and live betting to a number of international markets. LeoVegas Gaming Ltd. is a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of
MGM resorts international
MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...
.
Corporate history
Leovegas was founded in 2011 by Gustaf Hagman (CEO) and Robin Ramm-Ericson (Chairman of the Board & Managing Director).
LeoVegas experienced rapid growth due to the overriding increase of smartphone use and the "mobile first" mentality of its founders. Hagman stated that the company "was born out of the smartphone, which today is the fastest growing channel for entertainment." As a result, the company has over 700 employees working for the provider.
The initial stock market offering of the company took place on 17 March 2016. Financial advisers in the transaction were
Carnegie Investment Bank
Carnegie Investment Bank AB is a Swedish financial services group with activities in securities brokerage, investment banking and private banking.
Founded in 1803, Carnegie is headquartered in Stockholm with offices across the Nordic region, as ...
and
SEB, as Joint Global Coordinators and Book-runners. Legal advisers were Baker McKenzie while
Avanza Bank AB was appointed as LeoVegas' certified adviser. At the time of the initial listing of the company stock was heavily oversubscribed.
In advance of the initial public offering (
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
), LeoVegas announced a 124% increase in annual revenue of €83m for 2015 compared to €37m 2014. Depositing customers for both years and 2013 were as follows: 54,283 (2013), 100, 745 (2014), 202,498 (2015).
On 13 May 2016, one month before the
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
football tournament, LeoVegas launched its sports betting product LeoVegas Sport. At the time of launch, CEO of LeoVegas Gaming Ltd. Johan Styren stated that fast loading speeds and the mobile-first approach would be integral to growth in the live betting market for mobile.
On 7 July 2016, LeoVegas obtaining a gaming license in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
On 1 March 2017 LeoVegas acquired 100% of the Italian operator
Winga s.r.l. for a reported fee of €6 million, entering the Italian online gambling market. The Italian online platform and website became fully operative on 17 November 2017.
On 17 March 2017, LeoVegas was listed on
Nasdaq
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
First North Premier.
On 19 June 2017, LeoVegas signed a two-year deal with
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
club
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
to become both their new shirt and title sponsor. They followed this up a week later, on 26 June, by signing a three-year deal with
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
.
On 27 October 2017, LeoVegas acquired Royal Panda for a reported fee of €60m as part of the company's expansion into regulated markets.
On 8 December 2017, LeoVentures acquired a 51% majority stake in GameGrounds United, owner of the Casino Grounds streaming network.
On 5 February 2018, LeoVegas changed to Nasdaqs Main Market list in Stockholm.
On 7 February 2018, LeoVegas acquired German licenses.
On 5 March 2018, LeoVegas acquired a fast growing casino operator in UK, today called Rocket X.
On 13 September 2018, LeoVentures acquired 51% of the shares in Pixel Holding Group Ltd, which runs the esports betting operator Pixel.bet. Pixel.bet has a five-year license on the Swedish market.
On 30 November 2018, LeoVegas was among the first to receive a gambling licence in Sweden.
In October 2019, LeoVegas were granted a five-year operating licence in Sweden. On 1 January 2019, Sweden became a regulated market and LeoVegas had a license from day one.
In March 2021, LeoVegas agreed a deal with Italian
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
club
A.S. Roma
' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...
to become the club's official Online Infotainment Partner.
In March 2021, LeoVegas agreed a deal to purchase Expekt for €5m. The acquisition was completed in May 2021.
In May 2021, LeoVegas joined The Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA). LeoVegas also introduced instant and individually personalised deposit limits across its UK brand portfolio on same month.
At the Global Gaming Awards London 2021, LeoVegas won the "Online Casino of the Year" award for the fourth time in a row.
LeoVegas picked up the Mobile Casino Product of the Year at the 2021 EGR Operator Awards.
In August 2021, Leo vegas announced its partnership deal with Esports data and technology company Abios. The agreement allowed LeoVegas access to Abios’ real time widgets and apps to aid in user engagement with their esports offerings. In April 2022 the company won for the fifth time the "Online Casino of the Year Award" at the Global Gaming Awards held in London, for the fifth consecutive time.
In May 2022,
MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...
announced an offer to acquire LeoVegas in a deal worth $607 million and received all approvals needed to commence their acquisition by 7 September 2022.
Operations
The company headquarters are in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, whereas the brand "LeoVegas" is owned by LeoVegas Gaming Ltd. which is based in
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Technical development is conducted by a further subsidiary of the group, Gears of Leo, based in Sweden. The company has offices in Italy, UK and Poland.
The online casino and sports betting products are licensed and regulated under the service of the Maltese Lottery and Gaming Authority (MGA). In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the company operates in compliance with
UK Gambling Commission requirements and in Sweden under the service of Spelinspektionen. In addition, it has obtained authorization in 2019 from the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ).
LeoVegas' core markets are the United Kingdom and Nordic countries, namely
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
and
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. The company also has a presence in other European countries
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. In addition, LeoVegas has a great presence in the Latin American countries
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
and in the rest of the world.
LeoVegas offers a number of
casino game
Games available in most casinos are commonly called casino games. In a casino game, the players gamble cash or casino chips on various possible random outcomes or combinations of outcomes. Casino games are also available in online casinos, wher ...
s from game providers including NetEnt, Yggdrasil, Evolution Gaming,
IGT, Play N’ Go,
Playtech
Playtech plc is a gambling software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixed-o ...
,
Microgaming
Microgaming is a privately held gambling software company based in the Isle of Man. The company first developed online casino software in 1994.
Overview
In May 2009, Microgaming's progressive slot Mega Moolah paid out $6,374,434, the largest ...
, Authentic Gaming,
Bally
Bally may refer to:
Places
*Bally, a historical spelling of Bali
*Bally (from the Irish ''baile'') or townland, a traditional division of land, as well as a common prefix in the names of settlements throughout Ireland
*Bally, Bally-Jagachha, a c ...
and
WMS. Some of the casino games offered are
roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
,
blackjack
Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...
,
baccarat
Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...
and
Caribbean stud poker.
The LeoVegas sportsbook uses the
Kambi platform for front end user interface, odds compilation and
customer intelligence
Customer intelligence (CI) as part of business intelligence is the process of gathering and analyzing information regarding customers, and their details and activities, to build deeper and more effective customer relationships and improve decisi ...
.
Critics
United Kingdom
LeoVegas was fined £600,000 (€680,500) by the Gambling Commission (GC) over "failings" related to misleading advertising and the handling of customers. The GC identified 41 misleading adverts that were sanctioned by the operator, as well as evidence of the mistreatment of customers at the end of their self-exclusion period. A review found that LeoVegas failed to return funds to 11,205 customers when they chose to self-exclude and close their accounts, while marketing material was sent to 1,894 people who had previously self-excluded. In addition, LeoVegas allowed 413 previously self-excluded customers to gamble, without speaking to them first or applying a 24-hour cooling off period.
References
{{Reflist
Online gambling companies of Sweden