Global Gaming has moved to issue a definitive dismissal concerning speculation that its Ninja Casino entity can still be accessed by Swedish players, as the firm again reasserts confidence in a positive outlook despite plunging financial figures.
Following Ninja Casino’s licence revocation in 2019 the company has seen a number of appeals fall by the wayside, however during the quarter saw the Administrative Court of Appeal granted a review permit.
This was followed by the Swedish gambling authority rejecting an application by Viral Interactive to resurrect the Ninja Casino brand within the online market.
The ongoing debate comes after Social Security Minister Ardalan Shekarabi proposed a number of temporary changes in gaming legislation due to the coronavirus pandemic, following which a Copenhagen Economics report has seen numerous organisation voice channelisation warnings.
“As a part of the ongoing Swedish debate about online gaming and the so-called channelisation during the last week, speculation occurred about if Swedish players can play games at Ninja Casino even though our licence are subject of legal proceedings. I want to make it crystal clear that so is not the case,” emphasised Tobias Fagerlund, Global Gaming CEO.
“We do not accept Swedish customers and have not done so since the SGA announced its decision almost a year ago. The revocation of our license is tried in court and we will have a verdict in due time.
“We will not be active in Sweden before the courts have given us our licence back. Global Gaming continues to show that it is serious in rising and getting back from last year’s negative development. We are continuously strengthening our conditions and it is my absolute conviction that we now are prepared for growth and that we have a very interesting period ahead of us when the market eventually normalises.”
Revenue for the year’s first quarter dropped 64 per cent to SEK 57.8m (2019: SEK 162.1m), with Ninja Casino accounting for 87.3 per cent of the figure. A slight revenue increase was reported quarter-on-quarter.
During the period, revenue from Nordic operations amounted to SEK 42m, the rest of Europe finished at SEK 9.1m and SEK 6.7m came from B2B collaborations. Gross profit dropped 58 per cent to SEK 32.9m (2019: SEK 77.4m).
With the firm’s sports betting launch postponed until later in the year, Global Gaming is to implement a number of organisational changes as it strives to navigate covid-19 challenges to ensure a fruitful long-term position.
Fagerlund added: “Global Gaming shows strength and delivers a first quarter in line with our expectations. Even though we have got help from a strong euro we are already now close to reaching our first goal for the year; to be break even during the first six months. We are serious with our goals of being back on profitability this year.
“Our decision to give our owners dividend corresponding to more than seven percent yearly yield aims at underlining just that; we are prepared for growth and for returning to black numbers.
“Our intention to increase our presence at new markets and with new brands remains. We have during the quarter soft launched our new brand Boost Casino on our existing markets and will now increase the speed. When the year comes to its end Ninja Casino and Boost Casino shall be operational on at least three new geographical markets.”
