Canada becoming an online gambling powerhouse
News on 17 Oct 2014
News on 17 Oct 2014
Content agency Accesswire reports from Canada that the country is rapidly becoming a key player in the online gambling industry, enjoying growth of 7 to 10 percent annually and generating market value of around C$30 billion.
The fact that confusion remains over the legality of online gambling in Canada makes the impressive development of Canadian companies in the sector even more remarkable.
The publication points to three relatively new major movers and shakers in Amaya Gaming, Imperus Technologies and the Intertain Group, summarising the attributes of each as:
Amaya Gaming Group Inc.
Listed in Toronto since January 2004 and based in Pointe-Claire, Quebec
Market cap: $3.2 billion
Shares currently trading at $25.00.
The company, which has a number of online gambling subsidiaries, recently scored its biggest coup in the $4.9 billion acquisition of the Oldford Group, parent of Rational, Pokertsars and Full Tilt Poker.
Imperus Technologies Corp. (formerly ISIS Labs)
Listed in Toronto and incorporated February 2011; based in Mississauga, Ontario.
Market cap: $29.28 million
Shares currently trading at $0.53
The recent major acquisition of Israeli social games developer DiWip for a reported potentially $100 million ($50 million upfront) gives Imperus access to 24 million players in 200 countries. In August the company inked a deal to provide South African telecomms giant MTN with its Casina app pre-loaded on smartphones to access at least a million users.
The Intertain Group Limited
Toronto listed and based in that Canadian city.
Incorporated November 2010
Market cap: $161 million
Shares currently trading at $11.83
The Intertain Group offers online games through subsidiary CryptoLogic Operations Limited, which it acquired last year, under two brand names; InterCasino and InterPoker. It claims 9,000 daily users on just one of its websites, and 3 million registered users who have wagered a total of US$25 billion over the years, with Intercasino an industry pioneer.
In September this year shares spiked on the news that the company would be added to the S&P/TSX SmallCap Index – Standard and Poor’s Canadian Index Operations.
