888, the parent company of US sports betting operator SI Sportsbook, could be getting pressure from activist investors.
Earlier this month, investment group FS Gaming Investments took a 6.57% stake in the operator of SI Sportsbook. That included 2.02% owned by former Entain CEO Shay Segev.
Segev is joined in FS Gaming Investments by two other names familiar to Entain: former Chairman Lee Feldman and former CEO Kenny Alexander.
Now, that group may be getting an assist from HG Vora. The investor crossed the 5% ownership threshold last week with a 5.58% ownership stake.
Investors ready to make a move?
According to the Financial Times, the presence of both HG Vora and FS Gaming Investments sets the stage for both to force a move by 888, which is still looking for a new CEO after Itai Pazner stepped down in January.
HG Vora has been around multiple gaming groups that eventually saw change. The company announced a stake in William Hill before the entire operation was bought by Caesars.
Along with a board seat, the two activist investors could be pushing for Alexander or another former Entain director Stephen Morana to take over the company, according to FT.
FS Gaming mainly wants to see the international business of William Hill integrated into 888 faster.
DraftKings Sportsbook opening at Wrigley without betting
The DraftKings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field will open Tuesday, June 27.
But sports betting is not on the initial menu for the sportsbook. It will open just as a sports bar and restaurant at first.
Retail sports betting will be added later pending approval from the Illinois Gaming Board. The sportsbook, located adjacent to Wrigley, was first announced in September 2020.
Cordish selects NeoGames for PA iGaming
NeoGames subsidiary Aspire Global will supply its iGaming suite of products to Cordish‘s PlayLive! online casino in Pennsylvania.
Cordish will shift to the Aspire Global technology, including player account management, customer relationship management, aggregation and data analytics next year.
The switch will help provide the “very best user journey,” said senior VP of Interactive Gaming Steven Nathan said.
“The agreement also includes Aspire Global’s powerful CRM system, AspireEngage, which we believe that will deliver an improved player journey and greater customer satisfaction with its data-driven approach to superior bonus management, personalized messaging, and user segmentation.”
Stock sales from sports betting companies
There were two significant stock sales announced by directors involved with sports betting companies last week:
- MGM Resorts Director Keith Meister sold 250,000 indirectly held shares at an average price of $43.79 each from three investment funds. Those funds still hold 6.4 million MGM shares.
- Penn National Director Barbara Shattuck Kohn sold 30,445 shares at an average price of $26.62 each. She now owns 28,541 shares directly and 1,750 indirectly through the estate of her late spouse.