Blog
Investing in Igaming
With the rise of mobile, Facebook and free-to-play games available, it is not just that games are moving to mobile device, but that gaming has slowly become central to the mobile device industry, and this is not really a surprise when you take into account the vast leaps and bounds that technology has made in the last few years. Not only can you play on high quality casinos, you can now play whenever and wherever you choose, whether that be in the bath, on a your lunch break or at your favourite sports event, in fact placing a bet on sites like Fruity King that offers their members exceptional game-play alongside some superb offers, bonuses and promotions can be accessed through your computer or mobile devices.
As the mobile gaming industry goes from strength to strength there has never been a better time to invest in the iGaming industry with conferences being held in order to educate and connect entrepreneurs with investors who are interested in iGaming businesses so that both parties can make more informed choices and decisions.
The inaugural iGaming Entrepreneur Conference took place on the 10/11/2015 at Dexter House in London, and by all accounts it was a great success with thirteen entrepreneur exhibitors attending with the chance to give one-minute pitches to the on-site investors and the attending iGaming news publication which will be showing the video pitches during the next few weeks.
Running parallel to the thirteen exibitors and networking hall were two conference tracks with one of them being dedicated to entrepreneurs and the other one dedicated to the investors. A presentation was delivered by Gemma Boore who is the Corporate and Commercial Solicitor with Bates, Wells and Braithwaite who talked about the importance of identifying the legal requirements before ever trying to turn an idea into a business.
Ms Boore emphasized how vital it is to ask for costs up-front so there are no nasty surprises as well as providing information on some of the area to look at from a legal perspective. Some of the areas Ms Boore spoke about was the designs, trademarks, copyrights and patents. More areas to look at from a legal perspective included:
- NDAs to protect yourself when talking with 3rd parties or anyone else at all about your idea
- Ms Boore also talked about how important is it to include the display of company, the place of incorporation, the registered office and number sanctions included in all communication or else fines could be issued
- There should be standard terms and conditions, contracts and subscriptions and shareholders’ agreements, conditions of investments, warranties, and appointment of directors in place
- All loan agreements, and security documents should be in force and complete.
Mr Mark Blandford of Burlywood Capital, Evan Hoff of Velo Partners, Crispin Nieboer of Willam Hill and also Simon Colins of Gaming Realms delivered a popular talk on why VC firms, incubators, accelerators and angels are looking for opportunities in iGaming with the best piece of advice for attracting investment was ‘seek out professional advice from people who have already managed to do it successfully.’ Getting corporate structuring and taxation in place before speaking with investors and preparing in advance is really important.
Blandford also recommended having four document ready and waiting before meeting with prospective investors and these are:
- A Teaser
- A full Business plan
- The Financial Model
- A good presentation or ‘pitch’ which should flow freely and last between thirty and forty minutes. The pitch should
- also allow for a Q&A session
Comments