Toronto-Based Bragg Gaming Names Board Chair As New CEO

Toronto-Based Bragg Gaming Names Board Chair As New CEO
By Steve Bittenbender
Fact Checked by Jim Tomlin

Bragg Gaming announced a change in leadership as the Toronto-based gaming company’s largest investor is now its CEO.

Chairman of the Board Matevz Mazij was named the chief executive in a statement issued Monday morning. Mazij previously founded Oryx Gaming, which served as Bragg’s initial player account management, remote gaming and aggregation platform provider. Bragg acquired the company five years ago. Bragg seeks to increase its presence among Ontario gambling sites.

He replaces Yaniv Sherman, who stepped down, the company said.

Holly Gagnon, Bragg’s lead independent board member, said in a statement that Masij’s gaming industry experience, institutional knowledge and contributions from the rest of Bragg’s senior leaders put the company in a strong position to meet its objectives.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire Bragg team, I would like to thank Yaniv for his leadership, commitment, and contributions to the Company,” Gagnon said. “The Board remains focused on supporting the Company’s senior management team as they continue to execute on initiatives that drive profitable growth and the creation of new, sustainable shareholder value.”

Bragg provides iGaming content to operators. Last week, it announced a partnership with Bet365 to provide Ontario online slot machine games for the British-based company’s app. Bragg also recently was selected by PokerStars to integrate its online games into the Flutter Entertainment brands iGaming apps across North America and Europe.

Mazij Bullish On Bragg’s Future

In a statement, Mazij said returning to an operational role excites him.

“Bragg possesses many opportunities to further grow our scale of operations across North America, Europe and evolving global regulated iGaming markets,” he said. “I look forward to working with senior management and all of our team members to bring fresh perspectives that can amplify our ability to continue our successful execution of the growth strategies that we established following the acquisitions of Wild Streak Gaming and Spin Games in 2021 and 2022, respectively.”

As far as the company’s presence in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province has offered legal Ontario sports betting as well as iGaming since April 2022.

The company released its 2023 second-quarter earnings three weeks ago and noted that revenue (U.S. $27.2 million) and gross profit (US $15.2 million) rose 18.9% from last year's second quarter. The company’s 19.2% adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization also set an all-time record.

Besides PokerStars and Bet365, Bragg Gaming offers content to Rush Street Gaming in Pennsylvania and FanDuel in Michigan. It also recently signed a deal with 888 Holdings.

Stick with OntarioBets for more industry coverage and reviews, including features and perks, of the best Ontario gambling apps.

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Author

Steve Bittenbender

Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters. He shares his expertise on OntarioBets, among other sites.

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