Entain eager to reawaken Ninja Casino brand in Swedish market
Outgoing CEO Shay Segev pledges to “monetise and bring back” the outlawed brand as part of £250m Enlabs takeover
Entain is confident of relaunching the Ninja Casino brand in the Swedish market once its £250m takeover of parent company Enlabs completes.
Enlabs holds the rights to Ninja Casino after having acquired Global Gaming in October 2020 for £13.2m before being swallowed up by Entain as part of the FTSE 100 operator’s bolt-on M&A strategy.
Ninja Casino was a hugely popular online casino domain with Swedish consumers until its SafeEnt operating licence was revoked in 2019 for serious deficiencies in its responsible gambling and anti-money laundering protocols.
In the same year, Global Gaming also lost a landmark case against the Swedish Consumer Agency for the proliferation of gambling advertising for the Ninja Casino brand while it remained active.
Since then, the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has rejected multiple attempts to return to the market, including a planned relaunch in February 2020 under partnership with Viral Interactive Ltd.
However, Entain CEO Shay Segev – who is serving a six-month notice period after agreeing to join sports streaming giant DAZN – is confident his business will succeed where others have failed.
The Israeli believes Ninja Casino can rise from the ashes in Sweden under the operator’s bwin licence and make an impact in the market despite the draconian limits in place on deposits and bonuses.
Enlabs surrendered its own Swedish operating licence in December to allow for vital technical development work on its proprietary platform, including the integration of pay and play technology.
“The plan is to operate in Sweden,” Segev told analysts in January.
“It’s a regulated market that fits in line with our strategy. Enlabs’ acquisition of Global Gaming and particularly Ninja Casino provides an interesting opportunity for us.
“We can bring some assets from the bwin brand and our licence in Sweden and combine it with Enlabs’ experience in the Nordics and the Ninja Casino brand which is well recognised in this region.
“We can monetise and bring the Ninja brand back,” he added.
Nordic-facing analyst firm Redeye suggests Ninja Casino generated more than £9m per quarter in Sweden before its licence was revoked.