Tag Archives: Scott Longley

Seeing its active player numbers dwindle to around the quarter of a million mark, Scott Longley examines whether ‘The Football Pools’ can be updated for modern consumers. One of the UK oldest betting brands and the subject of multiple acquisition rumours, what role does ‘The Pools’ have in today’s industry.  We are a long way away now from the days when football …

Following a dreadful week of unfavourable results at Cheltenham 2016, all bookmakers will be longing for the start of Euro 2016 (France 10 June – 10 July). Euro 2016 will be the first major summer football tournament under the POC regime, Scott Longley examines how betting operators will look to turn the event into a cash cow… This summer will …

Toronto listed gambling investment firms buying industry assets in 2014 & 2015 were branded as game changers for the sector. In 2016 business-wide scepticism and criticism has grown of these merged enterprises and their governance, Scott Longley examines how and why opinion has turned on these new Canadian giants. ________________________________ David Baazov, the chief executive of Amaya, may be intent …

Having completed its takeover bwin.party Entertainment , Scott Longley asses the betting operators next steps as the new merged outfit targets a FTSE 250 listing. As the firm’s governance and leadership begins to execute the first steps of its integration plan, Longley details what may be the betting sectors most interesting merger.  ________________________ It didn’t take long for GVC to …

Jon Bradford caused something of a stir when he left as the head of TechStars London back in the middle of last year. Previous to TechStars, Bradford worked for the Northern-England publicly-funded start-up body The Difference Engine before launching the Cambridge University accelerator Springboard. He has now ‘gone plural’ and taken up a number of non-executive roles including advising the …

Scott Longley assesses the upcoming UK CMA review of the Ladbrokes-Coral merger and how the deal will shake-up all sections of the UK betting sector. The phony war is over. The announcement yesterday that the £2.3bn Ladbrokes Coral merger has been officially notified to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) means we now have something of a timetable for whether …

As with comedy, timing is everything in business. While there is a logic to the recent outbreak of consolidation within the gambling industry, for two of the mega-deals currently underway – the Paddy Power Betfair and Ladbrokes Coral mergers – the coincidence of the deals is providing onlookers with some choice compare and contrast examples. ____________________________ Last week was an …

As the European gambling industry consolidates creating sector giants. Scott Longley takes a look at the debt crisis that has engulfed Caesars Entertainment.   If anyone doubts that we are still living with the after effects of the 2008 financial crisis, they need look no further than the travails of one of the more high-profile corporate victims of the appropriately-termed …

Reporting from last week’s EIG Berlin Expo for SBC, Scott Longley examines the commercial contexts and conditions for betting operators targeting competitive eSports, a leading theme and discussion on the EIG floor… ________________________ The main issues of the debate around the phenomenal rise of eSports and what it might mean for gambling companies looking at leveraging that interest were given …

With the cash strapped governments of the once mighty BRIC nations, seeking to implement new economic policies to boost their dwindling funds. Scott Longley examines how the current BRIC downturn will impact betting’s regulatory debate and progress amongst emerging economies  _______________________ Like a worried bunch of Chicken Little’s, the economic commentaries have been busily scaring the world’s markets with the doleful …