The potential of the German online gambling market is the first target for a new online gaming supplier, set up by veterans of the industry and backed by one of the top names in the business.
Eyas Gaming has been formed by Joe Saumarez-Smith (pictured), Michael Brady and Adam Joseph; the venture is based in Malta and it is backed by Germany’s Gauselmann Group. The online gaming offering will be timed to launch as the fully regulated German market opens in July of 2021.
Eyas will use the Bede Gaming platform for its operations, a company that was acquired in March of this year, and will offer the Gauselmann Merkur range of online slots games, developed by Blueprint and Edict.
An MGA licence application has been applied for and the company will apply for a German online gambling licence as soon as they become available.
Said Joe Saumarez Smith, chairman of the new company: “The regulation of the German market is a huge opportunity for us. The proposed rules for the German market will present some big challenges for all operators but we think that we will be able to build a market-leading product with Merkur that is specific to the German market and the new regulatory regime.”
Said Gauselmann CEO Paul Gauselmann: “The operational experience of our partners in conjunction with our technological platform, plus our renowned Merkur game, will enable us to successfully establish online offers in Germany and other regulated markets.”
Joe Saumarez Smith has been in the industry for 22 years. He founded Sports Gaming, a management consultancy for the online gambling industry and has worked on numerous M&A and advisory projects across the industry with total deal values in excess of €7bn. He was lead investor in Intellectual Property and Software that was sold to Leo Vegas in February of 2018 for £65m and was co-founder and chairman of Bede Gaming.
Michael Brady has been in the online gambling industry for over 20 years with a number of companies. He was one of the first employees and a shareholder in Cashcade that sold to Partygaming in 2009 for £96m.
He founded numerous businesses in the sector ranging from marketing services, affiliate marketing and technology. He was the majority shareholder in Business Betting, which was sold in 2009, a significant shareholder in Intellectual Property and Software.
The COO of the new company, Adam Joseph, has been in the online gambling industry for over 18 years, launching and scaling gaming verticals and brands. He has held major roles in Betfair for four years and Rank Group for seven years.
