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How to play Maestro
Canada-based Score Media & Gaming may have just scored a game-winning touchdown. In an announcement made after markets closed yesterday, the company behind theScore and Score Bet sports gambling brands has launched an initial public offering (IPO) as it goes live on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (NGSM). The move follows on the heels of Canada’s preliminary approval of single-event sports wagers, which is expected to greatly benefit Score Media, and could quickly lead to the company’s stock price skyrocketing.
Score Media announced that it is selling five million shares, fewer than previously expected. The company had changed gears with its public launch, announcing last week a reverse split that would cut out some of the available shares while increasing the per-share price. It has already found support, with underwriters Canaccord Genuity, Credit Suisse, Macquarie Capital and Morgan Stanley able to purchase another 15% on top of the initial five million shares. Should they exercise that option, there would be a total of 5.75 million shares available. The underwriters have 30 days to make up their minds, which will give it time to see how the market reacts.
Several gaming entities have jumped into public trading recently, most notably, DraftKings. It saw a huge response when it launched its IPO last year, and Score Media hopes it can see a similar response. With operations in Canada, Colorado, Indiana and New Jersey, heavy interest is not out of the question, and the company is ready to capture a larger piece of the market. It added in its announcement, “[Score Media] currently expects that the net proceeds of the offering will be used to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes, including the continued growth and expansion of theScore Bet’s operations in the United States and Canada by supporting the multi-jurisdiction deployment and operation of theScore Bet and user acquisition and retention in jurisdictions where theScore is, or will be, operating.”
How to play Maestro
That raises a question about how future developers will enter the industry. If Cubeia no longer needs front-end traditional junior Java developers in the same way, the traditional path from junior programmer to senior engineer becomes less clear.
“How do we avoid ending up with lots of old Java developers and nobody who understands Java because the juniors were never hired? That’s a super-interesting question. How do we fill up with younger people over time? That’s something we’ve been discussing.”
Cubeia is also moving away from the traditional process in which a developer builds something and then hands it to QA.
About Maestro
Playtech revenue increased 10% year-on-year in its H1 to €425.1 million, powered by what the company described as “exceptional growth” for its B2B business in North America.
Revenue from the US and Canada surged 161% year-on-year to €56.9 million.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA also rose 77% to €162.5 million, with B2B accounting for €128.1 million of that total.
