LeoVegas AB is a Swedish

mobile gaming A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to handheld game conso ...

company and provider of

online casino Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional ("brick and mortar") casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet. It is a prolific form of ...

and

sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. Sports bettors place their wagers either legally, through a sportsbook or bookmaker (colloquially known as "bookies"), or illegally through priva ...

services such as table games, video slots, progressive jackpots,

video poker Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine. History Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like mo ...

and live betting to a number of international markets. LeoVegas Gaming Ltd. is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts International is an American Multinational corporation, multinational hospitality, sports and entertainment company. It operates resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, Macau, Shanghai, ...

Corporate history

Leovegas was founded in 2011 by Gustaf Hagman (CEO) and Robin Ramm-Ericson (Chairman of the Board & Managing Director). LeoVegas experienced rapid growth due to the overriding increase in smartphone use and the "mobile first" mentality of its founders. Hagman stated that the company "was born out of the smartphone, which today is the fastest-growing channel for entertainment." As a result, the company has over 700 employees working for the provider. The initial stock market offering of the company took place on 17 March 2016. Financial advisers in the transaction were

Carnegie Investment Bank Carnegie Investment Bank AB is a Sweden, Swedish financial services group with activities in Security (finance), securities brokerage, investment banking and private banking. Founded in 1803, Carnegie is headquartered in Stockholm with offices a ...

and SEB, as Joint Global Coordinators and Book-runners. The legal advisers were Baker McKenzie, while Avanza Bank AB was appointed as LeoVegas' certified adviser. At the time of the initial listing, the company's stock was heavily oversubscribed. In advance of the initial public offering (

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

), LeoVegas announced a 124% increase in annual revenue of €83m for 2015 compared to €37m 2014. Depositing customers for both years and 2013 were as follows: 54,283 (2013), 100, 745 (2014), 202,498 (2015). On 13 May 2016, one month before the

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

football tournament, LeoVegas launched its sports betting product LeoVegas Sport. At the time of launch, CEO of LeoVegas Gaming Ltd. Johan Styren stated that fast loading speeds and the mobile-first approach would be integral to growth in the live betting market for mobile. On 7 July 2016, LeoVegas obtainined a gaming license in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. On 1 March 2017 LeoVegas acquired 100% of the Italian operator Winga s.r.l. for a reported fee of €6 million, entering the Italian online gambling market. The Italian online platform and website became fully operative on 17 November 2017. On 17 March 2017, LeoVegas was listed on

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

First North Premier. On 27 October 2017, LeoVegas acquired Royal Panda for a reported fee of €60m as part of the company's expansion into regulated markets. On 8 December 2017, LeoVentures acquired a 51% majority stake in GameGrounds United, owner of the Casino Grounds streaming network. On 5 February 2018, LeoVegas changed to Nasdaqs Main Market list in Stockholm. On 7 February 2018, LeoVegas acquired German licenses. On 5 March 2018, LeoVegas acquired a fast growing casino operator in UK, today called Rocket X. On 13 September 2018, LeoVentures acquired 51% of the shares in Pixel Holding Group Ltd, which runs the esports betting operator Pixel.bet. Pixel.bet has a five-year license on the Swedish market. On 30 November 2018, LeoVegas was among the first to receive a gambling licence in Sweden. In October 2019, LeoVegas were granted a five-year operating licence in Sweden. On 1 January 2019, Sweden became a regulated market and LeoVegas had a license from day one. In March 2021, LeoVegas agreed a deal to purchase Expekt for €5m. The acquisition was completed in May 2021. In May 2021, LeoVegas joined The Netherlands Online Gambling Association (NOGA). LeoVegas also introduced instant and individually personalised deposit limits across its UK brand portfolio on same month. In May 2022,

announced an offer to acquire LeoVegas in a deal worth $607 million and received all approvals needed to commence their acquisition by 7 September 2022.

Operations

The company headquarters are in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, whereas the brand "LeoVegas" is owned by LeoVegas Gaming Ltd. which is based in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. Technical development is conducted by a further subsidiary of the group, Gears of Leo, based in Sweden. The company has offices in Italy, UK and Poland. The online casino and sports betting products are licensed and regulated under the service of the Maltese Lottery and Gaming Authority (MGA). In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the company operates in compliance with UK Gambling Commission requirements and in Sweden under the service of Spelinspektionen. In addition, it has obtained authorization in 2019 from the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ). LeoVegas' core markets are the United Kingdom and Nordic countries, namely

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. The company also has a presence in other European countries

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In addition, LeoVegas has a presence in the Latin American countries

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. LeoVegas offers a number of

casino game A casino game is one in which players gamble cash or chips on various possible random outcomes or combinations of outcomes, often in a casino environment. Such games are also available in online casinos, where permitted by law. Casino games can ...

s from game providers including NetEnt, Yggdrasil, Evolution Gaming, IGT, Play N’ Go,

Playtech Playtech plc is a gambling software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixe ...

Microgaming Microgaming is a privately held gambling software company based in the Isle of Man. The company first developed online casino software in 1994. Overview In May 2009, Microgaming's progressive slot Mega Moolah paid out $6,374,434, the largest ...

, Authentic Gaming, Bally and WMS. Some of the casino games offered are

roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...

baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game. It is now mainly played at casinos, but formerly popular at house-parties and private gaming rooms. The game's origins are a mixture of precursors from China, Japan, and Korea, which then gained popularit ...

and Caribbean stud poker. The LeoVegas sportsbook uses the Kambi platform for front end user interface, odds compilation and

customer intelligence Customer intelligence (CI) as part of business intelligence is the process of gathering information regarding customers, and their details and activities, to build deeper and more effective customer relationship management, customer relationships ...

Partnerships

On 19 June 2017, LeoVegas signed a two-year deal with

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

club

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

to become both their new shirt and title sponsor. They followed this up a week later, on 26 June, by signing a three-year deal with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. In 2023, the company became the shirt sponsor of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. In March 2021, LeoVegas agreed a deal with Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

A.S. Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: ) is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its exis ...

to become the club's official Online Infotainment Partner. Strengthening their presence in Serie A, LeoVegas also became official Top Sponsors of

Atalanta BC Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio (), commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy, who compete in Serie A, the top tier of the Italian league system. Founded in 1907, Atalanta holds the record ...

later in 2021. The partnership agreement between LeoVegas and Atalanta BC was renewed ahead of the 2024/25 season. In August 2021, Leo vegas announced its partnership deal with Esports data and technology company Abios. The agreement allowed LeoVegas access to Abios’ real time widgets and apps to aid in user engagement with their esports offerings.

Awards

At the Global Gaming Awards London 2021, LeoVegas won the "Online Casino of the Year" award for the fourth time in a row. LeoVegas picked up the Mobile Casino Product of the Year at the 2021 EGR Operator Awards. In April 2022 the company won for the fifth time the "Online Casino of the Year Award" at the Global Gaming Awards held in London, for the fifth consecutive time. In February 2023, LeoVegas scooped the 'Online Casino of the Year' award at the 2023 Global Gaming Awards in London. In October 2023, LeoVegas won 'Operator of the Year' at the EGR Operator Awards 2023.

Critics

United Kingdom

LeoVegas was fined £600,000 (€680,500) by the Gambling Commission (GC) over "failings" related to misleading advertising and the handling of customers. Specifically, 41 misleading adverts were identified that were sanctioned by the operator, as well as evidence of the mistreatment of customers at the end of their self-exclusion period. A review found that LeoVegas failed to return funds to 11,205 customers when they chose to self-exclude and close their accounts, while marketing material was sent to 1,894 people who had previously self-excluded. LeoVegas allowed 413 previously self-excluded customers to gamble, without speaking to them first or applying a 24-hour cooling off period.

References

{{MGM Resorts International Online gambling companies of Sweden Gambling companies established in 2011 MGM Resorts International Swedish companies established in 2011 2022 mergers and acquisitions