LONG HAUL

Metropolitan Gaming In For Long Haul

When the iGamingPost exclusively revealed that US investment firm Silver Point Capital were to buy the total UK casino assets of Caesars Entertainment the belief was that the new owner was to break up the business and sell off several of the outer London properties.

However under its management business, Metropolitan Gaming Limited the iGamingPost has learnt it has refused to discuss any sale of its new casino assets and believes it can go it alone and turnaround the former struggling casino estate.

Caesars Entertainment moved into the UK market back in 2006 on the back of the UK government Budd Report that recommended the country should build super casinos like Las Vegas. However national media campaigns stopped that from happening and Caesars were left with a portfolio of seven casinos that apart from a few made little or no profit. With no interested parties to buy the business until this year when Caesars made the decision to pull out of Europe and focus solely on the US following the acquisition on William Hill.

At the time when Silver Point purchased the casinos (the final exchange is still pending) it was thought that the investment firm would break up the casinos and sell off the most lucrative locations, but the management now feel they can turnaround the business and eventually sell it for much more than the value they paid for it. At the time the deal was announced, Edward Mulé, Founding Partner of Silver Point, said: “We are very excited about the opportunity to acquire a number of historic and high-end casinos in the United Kingdom. The acquisition fits well with Silver Point’s focus on investing in high-quality businesses at opportune times.” “I am excited to join the amazing team at Metropolitan Gaming,” said Michael Silberling, the newly appointed CEO of Metropolitan Gaming. “The world, the global economy, and the hospitality industry have been rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic, but I believe that this team is well positioned to lead a strong rebound of this business, benefitting from their experience and expertise, and a partner that is committed to invest. We intend to focus on job creation and investment in this historic business as we partner with our employees, regulators and the communities in which we operate to create a safe, fun and memorable experience for our customers that is second to none.”

Mr Siberling has an extensive background in gaming with Mohegan Gaming, Affinity Gaming and was even Managing Director for Caesars in the UK under its previous name of Harrah’s Entertainment up until 2008.

Coingaming Group Rebrands To Yolo Group

The Coingaming Group is now Yolo Group, following a full rebrand of the maturing business to better reflect its status as disruptors across a diverse range of sectors including gaming and fintech.

Within the Yolo Group will sit five verticals which cover the full spectrum of the business’ interests: *Yolo Investments, focused on investment opportunities across gaming and fintech. * Yolo Entertainment, incorporating all Coingaming Group B2C brands including Bitcasino and Sportsbet.io. * Yolo Finance, home of our blockchain, fintech and banking rails related activities. * Yolo Ventures, covering strategic partnership projects on a B2B scale. * Yolo Tech, delivering IT and back office services within our ecosystem.

Yolo Group and the more than 600 Yoloers working with the business will continue to be defined by a “fun, fast and fair” approach and a laser focus on putting the customer at the centre of the universe.

The change in brand will further help create synergy throughout the fast-growing group as it continues to expand into new areas and markets. both excited and proud to announce that we are rebranding to Yolo Group with a new identity for a company always looking to the future. The Coingaming brand served us well for many years, but as disruptors in industries beyond gaming, we felt Yolo Group better represented our people, our business and our vision.

“Yolo Group is about bringing nextlevel innovation to gaming, fintech, blockchain and many more sectors, all the while ensuring our customers are kept at the centre of the universe. You only live once and that’s why we don’t settle for anything less.”