Item 1. Business
Introduction
The information included in this Report on Form 10-K should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplemental Data” of this Report.
Our logo and some of our trademarks and tradenames are used in this Report. This Report also includes trademarks, tradenames and service marks that are the property of others. Solely for convenience, trademarks, tradenames, and service marks referred to in this Report may appear without the ®, ™ and SM symbols. References to our trademarks, tradenames and service marks are not intended to indicate in any way that we will not assert to the fullest extent under applicable law our rights or the rights of the applicable licensors if any, nor that respective owners to other intellectual property rights will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. We do not intend the use or display of other companies’ trademarks and trade names to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
The market data and certain other statistical information used throughout this Report are based on independent industry publications, reports by market research firms or other independent sources that we believe to be reliable sources. Industry publications and third-party research, surveys and studies generally indicate that their information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information; and we have not commissioned any of the market or survey data that is presented in this Report. We are responsible for all the disclosures contained in this Report, and we believe these industry publications and third-party research, surveys and studies are reliable. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding any third-party information presented in this Report, their estimates, in particular, as they relate to projections, involve numerous assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the section entitled “Item 1A. Risk Factors”. These and other factors could cause our future performance to differ materially from our assumptions and estimates. Some market and other data included herein, as well as the data of competitors as they relate to Golden Matrix Group, Inc., is also based on our good faith estimates.
On April 27, 2020, we filed a Certificate of Change Pursuant to NRS 78.209 with the Nevada Secretary of State pursuant to which we affected a reverse stock split of our authorized and issued and outstanding common stock in a ratio of 1-for-150. As a result of such filing, our authorized shares of common stock decreased from 6 billion to 40 million and our issued and outstanding shares of common stock decreased in a ratio of 1-for-150. All fractional shares of common stock remaining after the reverse split were rounded up to the nearest whole share. Pursuant to Section 78.207(1) of the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”), shareholder approval was not required for this transaction. The Certificate of Change was effective with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on June 26, 2020. The effects of the reverse stock split are retroactively reflected throughout this Report.
On May 12, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a change in the Company’s fiscal year from July 31 to January 31, effective immediately.
On October 29, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a change in the Company’s fiscal year from January 31 to October 31, effective immediately. As a result, thereof, the Company has presented information in this Report, where applicable, as of October 31, 2022, for the year ended October 31, 2022, for the nine month transition period ended October 31, 2021, for the twelve months ended January 31, 2021, and for the six month transition period ended January 31, 2020.
On November 22, 2021, our Board of Directors, and on November 23, 2021, our majority stockholder, pursuant to a written consent to action without meeting, approved and ratified the filing of a Certificate of Amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of Nevada to increase the Company’s total authorized number of shares of Common Stock from forty million (40,000,000) shares to two hundred and fifty million (250,000,000) shares (the “Share Increase”), and to restate Article 3, Capital Stock thereof to clarify the Board of Director’s ability to designate and issue ‘blank check’ preferred stock (the “Amendment”). The Amendment was filed with, and became effective with, the Secretary of State of Nevada, on December 16, 2021.
Unless the context requires otherwise, references to the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,”, “GMGI” and “Golden Matrix” in this Report refer specifically to Golden Matrix Group, Inc., and its consolidated subsidiary.
In addition, unless the context otherwise requires and for the purposes of this report only:
| · | “AUD” means Australian dollars; |
| · | “Exchange Act” refers to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; |
| · | “Euro” or “€” refers to the Euro, the official currency of the majority of the member states of the European Union; |
| · | “GBP” or “£” means Pounds Sterling or Great British Pounds; |
| · | “SEC” or the “Commission” refers to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission; |
| · | “Securities Act” refers to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; and |
| · | “USD” or “$” means United States dollars. |
All dollar amounts in this Report are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.
Available Information
We file annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC like us at https://www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed by us with the SEC (including exhibits) are also available from us without charge, upon oral or written request to our Secretary, who can be contacted at the address and telephone number set forth on the cover page of this report. Our website address is https://goldenmatrix.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934 will be available through our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The information on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Report and should not be considered a part of this Report.
Organizational History
The Company was incorporated in the State of Nevada on June 4, 2008, under the name Ibex Resources Corp. The Company’s business at the time was mining and exploration of mineral properties. In October 2009, the Company changed its name to Source Gold Corp, remaining in the business of acquiring exploration and development stage mineral properties. In April 2016, the Company changed its name to Golden Matrix Group, Inc., changing the direction of the Company’s business to focus on software technology. The Company previously held mining assets, which it no longer owns. All mining claims and assets were disposed of and/or transferred in exchange for the cancellation of convertible notes held by various note holders.
On February 22, 2016, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Luxor Capital, LLC (“Luxor”), a Nevada limited liability corporation, which is wholly-owned by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Anthony Brian Goodman. The Company purchased certain intellectual property relating to gaming (“Gaming IP”), along with the “know how” of that Gaming IP from Luxor. In consideration for the purchase, the Company agreed to issue 74 shares of the Company’s Common Stock and a Convertible Promissory Note in the amount of $2,374,712. On February 26, 2016, 60 shares were issued to Luxor.
On February 28, 2018, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Luxor. Pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, the Company purchased certain intellectual property and know-how relating to a proprietary gaming solution from Luxor (the “GM2 Asset”), in exchange, the Company issued 4,166,667 shares of common stock, and an Earn Out Payment calculated at 50% of the revenues generated by the GM2 Asset during the 12-month period from March 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019. A convertible note was required to be issued to Luxor before April 30, 2019, was to bear interest at the rate of 4% per annum and be convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price equal to the average of the seven trading days closing prices on the date prior to conversion. The GM2 Asset included all source code and documentation.
On March 1, 2018, the Company entered into a License Agreement (the “License Agreement”) with Articulate Pty Ltd (“Articulate”), which is wholly-owned by Anthony Brian Goodman, CEO and Chairman of the Company and his wife Marla Goodman. Pursuant to the License Agreement, Articulate received a license from the Company to use the GM2 Asset technology in East Asia to support gaming activity on mobile and desktop devices. Articulate agreed to pay the Company a usage fee calculated as a certain percentage of the monthly content and software usage within the GM2 Asset system (adjusted for U.S. dollars) in consideration for the use of the GM2 Asset technology. Specifically, the Company is due 0.25% of the monthly fees generated by the GM2 Asset in the event such fees are less than $100,000,000; 0.2% of the monthly fees generated by the GM2 Asset in the event such fees are over $100,000,000 and less than $200,500,000 and 0.15% of the monthly fees generated by the GM2 Asset in the event such fees are over $200,500,001. The License Agreement had an initial term of 12 months and automatically renews thereafter for additional 12-month terms, provided that the License Agreement may be terminated at any time with 30 days prior notice. The License Agreement has continued to automatically renew on a 12-month basis, with the most recent renewal being for the 12 months ended March 1, 2023.
On January 19, 2021, the Company acquired 100% ownership of Global Technology Group Pty Ltd (GTG), an Australian Company. GTG has an Alderney Gambling Control Commission (“AGCC”) license (an AGCC Category 2 Associate Certificate). The government of Alderney offers software service providers in the gambling industry with a gambling license that allows gambling operators to conduct business related to casino, lotto, and other gaming related activities. We believe that Alderney is one of the preferred locations for online Gambling operators and is regarded in the community as one of the strictest licensing jurisdictions with policies aimed at improving transparency and cultivating a good gaming environment. GTG was wholly-owned by Brian Anthony Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and director, and the direct beneficial owner of the majority of our voting stock. The purchase price was 85,000 Pounds Sterling (£) (approximately $113,000). On March 22, 2021, the Company paid Mr. Goodman $115,314 USD (equivalent to 85,000 GBP), for the acquisition of GTG.
On November 29, 2021, the Company entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement of Ordinary Issued Share Capital (the “Purchase Agreement”), to acquire an 80% ownership interest in RKingsCompetitions Ltd, a private limited company formed under the laws of Northern Ireland (the “RKings”) from Mark Weir and Paul Hardman, individuals (each a “Seller” and collectively the “Sellers”), the owners of 100% of the ordinary issued share capital of RKings. The Company paid the Sellers (a) GBP £3,000,000 (the “Closing Cash Consideration”); and (b) 666,250 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock, with an agreed value of GBP £4,000,000, or $8.00 per share of Company common stock (the “Initial Share Value” and the “Closing Shares”).
Additionally, within seven days after the receipt of the audit of RKings (as required by SEC rules and regulations), an additional number (rounded to the nearest whole share) of restricted shares of Company common stock, equal to (i) 80% of RKings’ net asset value (inventory on hand (minus allowances for reserve inventory and allocated goods and materials) plus RKings’ total cash and cash equivalents on hand; less RKings’ current and accrued liabilities, as described in greater detail in the Purchase Agreement) as of October 31, 2021, divided by (ii) the Initial Share Value (the “Post-Closing Shares”), was required to be issued to the Sellers as part of the consideration due for the purchase of 80% of RKings. On March 7, 2022, the Company issued 70,332 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock in payment of 80% of RKings’ net asset value as of October 31, 2021 (described above), in the amount of $562,650.
A total of GBP £1,000,000 (USD $1,366,500)(the “Holdback Amount”) was retained by the Company following closing and was to be released to the Sellers, within six months after the closing date only to the extent that (A) RKings achieved revenue of at least USD $7,200,000 during the six full calendar months immediately following the closing date; and (B) the Sellers did not default in any of their obligations, covenants or representations under the Purchase Agreement or other transaction documents. See also the discussion of the Settlement Agreement below.
Additionally, in the event the (A) the Company determined, on or before the date on which the Company files its Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC for the Company’s fiscal year ending October 31, 2022 (the “Filing Date”), that the increase (if any) between (1) RKings’ twelve-month trailing EBITDA for the year ended October 31, 2022, less (2) RKings’ twelve-month trailing EBITDA for the year ended October 31, 2021, is at least GBP £1,250,000 during the twelve-month period ending October 31, 2022; and (B) the Sellers do not default in any of their obligations, covenants or representations under the Purchase Agreement or other transaction documents, then the Company is required to pay the Sellers GBP £4,000,000 (USD $5,330,000) (the “Earn-Out Consideration”), which is payable at the option of the Company in either (a) cash; or (b) shares of Company common stock valued at $8.00 per share of Company common stock (subject to equitable adjustment in accordance with dividends payable in stock on such Company Common Stock, stock splits, stock combinations, and other similar events affecting the Company Common Stock) (such shares of Company Common Stock, if any, the “Earn-Out Shares”).The Company determined that the Earn-Out Consideration of approximately $5,330,000 is no longer owed to the Sellers as of October 31, 2022, as condition (A) described above, i.e., a required increase in RKings’ twelve-month EBITDA from October 31, 2021 to October 31, 2022 of GBP £1,250,000, did not materialize and condition (B) described above was not met as the Sellers defaulted in their obligations, covenants, or representations under the Purchase Agreement. See also the discussion of the Settlement Agreement below.
On December 6, 2021, the Company closed the Purchase, which had an effective date of November 1, 2021.
On July 11, 2022, the Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire 99.99% of the stock of Golden Matrix MX, S.A. DE C.V. (“Golden Matrix MX”), a then newly formed shell company incorporated in Mexico for nominal consideration. Golden Matrix MX had no assets or operations at the time of the acquisition and was formed for the benefit of the Company, for the sole purpose of operating an online casino in Mexico. The acquisition closed on September 7, 2022. The Company launched its licensed proprietary B2C online casino in Mexico on November 1, 2022, via its majority-owned subsidiary Golden Matrix MX. The online casino, Mexplay, (www.mexplay.mx), is an online site in Mexico which features an extensive number of table games, slots, as well as a sportsbook, and offers tournament competition prizes similar to those offered by RKings.
On August 1, 2022, and effective on August 4, 2022, we entered into a Settlement and Mutual Release Agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) with Mark Weir, one of the two sellers of the 80% interest in RKings which we acquired pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. The Settlement Agreement was entered into in order to partially settle certain breaches of the Purchase Agreement which the Sellers (Mr. Weir and Mr. Paul Hardman) were jointly and severally responsible for pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, (a) we agreed to make a payment to Mr. Weir in the amount of £450,000 (approximately $548,112), representing one-half of the £1,000,000 (approximately $1,218,027) Holdback Amount, less £50,000 (approximately $60,902) in excess salary payments made to Mr. Weir (the “Settlement Payment”); (b) Mr. Weir agreed to enter into an employment agreement with RKings; and (c) we and Mr. Weir, on behalf of ourselves and our affiliates and representatives, provided each other mutual releases, subject to certain customary exceptions. The Settlement Payment was in full satisfaction of all payments (including any portion of the Holdback Amount or Earn-Out Consideration), due to Mr. Weir under the Purchase Agreement. The Settlement Payment was paid in full on August 21, 2022. However, the Company is in dispute with Mr. Paul Hardman (the other seller of the 80% interest in RKings, described above) with regards to the Holdback Amount of $573,000 that he has alleged is still owed to him. That amount is accrued and included in the Company’s liabilities. The Company’s dispute and claims against Mr. Hardman stem from breaches of the terms of the Purchase Agreement by Mr. Hardman. The Company is vigorously pursuing the claim of breach of the Purchase Agreement.
On October 17, 2022, effective August 1, 2022, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “GMG Purchase Agreement”), to acquire a 100% ownership interest in GMG Assets Limited (“GMG Assets”), a private limited company formed under the laws of Northern Ireland from Aaron Johnston and Mark Weir, individuals, the owners of 100% of the ordinary issued share capital (100 Ordinary Shares) of GMG Assets. At the time of our entry into the GMG Purchase Agreement, Aaron Johnston was a Board Member of the Company, and Mark Weir was a 10% Shareholder in RKings, of which GMGI then held 80%, and as such are both related parties to the Company. Pursuant to the GMG Purchase Agreement, which was approved by the Company’s Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, the Company agreed to pay the Sellers 25,000 British pound sterling (GBP) (approximately $29,000) for 100% of GMG Assets, which represented the combined costs paid by the Sellers to form GMG Assets. GMG Assets was formed for the sole purpose of facilitating the Company’s operation of RKings and to facilitate cash alternative offers for winners of prizes within RKings’ business.
On October 27, 2022, the Company exercised its Buyout Right by providing written notice to the minority owners of RKings. In connection with such exercise, the Company agreed to pay minority owners in total $1,323,552, which would be satisfied by the issuance by the Company to the minority owners 165,444 shares of restricted common stock of the Company (with such shares being valued at $8.00 per share pursuant to the terms of the Shareholders Agreement). On November 4, 2022, 165,444 restricted shares were issued to the minority owners. On November 30, 2022, RKings filed a confirmation statement with UK’s Companies House pursuant to which the 20% minority shares of RKings were transferred to the Company effective on November 4, 2022.
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, which causes the infectious disease known as COVID-19, was reported in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” on January 30, 2020 and a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. In March and April, many U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions began issuing ‘stay-at-home’ orders. The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted global commercial activity, disrupted supply chains and contributed to significant volatility in financial markets. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could have a continued material adverse impact on economic and market conditions and trigger a period of global economic slowdown.
A significant or prolonged decrease in consumer spending on entertainment or leisure activities would likely have an adverse effect on demand for our product offerings, reducing cash flows and revenues, and thereby materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, a recurrence of COVID-19 cases or an emergence of additional variants or strains could cause other widespread or more severe impacts depending on where infection rates are highest. We plan to continue to monitor developments relating to disruptions and uncertainties caused by COVID-19.
As shown in our results of operations herein, we have to date, not experienced any significant material negative impact to our operations, revenues or gross profit due to COVID-19. However, moving forward, the range of possible impacts on our business from the coronavirus pandemic could include: (i) changing demand for our products and services; (ii) rising bottlenecks in our supply chain; and (iii) increasing contraction in the capital markets. Our operations have not been materially negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic although much of the Company’s work has been performed in the commuter environment, as opposed to the office setting. In June 2022, our offices were reopened, and employees returned to work in the offices; however, it is possible that COVID-19 and the worldwide response thereto, may have a material negative effect on our operations, cash flows and results of operations.
Currently we believe that we have sufficient cash on hand, and the ability to raise additional funding, or borrow additional funding, as needed, to support our operations for the foreseeable future; however, we will continue to evaluate our business operations based on new information as it becomes available and will make changes that we consider necessary in light of any new developments regarding the pandemic.
The future impact of COVID-19 on our business and operations is currently unknown. The pandemic is continuing to develop rapidly and the full extent to which COVID-19 will ultimately impact us depends on future developments, including the duration and spread of the virus, virus mutations and variants, the availability and efficacy of vaccines and boosters, and the willingness of individuals to continue to obtain vaccines and boosters, as well as potential seasonality of new outbreaks.
Increased Interest Rates and Inflation and Recession Risk
The Company’s financial performance is subject to global, Asia Pacific and UK economic conditions and their impact on levels of spending by consumers and customers, particularly discretionary spending for entertainment, gaming and leisure activities. Recent increases in interest rates and inflation, globally, and more specifically in the Asia Pacific and UK regions, have led to economic volatility, increased borrowing costs, price increases and risks of recessions. Economic recessions may have adverse consequences across industries, including the global entertainment and gaming industries, which may adversely affect the Company’s business and financial condition. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by governments to attempt to slow down rising inflation, there is substantial uncertainty about the strength of the global, Asia Pacific and UK economies, which may currently or in the near term be in a recession and have experienced rapid increases in uncertainty about the pace of potential recovery. In addition, changes in general market, economic and political conditions in domestic and foreign economies or financial markets, including fluctuation in stock markets resulting from, among other things, trends in the economy and inflation, as are being currently experienced, may reduce gaming users’ disposable income.
We believe that our business will continue to be resilient through a continued economic downturn or recession, or slowing or stalled recovery therefrom, and that we have the liquidity to address the Company’s financial obligations and alleviate possible adverse effects on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.
Who We Are and What We Do
We are an established provider of enterprise Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) solutions for online casino operators and online sports betting operators, commonly referred to as iGaming operators. We also run a pay to enter prize competition in the United Kingdom and Ireland. On November 1, 2022, the Company launched its licensed propriety business-to-consumer (B2C) online casino in Mexico.
A provider of enterprise Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) solutions
We develop and own online gaming intellectual property (IP) and build configurable and scalable, turn-key and white-label gaming platforms for our international customers, located primarily in the Asia Pacific region.
As of October 31, 2022, our systems had over 7.1 million registered players and a total of more than 685 unique casino and live game operations within all our platforms including our GM-X and GM-Ag, Turnkey Solutions, and White Label Solutions.
The GM-X and GM-Ag System turn-key solutions (including modular, configurable and scalable gaming platforms), are complete software packages for starting an online gaming business, incorporating all the tools and gaming content necessary to run an online Casino and/or Sportsbook and offers a full suite of tools and features for successfully operating and maintaining an online gaming website; from player registration to user management and content management.
The GM-X and GM-Ag Systems have been deployed primarily in the Asia Pacific and we are currently focused on expanding our deployment into Europe, U.S., South America, and Africa. The online gambling industry, in the U.S., is essentially regulated at the state level. The Company is currently in discussions with multiple specialist gaming attorneys in the U.S. and has plans to engage one of these gaming specialists to represent the Company in its applications for a gaming license in the U.S. in the future.
The GM-X and GM-Ag Systems provide platforms that facilitate our gaming customers’ operating online casinos, sportsbooks, lottery, and live games, as well as providing customers with seamless access to large portfolios of licensed gaming content, provided by established, licensed and accredited gaming content providers. We have distribution agreements with third party content providers to resell their game content. The game content includes games such as slots, table games (e.g., roulette, blackjack, and poker), sportsbooks and “live games.” A “live game” is when a live casino game is shown via a live streaming video link in real time from a casino table where live dealers deal cards from a licensed studio and allow players to place an online bet on the outcome of the card game. We have been granted distribution rights for the gaming content that we provide to our customers.
Our GM-X and GM-Ag Systems provide the core platforms for our online casino and sportsbook operators. The systems contain back-office tools necessary for the customer to run a successful online iGaming operation. These tools include player account registration and creation, sophisticated payment services and gateways, geolocation, marketing, loyalty management, real-time analytics, and comprehensive reporting. The Company’s platform can be accessed through both desktop and mobile applications.
The Company has developed its own proprietary Peer-to-Peer E-sports gaming product; however, the launch of the Peer-to-Peer gaming product is currently on hold until further notice, so that the Company can focus on other projects. This product, if approved and launched, will be marketed as the Player2P Platform (“Player2P”). The Player2P brand will be focused solely on esports gambling and 18+ gaming (i.e., gaming by those over 18 years of age). Player2P is expected to not only offer users traditional casino style games but allow players to compete against each other whilst playing E-sport console games.
Our GM-X and GM-Ag System are designed to enable our customers to rapidly launch and scale their iGaming and online sportsbook operations. The GM-X and GM-Ag Systems support both social and real money online casino gaming (“iGaming”). The back-office of the GM-X and GM-Ag Systems contain comprehensive player management capabilities, in which customer and player activity data is stored and processed in real-time. The back office offers analytic and reporting tools to help our customers create loyalty and attempt to generate the highest value from players. The GM-X and GM-Ag Systems also provide customers access to extensive and comprehensive data to assist them with optimizing player value and loyalty.
Our customers are primarily licensed online gaming operators. The Company also provides services and resells third party gaming content to licensed online gaming distributors. The majority of the Company’s customers hold gaming licenses in Asia, South America, and Europe. The Company provides business-to-business services and products and does not deal directly with players.
According to an August 2022 report by Mordor Intelligence, the online gaming industry is expected to witness substantial growth over the next five years, the global gaming market was valued at USD $198.40 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach a value of USD $339.95 billion by 2027, which would be a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.94% over 2022-2027, and in addition to this potential growth opportunity, we see within our existing core markets, a large and growing universe of additional potential new customers for the GM-X and GM-Ag Systems. Our focus will be on developing markets such as Latin America, Africa, and selected U.S. States that are currently implementing regulated frameworks for allowing real money betting. As a result, we believe we have a significant opportunity to expand our tried and tested systems into a much broader global market because our proprietary gaming technologies are flexible and scalable and have been built and tested over many years.
Our core markets are currently the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and while we have a solid customer base; we are continuing to engage new gaming operators on a regular basis, and we anticipate that our current operators will continue to grow. A July 6, 2022 report by Statista reports that the total digital gaming market is predicted to be worth more than $197 billion in 2022. As the number of video gamers worldwide approaches three billion, APAC is home to over half of these gamers. The video gaming market size in APAC is $53.4 billion with 1.48 billion gamers in Asia. Our vision is to become the platform of choice for casinos and sportsbook operators seeking to transition from a land-based casino and sportsbook environment onto an online environment.
A provider of pay to enter prize competitions
The Company engages in the competition operations in the United Kingdom via its subsidiary RKings. The Company operates competitions to win prizes online such as cars, motorbikes, watches, technology, holidays, luxury gadgets and other items by offering pay to enter prize competitions throughout the UK which are not gambling or a lottery and RKings does not offer B2C online sports betting and/or online casino services. The prize competitions require entrants to demonstrate sufficient skill, knowledge, or judgment to have a chance of winning and participants are provided with a route to free entry to the prize competitions as required by UK law. We refer to these as “pay to enter prize competitions”.
As a purely online business, the Company has been focusing on enhancing the products and experience we offer to both new and existing players by improving the functionality and responsiveness of the RKingsCompetitions.com website, enhancing the prize values, and reducing the ticket prices.
In addition, the Company, through GMG Assets Limited, provides the winners of RKings’ prizes with the option of accepting the cash value of the prize. In doing so, GMG Assets purchases the prize from the winner for cash and sells the prize to wholesalers at a margin. Effective October 24, 2022, the Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement dated October 17, 2022 whereby the Company purchased 100% of GMG Assets Limited, a Northern Ireland Company for GBP 25,000 (approximately $29,000), which amount has not been paid to date.
A provider of B2C online casino
The Company launched its licensed proprietary B2C online casino in Mexico on November 1, 2022, via its majority-owned subsidiary Golden Matrix MX. The online casino, Mexplay (www.mexplay.mx), an online site in Mexico, features an extensive number of table games, slots, as well as a sportsbook, and offer tournament competition prizes similar to those offered by RKings. While the site is currently operational, the Company has not yet started commercially marketing of the casino.
Our Platform and Services
The GM-X and GM-Ag Systems provide unified, flexible, and highly scalable platforms that can be rapidly deployed for social iGaming, real money iGaming, and online sports betting. In addition to our platforms, we offer a seamless integration of the world’s leading casino games, sportsbook systems, and live games.
The Company has distribution rights for the distribution of third-party casino games, live games and sportsbook systems.
The Company generates revenue from these services based on fees charged pursuant to applicable contracts, which revenue is recognized over the time during which the services are provided. Typically, we are paid a portion of the revenue generated from our licensed content and pay the owners of such licensed games a portion of the revenue we receive.
The Company provides its systems as an enterprise SaaS solution, as well as providing third party games. Revenue streams are generated by the use of the GM-X and GM-AG Systems by our customers and also the use of the gaming content by our customers. Customers are primarily online casino operators and online sports betting operators, commonly referred to as iGaming operators as well as gaming content distributors.
Our GM-X and GM-Ag Systems incorporate multiple modules, including, gaming content, sportsbook, player registration, payment gateways, back-office reports, accounting, management and customer loyalty and marketing tools.
Our real money iGaming applications comply with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 and with the federal Wire Act of 1961. Payment gateways integrate with a wide range of third-party payment processors.
We may in the future need to initiate infringement claims or litigation. Litigation, whether we are a plaintiff or a defendant, can be expensive, time-consuming and may divert the efforts of our technical staff and managerial personnel, which could harm our business, whether or not such litigation results in a determination favorable to us. In addition, litigation is inherently uncertain, and thus we may not be able to stop our competitors from infringing upon our intellectual property rights, even if we are successful in any litigation.
Despite our efforts to protect our technology and proprietary rights through licenses and contractual protections, unauthorized parties may still copy or otherwise obtain and use our software and technology. In addition, we intend to continue to expand our international operations, and effective intellectual property, copyright and trade secret protection may not be available or may be limited in foreign countries. Any significant impairment of our intellectual property rights could harm our business or our ability to compete. Further, other companies in the real money and social casino gaming industries may own large numbers of patents, copyrights and trademarks and may threaten litigation, or file suit against us based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. We may face allegations in the future that we have infringed on the intellectual property rights of third parties, including our competitors and non-practicing entities.
We also face the risk that third parties will claim that we infringe on their intellectual property rights, which could result in costly license fees or expensive litigation.
The iGaming and sports betting industries are subject to rapid technological change and we are developing technology and intellectual property that we believe is unique and provides us with a commercial advantage. While we respect third parties’ intellectual property rights avoid the inadvertent use of third-party intellectual property, we may face claims in the future that the products or solutions that we develop, or those provided to us by third parties or used by our customers, infringe on third parties’ intellectual property rights.
GM-X and GM-Ag Systems
Our GM-X System relies entirely on a transfer wallet system wherein third-party gaming content is individually integrated into our gaming systems and each portfolio of content can only be accessed via the transfer of funds, by the operators’ players, from their primary wallet into the specific wallet applicable to the gaming portfolio, in order to play the specific games. Funds are then returned to the main wallet once the player has completed their gaming session. These systems are prevalent in the APAC region.
The new GM-Ag platform supersedes the GM-X system and not only supports operators requiring a transfer wallet but also provides a seamless wallet and seamless integration of gaming content, allowing the operators’ players to access all content seamlessly without transferring funds into and out of their main wallet, which seamless process is more in line with casino operations in Europe and America.
Both the GM-X and GM-Ag platforms offer:
White Label flexible front-end development
Customized and localized design of the casino operator’s mobile application and website, with a branded experience that is consistent with the casino operator’s brand and market positioning and streamlines player registration and account funding.
We host our customers’ iGaming operations on a combination of proprietary and cloud servers including the Amazon Elastic Compute (EC2) Server. The Amazon EC2 Cloud is part of Amazon.com’s cloud-computing platform which is a highly scalable agile service enabling the Company’s ability to build, deploy and manage websites, apps or processes.
World’s leading gaming content
The GM-X and GM-Ag System platforms feature a proprietary gaming engine that seamlessly integrates a large portfolio of gaming content that serves third party gaming content via a technical ‘middle layer’ that permits third party games to be published to the customers end user players through a single integration. The Company also offers operators quick access to our entire gaming portfolio via a single direct integration.
Online Sportsbook
We provide a seamless integration to one of the world’s leading Sportsbook Systems through a license and services agreement. Our sports betting platform has access to some of the world’s leading gaming operators and one of the world’s most respected sportsbook providers. These sportsbook providers have secured regulatory approval to operate in Colorado and Pennsylvania.
Loyalty Tools
Retention and Acquisition
The GM-X and GM-Ag Systems provide comprehensive marketing and loyalty tools including Free Spins, Cash Bonuses, Leader Boards, Cash Back offers, and Tournaments allowing casino operators to put their offers, games and unique brand experience in their players’ hands extending player sessions, increasing reactivation of players, boosting retention, and designing attractive bonus campaigns. Free Spins are a promotional acquisition and retention tool wherein the casino offers players a chance to play new and exciting slots without risking their own cash. The players can win real money and try out the latest online slot machines for free. Bonuses are free cash granted to players in response to a player’s wagering or activity within the casino. We have found that both are powerful loyalty tools.
Data Analytics
The GM-X and GM-Ag Systems offer in-depth real time, structured, transactional and gameplay data providing an overview of the gaming platform’s performance, player activity, and real time visibility, allowing customers to make better decisions and to drill down into the data and see gaming activity at game play or transaction level.
Advanced reporting tools provide operators’ full visibility and control of the entire player lifecycle from one centralized point for all operational needs. A single account overview gives operators the capabilities and flexibility to tailor data-driven communication to player segments or even individual players, increasing the relevance of marketing activity to streamline costs and resources.
Support – 24/7 Gaming Support
In the future we plan to provide a range of term-based operational services to support our customers’ online gaming operations. Our tailored managed services are expected to include player customer support across email, phone and live chat, marketing agency services and network management with a 24/7 uptime guarantee. We also plan to provide custom game theme development services in select engagements where customers seek to differentiate themselves with gaming content unique to a customer’s branded experience.
Currencies
All major currencies are supported by the GM-X and GM-Ag Systems.
Languages
Multiple out-of-the-box language options are available on the GM-X and GM-Ag Systems.
Our Business Model
We operate (i) as an innovative provider of enterprise Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) solutions for online casino operators and online sports betting operators, commonly referred to as iGaming operators and, (ii) as a provider of pay to enter prize competitions in the United Kingdom (UK), through our 80% interest in RKings (100% effective November 4, 2022). These prize competitions are not gambling or a lottery and RKings does not offer B2C online sports betting and/or online casino services. The prize competitions require entrants to demonstrate sufficient skill, knowledge, or judgment to have a chance of winning and participants are provided with a route to free entry to the prize competitions as required by UK law. We refer to these as “pay to enter prize competitions”.
The Company will expand its B2C reach with the launching of its licensed proprietary B2C online casino in Mexico on November 1, 2022, via its majority-owned subsidiary Golden Matrix MX. The online casino, Mexplay (www.mexplay.mx), an online site in Mexico, features an extensive number of table games, slots, as well as a sportsbook, and offer tournament competition prizes similar to those offered by RKings. While the site is currently operational, the Company has not yet started commercially marketing of the casino.
Our SaaS customers are primarily online casino operators and online sports betting operators, commonly referred to as iGaming operators, as well as the third-party gaming content distributors which are essentially resellers of our gaming content and our systems. Our SaaS customers are located in the Asia Pacific region, as well as in Europe.
We have historically operated in the business-to-business (B2B) segment where we develop and own online gaming intellectual property (IP) and build configurable and scalable, turn-key and white-label gaming platforms for our international customers, located primarily in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. With the acquisition of 80% of RKingsCompetitions Ltd. effective on November 1, 2021 (now owned 100% as of November 4, 2022), we entered into the B2C segment by offering pay to enter prize competitions throughout the UK.
Our objective in managing our resources is to ensure that we have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations and meet our growth objectives while maximizing returns to shareholders. Liquidity is necessary to meet (i) the working capital needs of our operations, (ii) fund our growth and expansion plans, and (iii) consummate strategic acquisitions (including the recently disclosed Meridian Purchase Agreement (as defined below)). We have met, and plan to continue to meet, our cash requirements through our operations and sales of equity securities. As to the funding of strategic acquisitions, we may issue debt in addition to raising funds through the sales of the Company’s capital stock, which may be dilutive to existing shareholders.
B2B Segment
Our B2B segment customers are primarily gaming distributors and licensed online gaming operators. The Company also provides services and resells third party gaming content to licensed online gaming distributors and gaming operators. The Company provides business-to-business services and products and does not deal directly with players through its SaaS services.
We derive revenues primarily from licensing fees received from gaming operators, in most cases via gaming Distributors located in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region that utilize the Company’s technology.
As of October 31, 2022, our systems had over 7.1 million registered players and a total of more than 685 unique casino and live game operations within all of our platforms including our GM-X, GM-Ag, Turnkey Solution, and White Label Solutions.
The Company’s goal is to expand our customer base globally and to integrate additional operators, launch additional synergistic products and appoint more Distributors.
As described above, our core markets are currently the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and while we have a solid customer base; we are continuing to engage new gaming Distributors and gaming operators on a regular basis, and we anticipate that our current gaming Distributors and gaming operators will continue to grow.
B2C Segment
Our B2C segment customers are primarily located in Northern Ireland, although we have expanded our marketing efforts to attempt to reach customers throughout the UK. As of October 31, 2022, RKings had over 256,000 registered users.
We derive B2C revenues primarily from selling prize competitions tickets throughout the United Kingdom directly to customers for prizes ranging from automobiles to jewelry as well as travel and entertainment experiences.
Revenue Streams By Segments
Set out below are additional details regarding our revenue descriptions by segment, as well as details of how we recognize/will recognize revenue for each of our revenue streams.
The Company currently has three distinctive revenue streams. In the B2B segment there are two revenue streams (i) charges for usage of the Company’s software, and (ii) a royalty charged on the use of third-party gaming content. In the B2C segment, the revenue stream is related to the prize competition tickets sold to enter prize competitions in the UK through RKings. Our online casino, Mexplay, had not generated any revenues as of October 31, 2022.
B2B segment, revenue descriptions:
1. For the usage of the Company’s software, the Company charges gaming operators for the use of its unique intellectual property (IP) and technology systems.
We generate revenue through service agreements with customers and distributors, when our customers use our platform, software and third-party gaming content in operating their real money and social iGaming offerings.
In real money iGaming, conducted via websites, apps, and social networking, real money is wagered for monetary prizes. In social iGaming (social casino) gambling games, no money is paid out for wagers (no “Cash Out” option) and thus no real-world financial benefit is gained from winning social casino games. In the social casino setting, a player can purchase chips with which to gamble on more games, but these chips have no real-world value and cannot be redeemed for cash.
We enter into license agreements with our customers wherein we receive a usage fee based on a percentage of monthly content and software usage that takes place on our system. This percentage varies based on the different ranges of the monthly content and software usage within the GM2 Asset system (adjusted for U.S. dollars).
iGaming is players wagering on the outcome of a game online, and these activities include poker, slots, table games (poker, blackjack, etc.), live games and lottery games. Sports betting is a form of gambling that entails a player placing a wager, also known as a bet, on the outcome of a sporting event.
For the usage of the Company’s software, the Company provides services to the counterparty which include licensing the use of its unique IP and technology systems. The counterparty pays consideration in exchange for those services which include a variable amount depending on the software usage. The Company only recognizes the revenue at the month end when the usage occurs, and the revenue is based on the actual software usage of its customers.
2. For the royalty charged on the use of third-party gaming content, the Company acquires the third-party gaming content for a fixed cost and resells the content at a margin.
The Company acts as a distributor of the third-party gaming content which is utilized by our clients. The counterparty pays consideration in exchange for the gaming content utilized. The Company only recognizes the revenue at the month end when the usage of the gaming content occurs, and the revenue is based on the actual usage of the gaming content.
B2C segment, revenue description:
The Company generates revenues through RKings from sales of prize competitions tickets throughout the United Kingdom directly to customers for prizes ranging from automobiles to jewelry, as well as travel and entertainment experiences.
For the prize competitions ticket sales, revenue is recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration RKings expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services.
Payments for prize competitions received in advance of services being rendered are recorded as deferred revenue and recognized as revenue when control of the prize has been transferred to the winner of prize competitions.
Future revenue streams, revenue descriptions:
The Company launched its licensed proprietary B2C online casino in Mexico on November 1, 2022, via its subsidiary Golden Matrix MX. The online casino, Mexplay, features an extensive number of table games, slots, as well as sportsbook, and offer tournament competition prizes similar to those offered by RKings.
Online casino, typically includes digital versions of wagering games available in land-based casinos, such as blackjack, roulette and slot machines. For these offerings, the Company functions similarly to land-based casinos, generating revenue through hold, as users play against the house. Online casino revenue is generated from user wagers net of payouts made on users’ winning wagers and incentives awarded to users.
Sportsbook or sports betting involves a user wagering money on an outcome or series of outcomes occurring. When a user’s wager wins, the Company pays the user a pre-determined amount known as fixed odds. Sportsbook revenue is generated by setting odds such that there is a built-in theoretical margin in each sports wagering opportunity offered to users. Sportsbook revenue is generated from users’ wagers net of payouts made on users’ winning wagers and incentives awarded to users.
Intellectual Property
Our intellectual property includes the source code for our GM-X and GM-Ag Systems and other iGaming IP, the content of our websites, our registered domain names, our registered and unregistered trademarks, and certain trade secrets. We believe that our intellectual property is an essential asset of our business and that our registered domain names and our technology infrastructure will give us a competitive advantage in the marketplace. We rely on a combination of trademark, copyright and trade secret laws in the United States and foreign jurisdictions, as well as contractual provisions, to protect our proprietary technology and our brands. We also rely on copyright laws to protect the appearance and design of our sites and applications, although to date we have not registered for copyright protection on any particular content. We have registered numerous Internet domain names related to our business in order to protect our proprietary interests. The efforts we have taken to protect our intellectual property may not be sufficient or effective, and, despite these precautions, it may be possible for other parties to copy or otherwise obtain and use the content of our websites or our brand names without authorization.
Our current primary web properties are:
| · · · | www.goldenmatrix.com www.rkingscompetitions.com www.mexplay.mx |
The information on, or that may be accessed through, our websites is not incorporated by reference into this Report and should not be considered a part of this Report.
Currently, the Company, via its wholly-owned subsidiary Global Technology Group Pty Ltd, has an Alderney Gambling Control Commission license. The government of Alderney offers software service providers in the gambling industry with a gambling license that allows gambling operators to conduct business related to casino, lotto, and other gaming related activities. We believe that Alderney is one of the preferred locations for online gambling operators and is regarded in the community as one of the strictest licensing jurisdictions with policies aimed at improving transparency and cultivating a good gaming environment.
The Company is required to have a recognized business-to-business (B2B) gambling license in order to acquire certain gaming content. Currently the Company is not required to have a gaming license for the resale of its GM-X System or third-party content to operators in the jurisdictions in which it currently conducts business, however as the Company expands its global distribution licensing, regulatory requirements will be required.
Currently, gambling in Mexico is governed by the Regulations of the Federal Games and Draws Law (“Gaming Law”), as amended. The Gaming Law provides that the conduct of games (where bets are crossed and draws of numbers or symbols occur) require a permit from the Ministry of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación) (SEGOB). In addition, the Gaming Law provides that the federal executive power, through SEGOB, will regulate, authorize, control and supervise any kind of games where bets are crossed and draws occur and the operation of online gambling must be expressly authorized in the relevant permit granted by SEGOB. In addition to obtaining a permit for online gambling or a drawing of numbers and/or symbols, operators must also meet certain operating conditions, such as having a reliable remote betting system, cash control system and an internal control system. In connection with operating an online casino in Mexico, the Company applied for and was granted a gaming permit in Mexico through its subsidiary Golden Matrix MX.
Our Growth Strategy
The COVID-19 pandemic has not had a material impact on our business, and we expect our business to be resilient through the pandemic. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have continued operations, supported our online products and customers, and grown our sales, and our employees and consultants have returned to the office in June 2022. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, we previously experienced minor issues in connection with the transition of certain resources to remote settings as a result of the pandemic, which have since been resolved.
The Company’s financial performance is subject to global, Asia Pacific and UK economic conditions and their impact on levels of spending by consumers and customers, particularly discretionary spending for entertainment, gaming and leisure activities. Economic recessions may have adverse consequences across industries, including the global entertainment and gaming industries, which may adversely affect the Company’s business and financial condition. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and increased interest rates and rising inflation, there is substantial uncertainty about the strength of the global, Asia Pacific and UK economies, which may currently or in the near term be in a recession and have experienced rapid increases in uncertainty about the pace of potential recovery. In addition, changes in general market, economic and political conditions in domestic and foreign economies or financial markets, including fluctuation in stock markets resulting from, among other things, trends in the economy, and increases in inflation and interest rates, as are being currently experienced, may reduce users’ disposable income and/or lead to recessions.
We believe that our business will continue to be resilient through a continued economic downturn or recession, or slowing or stalled recovery therefrom, and that we have the liquidity to address the Company’s financial obligations and alleviate possible adverse effects on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.
Key elements of our growth strategy include:
| · | Supporting our existing customers as they scale up their respective iGaming and online sportsbook operations. As our customers’ businesses grow, we intend to deploy additional resources to develop the GM-X and GM-Ag Systems’ platform functionality, expand our gaming content portfolios by integrating additional third-party content providers, and seek to obtain additional regulatory approvals to operate in other global markets. The GM-X and GM-Ag Systems’ turn-key solution (including modular, configurable and scalable gaming platforms), is a complete software package for starting an online gaming business, incorporating all the tools and gaming content necessary to run an online Casino and/or Sportsbook and offers a full suite of tools and features for successfully operating and maintaining an online gaming website; from player registration to user management and content management. |
| · | Expanding our global reach by securing new gaming distributors, casino and sportsbook operator customers in existing and newly regulated markets. |
| · | Investing in sales and marketing initiatives to aggressively pursue new deployment opportunities in developing markets such as Africa and Latin America, as well as exploring opportunities in the U.S. |
| · | Investing in sales and marketing initiatives to drive UK and Mexican customers to the respective RKings and Mexplay platforms. |
| · | Expanding the prizes and prize options available to customers on the RKings and Mexplay platforms. |
| · | Developing and deploying our own proprietary gaming content in both casino iGaming as well as E-sport categories. This project is currently on hold until further notice. |
| · | Pursuing acquisitions of synergistic companies and assets with the goal of expanding our competitive position in the markets in which we operate. We are also exploring the opportunity to selectively acquire independent slot development studios in order to launch our own proprietary games on our platform. |
The Company does not intend to make significant investments (except for potential acquisitions, none of which are currently pending other than the pending Meridian Purchase Agreement discussed below) to support our business growth strategy. We believe that our business model is highly scalable and our existing resources can be leveraged to (i) develop new offerings and features, (ii) enhance our existing platform, and (iii) improve our operating infrastructure.
The Company may face significant costs with respect to legal fees incurred in the applications for licenses, continued regulatory requirements, and legal representation.
To acquire complementary businesses and technologies, we may need to pursue equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. Our ability to obtain additional capital will depend on our business plans, investor demand, our operating performance, capital markets conditions and other factors. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity, equity-linked or debt securities, those securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to the rights of our then issued and outstanding equity or debt, and our existing shareholders may experience dilution. If we are unable to obtain additional capital when required, or on satisfactory terms, our ability to continue to support our business growth or to respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances could be adversely affected, and our business may be harmed.
We may acquire other businesses, and our business may be detrimentally affected if we are unable to successfully integrate acquired businesses into our company or otherwise manage the growth associated with multiple acquisitions.
As part of our business strategy, we intend to make acquisitions of new or complementary businesses, products, brands, or technologies. In some cases, the costs of such acquisitions may be substantial, including as a result of professional fees and due diligence efforts. There is no assurance that the time and resources expended on pursuing a particular acquisition will result in a completed transaction, or that any completed transaction will ultimately be successful. In addition, we may be unable to identify suitable acquisition or strategic investment opportunities or may be unable to obtain the required financing or regulatory approvals, and therefore we may be unable to complete such acquisitions or strategic investments on favorable terms. We may pursue acquisitions that our investors may not agree with, and we cannot assure investors that any acquisition or investment will be successful or otherwise provide a favorable return on investment. In addition, if we fail to successfully close transactions, integrate new technology or operational teams, or integrate the products and technologies associated with these acquisitions into our company, our business could be seriously harmed.
Acquisitions may expose us to operational challenges and risks, including:
| ● | the ability to profitably manage acquired businesses or successfully integrate the acquired businesses’ operations, personnel, financial reporting, accounting and internal controls, technologies and products into our business; |
| ● | increased indebtedness and the expense of integrating acquired businesses, including significant administrative, operational, economic, geographic in managing and integrating the expanded or combined operations; |
| ● | entry into jurisdictions or acquisition of products or technologies with which we have limited or no prior experience, and the potential of increased competition with new or existing competitors as a result of such acquisitions; |
| ● | the ability to fund our capital needs and any cash flow shortages that may occur if anticipated revenue is not realized or is delayed, whether by general economic or market conditions, or unforeseen internal difficulties; and |
| ● | the ability to retain or hire qualified personnel required for expanded operations. |
Our acquisition strategy may not succeed if we are unable to remain attractive to target companies or expeditiously close transactions.
Over the next five years, we plan to:
| ● | Support our existing customers as they continue to scale up their respective iGaming operations. |
| ● | Deploy additional gaming content and allied products to not only generate additional revenues, but also provide value to our customers in terms of customer engagement, loyalty and retention. |
| ● | Grow our internal resources to support evolving customer requirements. |
| ● | Continue to invest in our proprietary GM-X System platform’s functionality by expanding our gaming content library and third-party gaming content integrations. The Company plans to utilize its success and growing recognition in the market to negotiate additional distribution agreements with leading gaming content providers. |
| ● | Move expeditiously to obtain regulatory approvals to operate in new regulated global markets. |
| ● | Seek to form new relationships and partnerships with leading gaming companies to ensure larger distribution channels, more global markets and a broader range of gaming content. |
| ● | Continue to acquire new casino operator customers in existing and new regulated markets. |
| ● | Continue to invest in sales and marketing initiatives to aggressively pursue new deployment opportunities. |
| ● | Investing in sales and marketing initiatives to drive UK and Mexican customers to the respective RKings and Mexplay platforms. |
| ● | Expanding the prizes and prize options available to customers on the RKings and Mexplay platforms. |
| ● | Expand our gaming content development capabilities. |
| ● | Invest in our gaming development capabilities in order to expand our portfolio of high-quality, in-house content, which we intend to strategically serve within our GM-X System, in order to improve our overall margins. |
| ● | Seek to obtain a U.S. gaming license that will enable us to enter the U.S. market (where legal and applicable). |
| ● | Pursue an acquisition strategy, whereby we intend to pursue a growth strategy aimed at strengthening our competitive position in the markets in which we compete through the acquisition of other businesses and assets that we believe will be accretive to our business, similar to our recently completed RKings acquisition. |
Employees and Employee Relations
As of the date of this Report, we have thirty employees (three full-time employees from GMGI, eighteen full-time employees and two part-time employees from Global Technology Pty Ltd (“GTG”) and seven full-time employees from RKings) and also engage consultants from time to time as needed. Additionally, Mr. Omar Jimenez, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, serves as a full-time consultant to the Company. Mr. Aaron Johnston, previously a member of the Board of Directors, now serves as a consultant to the Company.
We have consultants and staff located in multiple countries and a significant level of operations outside of the U.S. We have software development, customer support and sales centers in the Philippines, Australia, Taiwan and the UK, which account for most of our software development, support, sales and operating personnel. This subjects us to additional costs, regulations and risks that could adversely affect our operating results.
Our goal is to attract and retain highly qualified and motivated personnel. We also often employ independent contractors to support our efforts. None of our employees or contractors are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our employee relations to be good and we have never experienced a work stoppage.
We are committed to maintaining a working environment in which diversity and equality of opportunity are actively promoted and all unlawful discrimination is not tolerated. We are committed to ensuring employees are treated fairly and are not subjected to unfair or unlawful discrimination. We value diversity and to that end recognize the educational and business benefits of diversity amongst our employees, applicants, and other people with whom we have dealings.
The Company has an equity compensation plan in place to attract and retain valuable human resources.
Recruitment
The Company strives to attract the best talent in order to meet the current and future demands of our business.
The Company believes that it has a compelling employee and consultant value proposition that leverages our vibrant culture and state of the art working environment to attract talent to our Company.
Employee and Consultant Benefits
We offer comprehensive benefit programs to our employees and consultants including a stock option plan. We strive to offer financial well-being, a balance in working and personal life, culture and community support and development. We recognize and support the development and continuing education of our employees and offer opportunities to participate in external learning programs.
Health and Safety
The health and safety of our employees and consultants is a high priority. The Company ensures a safe working environment, safe equipment, policies, and procedures in order to ensure workers’ health and safety. Workers’ insurance is maintained to protect workers against workplace injury or illness.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Company has a culture and history of inclusion and diversity and this has enabled it to create, develop and fully leverage the strengths of its workforce to meet and exceed customer expectations and meet its growth objectives.
Competition
We operate in a global and dynamic market and compete with a variety of organizations that offer services similar to those that we offer. The online gaming industry is highly competitive. A number of companies offer products that are similar to our products and target the same markets as we do. Certain of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, greater financial, technical and marketing resources, and a larger installed customer base than we do. These competitors may be able to respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements, develop superior products, and devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can.
We face competition primarily from: (1) other gaming companies that provide competing services and products to customers, (2) online and retail casino operators that develop their own proprietary online gaming capabilities, and (3) other similar existing or developing technology providers that develop competing platforms.
Our primary competitors are overseas-based online gaming technology companies. With few exceptions, a majority of these gaming companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange and they use their own software.
Examples of competing companies including; Relax Gaming, GAN, Softswiss, Bragg Gaming Group, Everymatrix, Softgamings and Gammastack.
As an independent online gaming technology provider, we believe that we retain the ability to utilize the most profitable platform available and are not restricted to a single platform. Additionally, by ensuring that we operate in compliance with U.S. laws, we believe that in the event of legalized gaming in the U.S., we would not be precluded from taking advantage of U.S.-based gaming.
Industry and Market
According to an August 2022 report by Mordor Intelligence, the online gaming industry is expected to witness substantial growth over the next five years, the global gaming market was valued at USD $198.40 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach a value of USD $339.95 billion by 2027, which would be a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.94% over 2022-2027.
Our core markets are currently the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and while we have a solid customer base; we are continuing to engage new gaming operators on a regular basis and we anticipate that our current operators will continue to grow. A July 6, 2022 report by Statista reports that the total digital gaming market is predicted to be worth more than $197 billion in 2022. As the number of video gamers worldwide approaches three billion, APAC is home to over half of these gamers. The video gaming market size in APAC is $53.4 billion with 1.48 billion gamers in Asia. Our vision is to become the platform of choice for casinos and sportsbook operators seeking to transition from a land-based casino and sportsbook environment onto an online environment.
According to actionnetwork.com, as of November 22, 2022, sports betting is legal in 33 states. As a result, we believe that the current U.S. market for the Company’s products and services is robust and the Company hopes that more U.S. states will pass laws in the upcoming years to legalize more forms of online gambling. While the Company has engaged specialist legal counsel to assist with understanding the compliance requirements of U.S. gaming legislation and potentially submitting an application for a U.S. gaming license, the Company anticipates the majority of its revenues coming from the UK, Asia, South America, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
Our vision is to become the platform of choice for casinos and sportsbook operators seeking to transition from a land-based casino and sportsbook environment onto an online environment such as RKings and Mexplay.
Regulation
The offering of online gaming platforms and related software and solutions is subject to extensive regulation and approval by various national, federal, state, provincial, tribal and foreign agencies (collectively, “gaming authorities”). Gaming laws require us to obtain licenses or findings of suitability from gaming authorities for our platforms and products. The criteria used by gaming authorities to make determinations as to the qualification and suitability of an applicant varies among jurisdictions, but generally require the submission of detailed personal and financial information followed by a thorough and sometimes lengthy investigation. Gaming authorities have broad discretion in determining whether an applicant qualifies for licensing or should be found suitable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, some jurisdictions explicitly prohibit gaming in all or certain forms and we will not market our gaming platform or services in these jurisdictions.
Currently the Company, via its wholly-owned subsidiary Global Technology Group Pty Ltd, has an Alderney Gambling Control Commission (“AGCC”) license. The government of Alderney offers software service providers in the gambling industry with a gambling license that allows gambling operators to conduct business related to casino, lotto, and other gaming related activities. We believe that Alderney is one of the preferred locations for online gambling operators and is regarded in the community as one of the strictest licensing jurisdictions with policies aimed at improving transparency and cultivating a good gaming environment.
The Alderney Gaming Control Commission offers two categories of eGambling licenses: (1) A Category 1 License authorizes the organization and preparation of gambling operations, namely the registration and verification of players, the contractual relationship with them, and the management of player funds; and (2) A Category 2 License authorizes the effecting of the gambling transaction including operational management of a gambling platform located within an approved hosting center.
Global Technology Group Pty currently holds an AGCC Category 2 Associate Certificate.
A Category 2 Associate is an entity to whom a Category 1 eGambling licensee transfers customers, or allows them to be transferred, for the purpose of that entity effecting gambling transactions with the customer or arranging for those customers to gamble with others.
An eGambling license from the AGCC can be used by a licensee to operate in any country where it is legal to do so. In some countries, including the UK for example, a licensee will also be required to obtain a local license issued by that country if accessing that market.
Gambling sites licensed in Alderney under Category 1 are required to pay a £35,000 fee the first year in operation and a yearly fee thereafter based on the previous year’s “net gaming yield.” The annual fee ranges from £35,000 to £140,000 depending on how much money the gambling site is bringing in. Category 2 licensed companies are required to pay an introductory fee of £17,500 which applies for the first year and £35,000 per year thereafter.
In some instances, the Company may be required to have a recognized business-to-business (B2B) gambling license in order to acquire and distribute certain gaming content.
While the Company has a Category 2 Associate Certificate from the AGCC, it is not required to have a gaming license for its current services—the resale of its GM-X System or the sale of third-party content to operators in the jurisdictions in which it currently conducts business (and is not required to have a gaming license for its planned services including the provision of support services and software development), and therefore is not currently utilizing the AGCC license.
Prize competitions are not gambling or a lottery and RKings does not offer B2C online sports betting and/or online casino services; therefore, a gambling or lottery license is not required in the UK. The prize competitions require entrants to demonstrate sufficient skill, knowledge, or judgment to have a chance of winning and participants are provided with a route to free entry to the prize competitions as required by UK law. We refer to these as “pay to enter prize competitions”.
Currently, gambling in Mexico is governed by the Regulations of the Federal Games and Draws Law, as amended. The Gaming Law provides that the conduct of games (where bets are crossed and draws of numbers or symbols occur) require a permit from SEGOB. In addition, the Gaming Law provides that the federal executive power, through SEGOB, will regulate, authorize, control, and supervise any kind of games where bets are crossed and draws occur and the operation of online gambling must be expressly authorized in the relevant permit granted by SEGOB. In addition to obtaining a permit for online gambling or a drawing of numbers and/or symbols, operators must also meet certain operating conditions, such as having a reliable remote betting system, cash control system and an internal control system. In connection with operating an online casino in Mexico, the Company applied for and was granted a gaming permit in Mexico through its subsidiary Golden Matrix MX.
As the Company expands its global distribution, licensing and regulatory requirements may be required.
We sell and license our products to operators in the online gaming industry whose ability to operate in any jurisdiction may be impacted by changes in regulations. Even in jurisdictions where we have licenses, there can be no guarantee that a jurisdiction will not change its regulations in ways that impair our revenue or that would cause us to incur significant operating expenses in order to maintain compliance. Material changes, new laws or regulations, or material differences in interpretations by courts or governmental authorities could cause us to incur substantial additional compliance costs and adversely affect our operating results. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” for an additional discussion regarding such risks.
Given the dynamic and rapid evolution of the iGaming industry, it can be difficult to plan strategically, as it relates to product rollout in new or existing jurisdictions which may be delayed or denied, and it is possible that competitors will be more successful than the Company at adapting to change and pursuing business opportunities.
As the online iGaming industry advances, including with respect to regulation in new and existing jurisdictions, we may become subject to additional regulation and compliance-related costs, including licensing and taxes. Consequently, our online gaming offerings may not grow at the rates expected or be successful in the long term.
If our product offerings do not obtain support or maintain support, or if they fail to grow in a manner in which we anticipate, or if we are unable to offer our products and systems in particular jurisdictions that may be material to our business, then our results of operations and financial situation could be harmed.
The online gaming industry is heavily regulated and the Company’s failure to obtain or maintain required licenses or approvals, or otherwise comply with applicable regulation, could be disruptive to our business and could adversely affect our operations.
Our Company, officers, directors, major shareholders, key employees, and business partners are generally subject to the laws and regulations relating to iGaming in the jurisdictions in which we conduct business. These laws and regulations vary from one jurisdiction to another and future legislative and regulatory action or other governmental action, and may have a material impact on our operations and financial results. In particular, some jurisdictions have introduced regulations attempting to restrict or prohibit online gaming, while others have taken the position that online gaming should be licensed and regulated and have adopted or are in the process of considering legislation to enable that to happen.
Regulatory regimes vary by jurisdiction. The Company currently is not required to hold a gambling license for the sale of its GM-X System or third-party software in the jurisdictions in which it currently conducts business, however most regulatory regimes include the following elements:
| ● | an ability to apply for one or more gaming licenses for one or more categories of products (for example, the UK); |
| ● | a requirement for gaming license applicants to make detailed and extensive disclosures as to their beneficial ownership, their source of funds, the probity and integrity of certain persons associated with the applicant, the applicant’s management competence and structure and business plans, the applicant’s proposed geographical territories of operation and the applicant’s ability to operate a gaming business in a socially responsible manner in compliance with regulation; |
| ● | ongoing disclosure and reporting obligations, on a periodic and unplanned basis in response to issues affecting the business; |
| ● | the testing and certification of games, software and systems; and |
| ● | social responsibility obligations. |
Gaming licenses are subject to conditions, suspension or revocation by the issuing regulatory authority at any time.
We may be unable to obtain or maintain all necessary registrations, licenses, permits or approvals, and could incur fines or experience delays related to the licensing process, which could adversely affect our operations and financial viability.
The determination of suitability process may be expensive and time-consuming. Our delay or failure to obtain gaming licenses in any jurisdiction may prevent us from distributing our product offerings, increasing our customer base and/or generating revenues.
A gaming regulatory body may refuse to issue or renew a gaming license or restrict or condition the same, based on the historic activities of the Company or our current or former directors, officers, employees, major shareholders or business partners, which could adversely affect our operations or financial condition.
Our product offerings may require approval in regulated jurisdictions in which they are offered; this process cannot be assured or guaranteed.
If we fail to obtain the necessary gaming license in a given jurisdiction, we would likely be prohibited from distributing and providing product offerings in that particular jurisdiction. Delays in regulatory approvals or failure to obtain such approvals may also serve as a barrier to entry to the market for our product offerings. If we are unable to overcome the barriers to entry, it will materially affect our results of operations and future prospects.
To the extent new online gaming jurisdictions are established or expanded, we cannot guarantee we will be successful in expanding our business or customer base in line with the growth of existing jurisdictions. If we are unable to effectively develop and operate directly or indirectly within these new markets or if our competitors are able to successfully penetrate geographic markets that we cannot access or where we face other restrictions, then our business, operating results and financial condition could be impaired. Our failure to obtain or maintain the necessary regulatory approvals in jurisdictions, whether individually or collectively, would have a material adverse effect on our business.
U.S. Regulatory Environment
State Level
According to actionnetwork.com, as of November 22, 2022, sports betting is legal in 33 states. As a result, we believe that the current U.S. market for the Company’s products and services is robust and the Company hopes that more U.S. states will pass laws in the upcoming years to legalize more forms of online gambling. While the Company has engaged specialist legal counsel to assist with understanding the compliance requirements of U.S. gaming legislation and potentially submitting an application for a U.S. gaming license, the Company anticipates the majority of its revenues coming from the UK, Asia, South America, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
Federal Level
On October 13, 2006, then President George W. Bush, signed into law “The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (“UIGEA”).” This act prohibits those involved in the business of betting or wagering from accepting any financial instrument, electronic or otherwise, for deposit that is intended to be utilized for unlawful Internet gambling. While the UIGEA does not define online gambling as being illegal, the UIGEA instructs the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve to impose obligations upon financial institutions and other payment processors to establish procedures designed to block online gaming-related financial transactions. It also expressly requires Internet bets and wagers to comply with the law of the jurisdiction where the wagers are initiated and received (i.e., within state borders). The law contains a safe harbor for wagers placed within a single state (disregarding intermediate routing of the transmission) where the method of placing the wager and receiving the wager is authorized by that state’s law, provided the underlying regulations establish appropriate age and location verification.
In addition to regulation at the state level, various federal laws apply to online gambling. Those include (1) the UIGEA, discussed above, (2) the Illegal Gambling Business Act, and (3) the Travel Act. The Illegal Gambling Business Act (“IGBA”), makes it a crime to conduct, finance, manage, supervise, direct or own all or part of an “illegal gambling business” and the Travel Act makes it a crime to use the mail or any facility in interstate commerce with the intent to “distribute the proceeds of any unlawful activity,” or “otherwise promote, manage, establish, carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or carrying on, of any unlawful activity.” For there to be a violation of either the IGBA or the Travel Act there must be a violation of underlying state law.
In addition, the Wire Act of 1961 (the “Wire Act”) provides that anyone engaged in the business of betting or wagering that knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, will be fined or imprisoned, or both. In September 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice released to the public a formal legal opinion on the scope of the Wire Act concluding, interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a ‘sporting event or contest’ fall outside the reach of the Wire Act.
Any or all of our planned future operations in the U.S. could be subject to, and/or may need to comply with the UIGEA, IGBA, Travel Act, Wire Act, and other state and federal statutes.
Non-U.S. Regulatory Environment
Great Britain Regulatory Environment
In Great Britain, online gaming and sports betting is subject to the Gambling Act 2005 (the “GA2005”), as amended by the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Under the GA2005, entities wishing to offer online sports betting and/or online casino services to persons located in Great Britain must first obtain a remote gambling operating license from the Gambling Commission. Through RKingsCompetitions, Ltd, we do not offer online sports betting and/or online casino services; however, we do offer pay to enter prize competitions which are not gambling or a lottery. Section 14 of GA2005 indicates that prize competitions that require entrants to demonstrate a sufficient amount of skill, knowledge or judgment to have a chance of winning are subject to GA2005; however, we rely on the exemption under Schedule 2 of GA2005 by providing participants with a route to free entry to the competitions and are therefore, not subject to GA2005 through the Schedule 2 exemption. A free entry route to the competition is also compulsory for these competitions to be legal in Northern Ireland (see below).
Republic of Ireland Regulatory Environment
In the Republic of Ireland, the relevant law relating to online gaming is the Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1956, as amended by the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) act of 2019. The Gaming and Lotteries Act recently underwent significant amendments by way of the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019 (2019 Act), which came into force on December 1, 2020. The 2019 Act introduced a cohesive licensing regime for gaming, such that any gaming is considered unlawful if it is not subject to a gaming permit or a gaming license. The 2019 Act has also introduced a coherent licensing and permit regime for lotteries. Previously, an exemption existed for private lotteries in certain limited circumstances. The 2019 Act has removed a prior exemption, meaning that such lotteries can only proceed under a license or a permit. However, if a free entry route to the competition is provided, or a question is asked so that the competition is not a game of chance, it will not be a lottery and not subject to the 2019 Act. RKingsCompetitions, Ltd’s competitions are open to residents of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and the competitions have both a random simple level question of basic intellectual acumen that is asked to elicit a simple basic level of responses as well as a free entry route, therefore RKingsCompetitions, Ltd’s competitions are not considered lotteries and are exempt from 2019 Act.
European Union General Data Protection Regulation
Our business is subject to a number of federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations governing data privacy and security, including with respect to the collection, storage, use, transmission and protection of personal information. In particular, we are subject to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (the “EU GDPR”) where we are established in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or where we are not established in the EEA, but process personal data of individuals in the EEA in relation to the offering of goods or services to, or the monitoring the behavior of, individuals in the EEA.
Following the end of the Brexit Transition Period on December 31, 2020, the EU GDPR has been implemented in the UK as the “UK GDPR”. The requirements of the UK GDPR are (for the time being) virtually identical to those of the EU GDPR.
The EU GDPR and the UK GDPR (collectively the “GDPR”) set out a number of requirements that must be complied with when handling personal data including (amongst others): (i) accountability and transparency requirements, and enhanced requirements for obtaining valid consent; (ii) obligations to consider data protection as any new products or services are developed and to limit the amount of personal data processed; (iii) obligations to comply with data protection rights of data subjects; and (iv) reporting of personal data breaches to the supervisory authority without undue delay (and no later than 72 hours where feasible).
The GDPR also prohibits the international transfer of personal data from the EEA/UK to countries outside of the EEA/UK, unless made to a country deemed to have adequate data privacy laws by the European Commission or UK Government or a data transfer mechanism has been put in place. In July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in its Schrems II ruling invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield framework, a self-certification mechanism that facilitated the lawful transfer of personal data from the EEA/UK to the United States, with immediate effect. The CJEU upheld the validity of standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) as a legal mechanism to transfer personal data but companies relying on SCCs will need to carry out a transfer privacy impact assessment, which among other things, assesses laws governing access to personal data in the recipient country and considers whether supplementary measures that provide privacy protections additional to those provided under SCCs will need to be implemented to ensure an essentially equivalent level of data protection to that afforded in the EU. This may have implications for our cross-border data flows and may result in additional compliance costs.
In addition, Brexit has implications for transfers of personal data between the UK and the EU and vice versa. While transfers of personal data from the UK to the EU are unrestricted and do not require additional safeguards as the UK has approved the adequacy of the EU and all 12 nations deemed adequate by the EU, such approval is up for review in June 2025.
Compliance with the GDPR requires us to incur compliance and operational costs. In addition, a data supervisory authority may find our data processing practices and compliance steps to be inconsistent with the GDPR’s application in their respective jurisdiction. Data supervisory authorities also have the power to issue fines for non-compliance of the GDPR of up to 4% of an organization’s annual worldwide turnover or €20 million (£17.5 million under the UK GDPR) (or approximately $19.7 million and $19.9 million, respectively, as of October 31, 2022), whichever is higher. Data subjects also have a right to compensation, as a result of an organization’s breach of the GDPR that has affected them, for financial or non-financial losses (e.g., distress).
Mexican. Regulatory Environment
Gambling is currently permitted in Mexico, subject to obtaining government authorization to conduct gaming activities from the competent authority. Gambling is generally an activity subject to federal regulation rather than state or local level regulation.
Currently, gambling in Mexico is governed by the Regulations of the Federal Games and Draws Law (“Gaming Law”), as amended.
The Gaming Law provides that the conduct of games where bets are crossed and draws of numbers or symbols occur requires a permit from the Ministry of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación) (SEGOB). In addition, the Gaming Law provides that the federal executive power, through SEGOB, will regulate, authorize, control and supervise any kind of games where bets are crossed and draws occur.
There is currently no specific legal definition of online gambling in Mexican law; however the operation of online gambling must be expressly authorized in the relevant permit granted by SEGOB.
As well as obtaining a permit for online gambling or a drawing of numbers and/or symbols, operators must also meet certain operating conditions, such as having a reliable remote betting system, cash control system and an internal control system.
A Mexican gaming permit was approved on July 13, 2022 allowing the Company to undertake online gambling for two years and will automatically renew thereafter for additional two year periods, without additional payment.
Summary of Recent Material Agreements
RKings Notice of Breach
Effective on November 1, 2021, we acquired 80% of RKings as discussed above.
On June 1, 2022, the Company notified the Sellers that the Sellers were in default under the Purchase Agreement and demanded that Sellers cease and desist from all activity in violation of the Purchase Agreement, including (1) use of Company confidential data in breach of the non-disclosure requirements of the Purchase Agreement, (2) tortious interference with the Company’s business and customer relationships, and (3) exploitation of Company assets for personal gain. We also notified the Sellers that they have breached the Shareholders Agreement as well as their fiduciary duties as stipulated in the Shareholders Agreement dated November 29, 2021.
In addition, the Company notified the Sellers of their indemnification obligations under the Purchase Agreement and the Company’s decision to terminate the Sellers’ right to receive the £1,000,000 Holdback Amount and the £4,000,000 Earn-Out Consideration. In addition, the Company has the right to set off any amounts which are the subject of an indemnification claim against such Holdback Amount and Earn-Out Consideration.
RKings Settlement & Release
On August 1, 2022, and effective on August 4, 2022, we entered into a Settlement and Mutual Release Agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) with Mark Weir, one of the two Sellers. The Settlement Agreement was entered into in order to partially settle certain breaches of the Purchase Agreement which the Sellers (Mr. Weir and Mr. Paul Hardman) were jointly and severally responsible for pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, (a) we agreed to make a payment to Mr. Weir in the amount of £450,000 (approximately $548,112), representing one-half of the £1,000,000 (approximately $1,218,027) Holdback Amount, less £50,000 (approximately $60,902) in excess salary payments made to Mr. Weir (the “Settlement Payment”); (b) Mr. Weir agreed to enter into an employment agreement with RKings; and (c) we and Mr. Weir, on behalf of ourselves and our affiliates and representatives, provided each other mutual releases, subject to certain customary exceptions. The Settlement Payment was in full satisfaction of all payments (including any portion of the Holdback Amount or Earn-Out Consideration), due to Mr. Weir under the Purchase Agreement. The Settlement Payment was paid in full on August 21, 2022. However, the Company is in dispute with Mr. Paul Hardman (the other seller of the 80% interest in RKings, described above) with regards to the Holdback Amount of $573,000 that he has alleged is owed to him. That amount is accrued and included in the Company’s liabilities. The Company’s dispute and claims against Mr. Hardman stem from the breaches of the terms of the Purchase Agreement by Mr. Hardman. The Company is vigorously pursuing the claim of breach of the Purchase Agreement.
RKings Buyout
The Company paid the Sellers (a) GBP £3,000,000; and (b) 666,250 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock, with an agreed value of GBP £4,000,000, or $8.00 per share of Company common stock; and agreed to pay the Sellers additional shares of common stock of the Company equal to (i) 80% of the Company’s net asset value of RKings as of October 31, 2021 (inventory on hand (minus allowances for reserve inventory and allocated goods and materials) plus RKings’ total cash and cash equivalents on hand; less RKings’ current and accrued liabilities, as described in greater detail in the Purchase Agreement), divided by (ii) $8.00 per share. The Sale and Purchase Agreement also provided the Sellers the rights to earn additional earn-out consideration, equal in value to GBP £4,000,000, subject to the terms of the Sale and Purchase Agreement payable at the option of the Company in either (a) cash; or (b) shares of Company common stock.
The RKings Purchase Agreement also required that the Sellers and the Company enter into a Shareholders Agreement (the “Shareholders Agreement”), which was entered into and became effective on November 29, 2021, and which provides various rights and restrictions on the owners of RKings. One of those rights was a buyout right provided to the Company (the “Buyout Right”), which beginning on May 29, 2022 (the date that was six months from November 29, 2021), which provided the Company, upon written notice to the Sellers, the right to purchase all, but not less than all, of the shares of RKings then held by the Sellers (i.e., the 20% of RKings retained by such Sellers following the closing of the Purchase Agreement) for an aggregate purchase price equal to 20% of the product of (i) RKings’ then most recent three-month trailing EBITDA multiplied by (ii) sixteen (the “Buyout Price”). The Buyout Price was payable at the option of the Company in either (x) cash; or (y) shares of the Company’s common stock valued at $8.00 per share or any combination thereof.
On October 27, 2022, the Company exercised its Buyout Right by providing written notice to each of the Sellers. In connection with such exercise, the Company agreed to pay each Seller USD $661,773, which is equal to their pro rata portion of the Buyout Price, which was satisfied by the issuance by the Company to each Seller of 82,722 shares of restricted common stock of the Company (with such shares being valued at $8.00 per share pursuant to the terms of the Shareholders Agreement)(an aggregate of 165,444 shares of common stock of the Company, the “Buyout Shares”).
On November 30, 2022, the Company completed the purchase of 10% of RKings from each Seller (20% in aggregate) in consideration for the Buyout Shares and effective as of November 4, 2022, the Company owns 100% of RKings.
Effective on November 4, 2022, the Shareholders Agreement was automatically terminated as the Company became the sole owner of RKings.
Golden Matrix MX Acquisition
On July 11, 2022, the Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire 99.99% of the stock of Golden Matrix MX, S.A. DE C.V. (“Golden Matrix MX”), a then newly formed shell company incorporated in Mexico for nominal consideration. Golden Matrix MX had no assets or operations at the time of acquisition and was formed for the benefit of the Company, for the sole purpose of operating an online casino in Mexico. The acquisition was closed on September 7, 2022. The Company launched its licensed proprietary B2C online casino in Mexico on November 1, 2022, via its majority-owned subsidiary Golden Matrix MX. The online casino, Mexplay, (www.mexplay.mx), is an online site in Mexico which features an extensive number of table games, slots, as well as a sportsbook, and offers tournament competition prizes similar to those offered by RKings.
GMG Assets Acquisition
On October 17, 2022, effective August 1, 2022, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “GMG Purchase Agreement”), to acquire a 100% ownership interest in GMG Assets Limited (“GMG Assets”), a private limited company formed under the laws of Northern Ireland from Aaron Johnston and Mark Weir, individuals, the owners of 100% of the ordinary issued share capital (100 Ordinary Shares) of GMG Assets. Aaron Johnston a then member of the Board of Directors of the Company and Mark Weir a then 10% shareholder in RKings, were the owners of GMG Assets, and as such are both related parties to the Company.
Pursuant to the GMG Purchase Agreement, which was approved by the Company’s Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, the Company agreed to pay the Sellers 25,000 British pound sterling (GBP) (approximately $29,000) for 100% of GMG Assets, which represented the combined costs paid by the Sellers to form GMG Assets. GMG Assets was formed for the sole purpose of facilitating the Company’s operation of RKings and to facilitate cash alternative offers for winners of prizes within RKings’ business.
Additionally, the Company agreed to pay Mr. Weir a monthly cash incentive bonus to assist in the running of GMG Assets. The bonus structure provides for the payment to Mr. Weir of 100% of the profits generated up to 50,000 GBP) (approximately $58,000) then thereafter 10% of the profits generated by GMG Assets up to a maximum of 150,000 GBP per annum. The aforementioned profits will be calculated as revenues less cost of goods sold, less any taxes paid or incurred. A cash alternative maximum percentage of the prize value in RKings will be set by the Board of Directors of the Company, from time to time.
Meridian Purchase Agreement
On January 11, 2023, we entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement of Share Capital (the “Meridian Purchase Agreement”) with Aleksandar Milovanovic, Zoran Milosevic (“Milosevic”) and Snezana Bozovic (collectively, the “Meridian Sellers”), the owners of Meridian Tech Društvo Sa Ograničenom Odgovornošću Beograd, a private limited company formed and registered in and under the laws of the Republic of Serbia (“Meridian Serbia”); Društvo Sa Ograničenom Odgovornošću “Meridianbet” Društvo Za Proizvodnju, Promet Roba I Usluga, Export Import Podgorica, a private limited company formed and registered in and under the laws of Montenegro; Meridian Gaming Holdings Ltd., a company formed and registered in the Republic of Malta; and Meridian Gaming (Cy) Ltd, a company formed and registered in the republic of Cyprus (collectively, the “Meridian Companies”).
The Meridian Companies operate online sports betting and gaming operations and are currently licensed and operating in more than 15 jurisdictions across Europe, Africa and South America.
Pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement, the Meridian Sellers agreed to sell us 100% of the outstanding capital stock of each of the Meridian Companies in consideration for (a) a cash payment of $50 million, due at the initial closing of the acquisition; (b) 56,999,000 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Phase 1 Closing Shares”), with an agreed upon value of $3.50 per share; (c) 1,000 shares of a to be designated series of Series C preferred stock of the Company, discussed in greater detail below (the “Series C Voting Preferred Stock”); (d) $10,000,000 in cash and 4,285,714 restricted shares of Company common stock (the “Post-Closing Shares”) within five business days following the six month anniversary of the Phase 1 Closing (defined below) if (and only if) the Company has determined that: the Meridian Sellers and their affiliates are not then in default in any of their material obligations, covenants or representations under the Meridian Purchase Agreement, or any of the other transaction documents entered into in connection therewith (the “Post-Closing Consideration”); (e) a promissory note in the amount of $10,000,000 (the “Promissory Note”), due nine months after the Phase 1 Closing; and (f) 4,000,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock payable at the Phase 2 Closing (defined below)(the “Phase 2 Shares”). The Phase 1 Closing Shares, Series C Preferred Stock, Post-Closing Shares and Phase 2 Shares, are collectively defined herein as the “Purchase Shares”.
The purchase of 100% of the Meridian Companies pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement is defined herein as the “Purchase”. The agreed upon aggregate value of the transaction is $298,500,000 (the “Purchase Price”).
The Purchase is contemplated to close in two phases, with phase 1 being the purchase of 100% of each of the Meridian Companies other than Meridian Serbia, together with 90% of Meridian Serbia (“Phase 1 Closing”); and phase 2 being the purchase of the remaining 10% of Meridian Serbia (“Phase 2 Closing”).
The Phase 1 Closing is required to occur prior to June 30, 2023 and the Phase 2 Closing is required to occur prior to October 31, 2023, unless extended by the mutual consent of the parties.
In the event of the occurrence of a change of control of the Company following the closing, the Post-Closing Consideration and amounts due pursuant to the Promissory Note are immediately due and payable.
The closing of the Purchase is subject to certain closing conditions (some of which apply only for the Phase 1 Closing and some of which apply for both the Phase 1 Closing and Phase 2 Closing), including (a) the delivery to each party of required board, and where applicable, shareholder approvals; (b) Meridian Sellers’ delivery of documentation and agreements evidencing the assets of the Meridian Companies, including intellectual property; (c) certain change of control notifications being submitted to the relevant jurisdictions governing the Meridian Companies; (d) delivery of customary good standing certificates, transfer documents, closing agreements; officer certificates and secretary certificates; (e) delivery of executed copies of certain shareholders agreements and restricted covenant agreements required to be entered into with various minority shareholders of certain subsidiaries of the Meridian Companies as a required condition of the Phase 1 Closing (collectively, the “Shareholder Agreements”); (f) delivery of the closing cash and equity compensation; (g) the entry into employment agreements between the Company and the Meridian Sellers in substantially the same form as the Company’s employment agreement with Anthony Brian Goodman, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer; (h) the Shareholder Approval (defined below); (i) the Amended and Restated Articles (defined below) being filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada; (j) the Company obtaining an opinion, in writing, to the effect that as of the date thereof and based upon and subject to the matters set forth therein, the Purchase is fair, from a financial point of view, to the Company and its shareholders; (k) the confirmation from the Nasdaq Capital Market that the Company’s common stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market following the Phase 1 Closing; (l) the delivery of customary legal opinions of the parties; and (m) confirmation that following the Phase 1 Closing, the Meridian Sellers will hold majority voting rights over the Company. The closing of the Purchase is also subject to the Company raising adequate funds to pay the required purchase price in connection therewith. If so required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”), the parties agreed to promptly make all filings under the HSR Act and to receive any and all required approvals required under the HSR Act, or for all waiting periods required thereunder to have expired prior to the Phase 1 Closing.
The Meridian Purchase Agreement can be terminated (a) by the written agreement of the parties; (b) by the Company or the Meridian Sellers if the Company has not obtained a loan commitment or other long-form term sheet from a third-party lender approved by Meridian Sellers (in their reasonable discretion) to provide at least $50 million of financing required for the Company to complete the Purchase (the “Required Financing”), on terms and conditions acceptable to Meridian Sellers in their reasonable discretion, prior to May 31, 2023 (or such other date as the parties may mutually agree), unless such failure is due to the party that proposes to terminate the agreement not using commercially reasonable efforts to satisfy such condition or the breach by such party of a provision of the Meridian Purchase Agreement; (c) by the Company if the Shareholder Agreements are not entered into within 45 days after the date of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, unless such failure is due to such party that proposes to terminate the agreement not using commercially reasonable efforts to satisfy such condition or the breach by such party of a provision of the Meridian Purchase Agreement; (d) by the Company or the Meridian Sellers if the Phase 1 Closing has not been completed by June 30, 2023 (unless such date is extended with the mutual consent of the parties)(the “Required Closing Date”) unless such failure is due to such party that proposes to terminate the agreement not using commercially reasonable efforts to satisfy such condition or the breach by such party of a provision of the Meridian Purchase Agreement; (e) by the Company or the Meridian Sellers, if a condition to closing has become incapable of fulfilment and not been waived by Purchaser; (f) by the Company or the Meridian Sellers pursuant to the Due Diligence Termination Right (defined below); (g) by either the Company or the Meridian Sellers if any updated schedule required to be disclosed pursuant to the terms of the Meridian Purchase Agreement could reasonably result in a material adverse effect on the disclosing party; (h) by either the Company or the Meridian Sellers if more than 90 days have elapsed since the date the initial required notices are provided under the HSR Act, to the extent required, and HSR Act approval has not been received as of such date, and the Company or Meridian Sellers, as applicable, has made the reasonable, good faith determination that HSR Act approval will be so costly and time consuming to such party that it does not make commercially reasonable sense for such party to continue to seek such HSR Act approval; or (i) by either the Meridian Sellers or the Company, if there has been a breach of any material representation, warranty, covenant, agreement, or undertaking made by the other party in a transaction document, which breach, if curable, is not cured within 30 calendar days after notice by the non-breaching party (provided, however, that if the cure reasonably requires more than 30 days to complete, then the breaching party shall have an additional 15 days, provided it timely commences the cure and continues diligently prosecuting the cure to completion).
The Meridian Purchase Agreement may be also terminated by the Meridian Sellers or the Company at any time prior to the Phase 1 Closing Date if: (i) there shall be any actual action or proceeding which value is more than 1% of the Purchase Price, before any court or any governmental entity which shall seek to restrain, prohibit, or invalidate the transactions contemplated by the Meridian Purchase Agreement and which, in the judgment of the Meridian Sellers or the Company, made in good faith and based upon the advice of its legal counsel, makes it inadvisable to proceed with the Purchase; or (ii) any of the transactions contemplated by the Meridian Purchase Agreement are disapproved by any regulatory authority whose governmental approval is required to consummate such transactions (which does not include the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)) or in the judgment of the Meridian Sellers or the Company, made in good faith and based on the advice of counsel, there is substantial likelihood that any such governmental approval will not be obtained by the Required Closing Date) or will be obtained only on a condition or conditions which would be unduly and materially burdensome, making it inadvisable to proceed with the Purchase.
In the event of termination of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, no obligation, right or liability shall arise, and each party shall bear all of the expenses incurred by it in connection with the negotiation, drafting, and execution of the Meridian Purchase Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, except in connection with the Break-Fee (discussed below).
Additionally, we have agreed to issue $3 million in restricted stock units to employees of the Meridian Companies (and their subsidiaries) within 30 days following the Phase 1 Closing in order to incentive such employees to continue to provide services to such entities following the Phase 1 Closing (the “Post-Closing Equity Awards”). The Post-Closing Equity Awards will be issued under a shareholder approved equity plan. Included in Post-Closing Equity Awards will be the award of Restricted Stock Units to the directors nominated for appointment to the Board of Directors by the holders of the Company’s Series C Voting Preferred Stock, as described in greater detail in the Meridian Purchase Agreement.
Pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement we agreed to file a proxy statement with the SEC (the “Proxy Statement”) to seek shareholder approval for the issuance of the Purchase Shares, under applicable rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market, and adoption of amended and restated Articles of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Articles”) to remove our classified board of directors and amend certain other provisions of our Articles of Incorporation (collectively, the “Charter Amendments”), promptly after the Meridian Sellers have delivered the financial statements required by Regulation S-X for filing in such Proxy Statement, and to hold a stockholders meeting promptly thereafter (subject to applicable law), to seek shareholder approval of the Charter Amendments and the issuance of the Purchase Shares. We are also required to hold a shareholders meeting to seek shareholder approval for the issuance of the Purchase Shares and Charter Amendments promptly after the SEC has confirmed that it has no comments on such Proxy Statement (the “Shareholder Approval”).
The Meridian Purchase Agreement includes a 60 day due diligence period during which the Company has the right, at the Company’s election, in its reasonable discretion, to terminate the Meridian Purchase Agreement if the Company determines in good faith, that such due diligence has revealed information which would constitute a material adverse effect on the Meridian Companies, or results in any of the representations or warranties of the Meridian Sellers set forth in the Meridian Purchase Agreement not being materially correct and true and the Meridian Sellers have the same right (the “Due Diligence Termination Right”).
To the extent that any term sheet, letter of intent or other agreement or understanding relating to the Required Financing includes any break-fee, termination fee, or other expenses payable by the Company upon termination thereof, to the proposed lender, financier, investment bank or agent (each a “Break-Fee”), despite the parties’ best efforts to avoid such a requirement, each of the Company and Meridian Sellers shall be responsible for 50% of any such Break-Fee, including any amounts required to be escrowed in connection therewith.
Promissory Note
The $10 million Promissory Note will accrue interest at 7% per annum (18% upon the occurrence of an event of default), with monthly interest payments of accrued interest due on the first day of each calendar month until its maturity date; and have a maturity date nine months after the Phase 1 Closing. The Promissory Note will include customary events of default and require us to indemnify the holders thereof against certain claims.
Series C Voting Preferred Stock
The Series C Voting Preferred Stock is expected to have the following rights to be set forth in a designation of the Series C Voting Preferred Stock filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada prior to the Phase 1 Closing (the “Series C Designation”):
Voting Rights. The holders of the Series C Voting Preferred Stock, voting as a class, vote together with the holders of the Company’s common stock on all shareholder matters. At each vote, each share of Series C Voting Preferred Stock entitles the holder 7,500 votes on all matters presented to the Company’s shareholders for a vote of shareholders, whether such vote is taken in person at a meeting or via a written consent (7,500,000 votes in aggregate for all outstanding shares of Series C Preferred Stock).
Additionally, for so long as the Company’s Board of Directors has at least five members and for so long as the Series C Preferred Stock is outstanding, the Series C Voting Preferred Stock, voting separately, will have the right to appoint two members to the Company’s Board of Directors. If the Company’s Board of Directors shall have less than five members, the Series C Voting Preferred Stock, voting separately, will have the right to appoint one member to the Board of Directors. The holders of the Series C Voting Preferred Stock will also have the sole right to remove such persons solely appointed by the Series C Voting Preferred Stock and to fill vacancies in such appointees.
The Series C Preferred Stock will also require the consent of the holders of at least a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of Series C Preferred Stock to (i) amend any provision of the designation of the Series C Preferred Stock, (ii) increase or decrease (other than by redemption or conversion) the total number of authorized shares of any preferred stock of the Company, (iii) adopt or authorize any new designation of any preferred stock, (iv) amend the Articles of Incorporation of the Company in a manner which adversely affects the rights, preferences and privileges of the Series C Preferred Stock, (v) effect an exchange, or create a right of exchange, cancel, or create a right to cancel, of all or any part of the shares of another class of shares into shares of Series C Preferred Stock, (vi) issue any additional shares of preferred stock, or (vii) alter or change the rights, preferences or privileges of the shares of Series C Preferred Stock so as to affect adversely the shares of Series C Preferred Stock.
Conversion Rights. The holders of the Series C Preferred Stock will have the right to convert each share of the Series C Preferred Stock into one share of the Company’s common stock at any time. The Series C Preferred Stock also provides for the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of Series C Preferred Stock into common stock of the Company, on a 1 for 1 basis, on the date that the aggregate beneficial ownership of the Company’s common stock (calculated pursuant to Rule 13d-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), calculated without regard to any shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock, of the Meridian Sellers (collectively), falls below 10% of the Company’s common stock then outstanding, without taking into account the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock, or the first business day thereafter that the Company becomes aware of such.
Transfer Rights. The Series C Preferred Stock is not transferrable by the Meridian Sellers.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that you should be aware of in evaluating our business. If any such risks and uncertainties actually occur, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected and the value of our securities may decline in value or become worthless. The risks described below are not the only risks that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. The risk factors described below should be read together with the other information set forth in this Report, including our financial statements and the related notes, as well as in other documents that we file with the SEC.
Summary Risk Factors
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described below and elsewhere in this Report. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
Risks Related to the Company’s Need for Additional Funding and Demand For Products and Services
| · | our need for significant additional financing to grow and expand our operations, the availability and terms of such financing, and potential dilution which may be caused by such financing, if obtained through the sale of equity or convertible securities; |
| · | the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other pandemics and epidemics, on the Company; |
| · | the potential effect of economic downturns and market conditions, including recessions, on the Company’s operations and prospects as a result of increased inflation, increasing interest rates, global conflicts and other events; |
| · | general consumer sentiment and economic conditions that may affect levels of discretionary customer purchases of the Company’s products; and |
| · | our limited operating history. |
Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Industry
| · | our reliance on suppliers of third-party gaming content and the cost of such content; |
| · | the ability of the Company to manage growth; |
| · | the ability of the Company to compete in its market and develop, market or sell new products or adopt new technology; |
| · | disruptions caused by acquisitions; |
| · | the risks associated with gaming fraud, user cheating and cyber-attacks; |
| · | risks relating to inventory management; |
| · | risks associated with systems failures and failures of technology and infrastructure on which the Company’s programs rely, as well as cybersecurity and hacking risks; |
| · | foreign exchange and currency risks; |
| · | the outcome of contingencies, including legal proceedings in the normal course of business; |
| · | the ability to compete against existing and new competitors; |
| · | the ability to manage expenses associated with sales and marketing and necessary general and administrative and technology investments; |
| · | cyber security risks that could result in damage to our reputation and/or subject us to fines, payment of damages, lawsuits and restrictions on our use of data and systems failures and resulting interruptions in the availability of our websites, applications, products, or services that could harm our business; and |
| · | our non-U.S. operations. |
Risks Relating to Regulation
| · | the effect of future regulation, the Company’s ability to comply with regulations (current and future) and potential penalties in the event it fails to comply with such regulations; and |
| · | material increases to our taxes or the adoption of new taxes or the authorization of new or increased forms of gaming could have a material adverse effect on our future financial results. |
Risks Related to Intellectual Property and Technology
| · | we may be subject to claims of intellectual property infringement or invalidity and adverse outcomes of litigation could unfavorably affect our operating results; and |
| · | the Company’s ability to protect proprietary information. |
Risks Relating to our Management
| · | the Company’s reliance on its management; |
| · | the fact that the Company’s Chief Executive Officer has voting control over the Company; and |
| · | related party relationships, as well as conflicts of interest related thereto. |
Risks Related to International Operations
| · | The risks related to international operations, in particular in countries outside of the United States and Canada, could negatively affect the Company’s results; and |
| · | foreign exchange risks. |
Risks Relating to our Common Stock and Securities
| · | dilution caused by efforts to obtain additional financing; |
| · | our ability to issue common and preferred stock without further shareholder approval; |
| · | the lack of a market for our securities and the volatility in the trading prices thereof caused thereby; |
| · | no assurance that we will be able to comply with Nasdaq’s continued listing standards; and |
| · | dilution caused by the sale of common stock or convertible securities. |
Risks relating to the Meridian Purchase Agreement
| · | dilution and a change of control which will result from the closing of the Meridian Purchase Agreement; |
| · | costs, fees and expenses, and the timing associated with, the Meridian Purchase Agreement; |
| · | the Company’s ability to meet conditions to closing the Meridian Purchase Agreement, including required funding, the terms and availability of such funding, and the ability of the parties to the Meridian Purchase Agreement to terminate such agreement, and potential break-fees due in connection therewith; |
| · | uncertainties while the Meridian Purchase Agreement is pending; and |
| · | risks related to the ability of the combined company to recognize the benefits of the acquisition. |
Other risks
| · | risks related to our governing documents and indemnification obligations; |
| · | risks related to future acquisitions; |
| · | risks related to inventory impropriety; |
| · | risks related to behavior and acts by management and/or employees to the detriment of the Company; |
| · | risks related to significant sales by officers, directors and third parties; and |
| · | Other risks disclosed below under “Item 1A. Risk Factors”. |
Risks Related to the Company’s Need for Additional Funding and Demand For Products and Services
We may require additional financing, and we may not be able to raise funds on favorable terms, or at all.
We had working capital of $16,573,796 as of October 31, 2022. With our current cash on hand, expected revenues, and based on our current average monthly expenses, we do not anticipate the need for additional funding in order to continue our operations at their current levels, and to pay the costs associated with being a public company, for the next 12 months, but may require additional funding in the future to support our operations and/or may seek to raise additional funding in the future to expand or complete acquisitions.
The most likely source of future funds presently available to us will be through the sale of equity capital. Any sale of share capital will result in dilution to existing shareholders. Furthermore, we may incur debt in the future, and may not have sufficient funds to repay our future indebtedness or may default on our future debts, jeopardizing our business viability.
We may not be able to borrow or raise additional capital in the future to meet our needs or to otherwise provide the capital necessary to expand our operations and business, which might result in the value of our common stock decreasing in value or becoming worthless. Additional financing may not be available to us on terms that are acceptable. Consequently, we may not be able to proceed with our intended business plans. Obtaining additional financing contains risks, including:
| ● | additional equity financing may not be available to us on satisfactory terms and any equity we are able to issue could lead to dilution for current shareholders; |
| ● | loans or other debt instruments may have terms and/or conditions, such as interest rate, restrictive covenants and control or revocation provisions, which are not acceptable to management or our directors; |
| ● | the current environment in capital markets combined with our capital constraints may prevent us from being able to obtain debt financing on favorable terms, if at all; and |
| ● | if we fail to obtain required additional financing to grow our business, we would need to delay or scale back our business plan, reduce our operating costs, or reduce our headcount, each of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, future prospects, and financial condition. |
Global pandemics, such as COVID-19 could have an adverse impact on our revenue and results of operations.
Our business and operations have not been, but could in the future be, adversely affected by health epidemics, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”), which was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2020, and the related responses by public health and governmental authorities to contain and combat its outbreak and severely impacted the U.S. and world economies in 2022 and 2021, with global economic activity returning to pre-COVID-19 levels, and continuing to increase in 2022. Demand for our products and services was not impacted by COVID-19; however, the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company, as well as user engagement continues to remain uncertain. Separately, economic recessions, including those brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak may have a negative effect on the demand for our products, services and our operating results. The range of possible impacts on the Company’s business from the coronavirus pandemic could include, but are not limited to: (i) changing demand for the Company’s products and services; (ii) the closure of, or reduction in the number of persons who may be present in, establishments using the Company’s technology (resulting in a decrease in demand for such technology); (iii) decreases in the amount of discretionary spending available to consumers and/or the amount such consumers are willing to spend; and (v) increasing contraction in the capital markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not had a material impact on our business, and we expect our business to be resilient through the pandemic. We have continued operations, supported our online products and customers, and grown our sales, and our employees and consultants have returned to the office in June 2022. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, we previously experienced minor issues in connection with the transition of certain resources to remote settings as a result of the pandemic, which have since been resolved.
We believe that we have sufficient cash on hand, and the ability to raise additional funding, or borrow additional funding, as needed, to support our operations for the foreseeable future; however, we will continue to evaluate our business operations based on new information as it becomes available and will make changes that we consider necessary in light of any new developments regarding the pandemic and its effect on the economy.
The future impact of COVID-19 on our business and operations cannot be accurately predicted. The pandemic is continuing to develop rapidly and the full extent to which COVID-19 will ultimately impact us depends on future developments, including the duration and spread of the virus, virus mutations and variants, the availability and efficacy of vaccines and boosters, and the willingness of individuals to continue to obtain vaccines and boosters, as well as potential seasonality of new outbreaks.
Economic downturns and adverse political and market conditions beyond the Company’s control could adversely negatively affect its business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Company’s financial performance is subject to global, Asia Pacific and UK economic conditions and their impact on levels of spending by consumers and customers, particularly discretionary spending for entertainment, gaming and leisure activities. Demand for our products may also decline as a result of an economic downturn, or economic uncertainty in our key markets, particularly in Asia Pacific and the UK. Economic recessions have had, and may continue to have, far reaching adverse consequences across industries, including the global entertainment and gaming industries, which may adversely affect the Company’s business and financial condition. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there is substantial uncertainty about the strength of the global, Asia Pacific and UK economies, which may currently or in the near term be in a recession and have experienced rapid increases in uncertainty about the pace of potential recovery. A continued economic downturn or recession, or slowing or stalled recovery therefrom, may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.
In addition, changes in general market, economic and political conditions in domestic and foreign economies or financial markets, including fluctuation in stock markets resulting from, among other things, trends in the economy and inflation, as are being currently experienced, may reduce users’ disposable income. Any one of these changes could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.
Additionally, our business depends on the overall demand for gaming platforms, systems and gaming content and other technology offerings, on the economic health of customers that benefit from our products. Economic downturns or unstable market conditions may cause customers to decrease or pause their acquisition budgets, which could reduce spending on our products and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, economic downturns could also decrease the amount of disposable income end-users have available for gaming platforms, systems and gaming content. Additionally, as described above, public health crises may disrupt the operations of our customers and partners for an unknown period of time, including as a result of travel restrictions and/or business shutdowns, all of which could negatively impact their business and results of operations, including cash flows.
Economic uncertainty may affect consumer purchases of discretionary items, which has affected and may continue to adversely affect demand for our products and services.
Our products and services may be considered discretionary items for consumers. Factors affecting the level of consumer spending for such discretionary items include general economic conditions and other factors such as consumer confidence in future economic conditions, fears of recession and trade wars, the price of energy, fluctuating interest rates, the availability and cost of consumer credit, the availability and timing of government stimulus programs, levels of unemployment, inflation, and tax rates. As global economic conditions continue to be volatile or economic uncertainty remains, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with increasing inflation and interest rates, trends in consumer discretionary spending also remain unpredictable and subject to reductions as a result of significant increases in employment, financial market instability, and uncertainties about the future. Unfavorable economic conditions have led and in the future may lead, consumers to reduce their spending on gaming products and services, which in turn leads to a decrease in the demand for our products and services. Consumer demand for our products and services may decline as a result of an economic downturn, or economic uncertainty in the United States. Our sensitivity to economic cycles and any related fluctuation in consumer demand may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
In February 2022, an armed conflict escalated between Russia and Ukraine. The sanctions announced by the United States and other countries against Russia and Belarus following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to date include restrictions on selling or importing goods, services, or technology in or from affected regions and travel bans and asset freezes impacting connected individuals and political, military, business, and financial organizations in Russia and Belarus. The United States and other countries could impose wider sanctions and take other actions should the conflict further escalate. Although we do not currently do business in either Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine, it is not possible to predict the broader consequences of this ongoing conflict, which could include further sanctions, embargoes, regional instability, and geopolitical shifts. It is also not possible to predict with certainty this ongoing conflict’s additional adverse effects on existing macroeconomic conditions, consumer spending habits, currency exchange rates, and financial markets, all of which have impacted and could further impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
A reduction in discretionary consumer spending, from an economic downturn or disruption of financial markets or other factors, could negatively impact our financial performance.
Gaming and other leisure activities that our customers offer represent discretionary expenditures and players’ participation in those activities may decline if discretionary consumer spending declines, including during economic downturns, when consumers generally earn less disposable income. Changes in discretionary consumer spending or consumer preferences are driven by factors beyond our control, such as:
| ● | perceived or actual general economic conditions; |
| ● | fears of recession and changes in consumer confidence in the economy; |
| ● | high energy, fuel and other commodity costs; |
| ● | the potential for bank failures or other financial crises; |
| ● | a soft job market; |
| ● | an actual or perceived decrease in disposable consumer income and wealth; |
| ● | increases in taxes, including gaming taxes or fees; and |
| ● | terrorist attacks or other global events. |
During periods of economic contraction, our revenues may decrease while most of our costs remain fixed and some costs even increase, resulting in decreased earnings.
The Company’s financial performance is subject to global, Asia Pacific and UK economic conditions and their impact on levels of spending by consumers and customers, particularly discretionary spending for entertainment, gaming and leisure activities. Economic recessions may have adverse consequences across industries, including the global entertainment and gaming industries, which may adversely affect the Company’s business and financial condition. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there is substantial uncertainty about the strength of the global, Asia Pacific and UK economies, which may currently or in the near term be in a recession and have experienced rapid increases in uncertainty about the pace of potential recovery. In addition, changes in general market, economic and political conditions in domestic and foreign economies or financial markets, including fluctuation in stock markets resulting from, among other things, trends in the economy and inflation, as are being currently experienced, may reduce users’ disposable income.
We believe that our business will continue to be resilient through a continued economic downturn or recession, or slowing or stalled recovery therefrom, and that we have the liquidity to address the Company’s financial obligations and alleviate possible adverse effects on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.
Economic uncertainty may affect our access to capital and/or increase the costs of such capital.
Global economic conditions continue to be volatile and uncertain due to, among other things, consumer confidence in future economic conditions, fears of recession and trade wars, the price of energy, fluctuating interest rates, the availability and cost of consumer credit, the availability and timing of government stimulus programs, levels of unemployment, increased inflation, tax rates and the ongoing conflict between the Ukraine and Russia. These conditions remain unpredictable and create uncertainties about our ability to raise capital in the future. In the event required capital becomes unavailable in the future, or more costly, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We may have difficulty obtaining future funding sources, if needed, and we may have to accept terms that would adversely affect shareholders.
We will need to raise funds from additional financing in the future to complete our business plan and may need to raise additional funding in the future to support our operations and complete acquisitions. We have no commitments for any financing and any financing may result in dilution to our existing shareholders. We may have difficulty obtaining additional funding, and we may have to accept terms that would adversely affect our shareholders. For example, the terms of any future financings may impose restrictions on our right to declare dividends or on the manner in which we conduct our business. Additionally, we may raise funding by issuing convertible notes, which if converted into shares of our common stock would dilute our then shareholders’ interests. Lending institutions or private investors may impose restrictions on a future decision by us to make capital expenditures, acquisitions, or significant asset sales. If we are unable to raise additional funds, we may be forced to curtail or even abandon our business plan.
Because we have a limited operating history our future operations may not result in profitable operations.
Although the Company has generated net income of $648,072, $345,922, $398,080, and $1,982,892 for the nine months ended October 31, 2021 and 2020, and the twelve months ended January 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, the Company had a loss of $250,038 for the twelve months ended October 31, 2022. We don’t have a significant operating history upon which to base any assumption as to the likelihood that we will prove successful, and we may not be able to maintain profitable operations. If we are unsuccessful in addressing these risks, our business will most likely fail. Revenues from related party were $862,373, $2,140,266, $1,525,091, $1,633,702, $2,248,877 and $2,167,773, for the twelve months ended October 31, 2022 and 2021, the nine months ended October 31, 2021 and 2020, and the twelve months ended January 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Revenues from third parties were $35,172,483, $9,145,465, $7,808,401, $1,637,951, $2,974,182 and $1,120,802 for the twelve months ended October 31, 2022 and 2021, the nine months ended October 31, 2021 and 2020, and the twelve months ended January 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The increase of total revenue can be attributed to the increasing registered end-users from our third-party customers and the new revenue stream from RKings starting in fiscal 2022. Although we have generated net income in previous years, we may not generate profitable operations in the future to ensure our continued growth.
Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Industry
The Company’s planned Player2P gaming product is currently on hold and we may not move forward with such gaming product.
The Company has developed its own proprietary Peer-to-Peer E-sports gaming product. The launch of the Peer-to-Peer gaming product is on hold until further notice, so that the Company can focus on other projects. This product, if released, will be marketed as the Player2P Platform (“Player2P”). The Player2P brand, if released, be focused solely on esports gambling and 18+ gaming (i.e., gaming by those 18 years of age and older). In the event we decide to move forward with the launch of Player2P, Player2P may not receive regulatory approvals, we may be unable to launch Player2P in the U.S. or other jurisdictions, or such launch might be impractical, which would ultimately cause such product not to be successful. In the event we choose not to launch Player2P, the funds used by the Company to develop such game may be lost, which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and/or prospects, and ultimately the value of our securities.
Our ongoing investment in new products, services, and technologies is inherently risky, and could divert management attention and harm our financial condition and operating results.
We have invested and expect to continue to invest in new products, services, and technologies, such as our Player2P product discussed above, the launch of which is currently on hold indefinitely. Such investments ultimately may not be commercially viable or may not result in an adequate return of capital and, in pursuing new strategies, we may incur unanticipated liabilities. These endeavors may involve significant risks and uncertainties, including diversion of resources and management attention from current operations. In addition, new and evolving products and services, raise technological, legal, regulatory, and other challenges, which may negatively affect our brand and demand for our products and services. Because all of these new ventures are inherently risky, no assurance can be given that such strategies and offerings will be successful and will not harm our reputation, financial condition, and operating results.
We operate in a rapidly evolving industry and if we fail to successfully develop, market or sell new products or adopt new technology, it could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Our software products compete in a market characterized by rapid technological advances, evolving standards in software technology and frequent new product introductions and enhancements that may render existing products and services obsolete. Competitors are continuously upgrading their product offerings with new features, functions and content. In addition, we attempt to continuously refine our software and technology offerings to address regulatory changes in the markets in which we operate and plan to operate. In order to remain competitive, we will need to continuously modify and enhance our technology platform and service offerings. We may not be able to respond to rapid technological changes in our industry. In addition, the introduction of new products or updated versions of existing products has inherent risks, including, but not limited to, risks concerning:
| ● | product quality, including the possibility of software defects, which could result in claims against us or the inability to sell our products; |
| ● | the accuracy of our estimates of customer demand, and the fit of the new products and features with a customer’s needs; |
| ● | the need to educate our personnel to work with the new products and features, which may strain our resources and lengthen sales; |
| ● | market acceptance of initial product releases; and |
| ● | competitor product introductions or regulatory changes that render our new products obsolete. |
We cannot assure you that we will be successful in creating new technology for our products in the future. We may encounter errors resulting from a significant rewrite of the software code. In addition, as we transition to newer technology platforms for our products, our customers may encounter difficulties in the upgrade process, which could cause them to lose revenue or review their alternatives with a competing supplier.
Developing, enhancing and localizing software is expensive, and the investment in product development may involve a long payback cycle. Our future plans include additional investments in development of our software and other intellectual property. We believe that we must continue to dedicate a significant amount of resources to our development efforts to maintain our competitive position. However, we may not receive significant revenue from these investments for several years, if at all. In addition, as we or our competitors introduce new or enhanced products, the demand for our products, particularly older versions of our products may decline.
A significant amount of our revenues come from a limited number of customers for the resale of our gaming content, and if we were to lose any of those customers, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
At the present time, we are dependent on a limited number of customers for the resale of our gaming content. The Company’s major revenues of reselling for the year ended October 31, 2022, were from four customers. As a result, in the event such customers do not pay us amounts owed, terminate work in progress, or we are unable to find new customers moving forward, it could have a materially adverse effect on our results of operations and could force us to curtail or abandon our current business operations.
If we are not able to compete effectively against companies with greater resources, our prospects for future success will be jeopardized.
The gaming platforms, systems and gaming content industries are highly competitive. We compete with numerous local competitors for such services. Many of our competitors are larger, more established companies with greater resources to devote to marketing, as well as greater brand recognition. Moreover, if one or more of our competitors or suppliers were to merge, the change in the competitive landscape could adversely affect our competitive position. Additionally, to the extent that competition in our markets intensifies, we may be required to reduce our prices in order to remain competitive. If we do not compete effectively, or if we reduce our prices without making commensurate reductions in our costs, our net sales, margins, and profitability and our future prospects for success may be harmed.
Changes in ownership of competitors or consolidations within the gaming industry may negatively impact pricing and lead to downward pricing pressures which could reduce revenue.
A decline in demand for our products in the gaming industry could adversely affect our business. Demand for our products is driven primarily by the replacement of existing services as well as the expansion of existing online gaming, and the expansion of new channels of distribution, such as mobile gaming. Additionally, consolidation within the online gambling market could result in us facing competition from larger combined entities, which may benefit from greater resources and economies of scale. Also, any fragmentation within the industry creating a number of smaller, independent operators with fewer resources could also adversely affect our business as these operators might cause a further slowdown in the replacement cycle for our products.
In the past we have been affected by, and in the future, we may be affected by, unauthorized transfers, withdrawals, wires, checks and payments, from our bank accounts.
In August 2021, we first became aware of certain Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers that were erroneously posted to the Company’s bank account. The Company first notified Citibank of ACH transfers that were erroneously posted to the account. Overall, $729,505 of ACH transactions had posted to the Company’s accounts that were not authorized. Citibank immediately recognized that it was an error under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of 1978 (EFTA) and proceeded to immediately replenish $392,921 of the unauthorized ACH transactions which resulted in a receivable due from Citibank of $336,584 as of October 31, 2021. Through October 31, 2022, an additional $269,086 was replenished by Citibank which resulted in a balance due from Citibank of $67,498. On November 25, 2022, an additional $21,003 was replenished by Citibank. While these unauthorized transfers were for the most part remedied quickly, and we believe that our liability and exposure to such transfers is minimal as a result of the EFTA, future unauthorized transfers, withdrawals, wires, checks and payments, from our bank accounts could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows and results of operations and result in material losses. The risk of such losses and unauthorized transactions may also be exacerbated by potential ineffective controls and procedures relating to the safeguarding of our account information.
The online gaming industry is highly competitive, and if we fail to compete effectively, we could experience price reductions, reduced margins or loss of revenues.
The online gaming industry is highly competitive. A number of companies offer products that are similar to our products and target the same markets as we do. Certain of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources, greater name recognition, broader or more integrated product offerings, larger technical staffs and a larger installed customer base than we do. These competitors may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements, develop superior products, and devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can.
Because of the rapid growth of our industry, and the relatively low capital barriers to entry in the software industry, we expect additional competition from other established and emerging companies. Additionally, as our customers become more experienced or successful, they may look to develop their own proprietary solutions or may look more aggressively at competing platforms. Additionally, our competitors could combine or merge to become more formidable competitors or may adapt more quickly than we can to new technologies, evolving industry trends and changing customer requirements. If we fail to compete effectively, (a) we could be compelled to reduce prices in order to be competitive, which could reduce margins, or (b) we would lose market share, any of which could materially adversely affect our strategy, our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Competition within the global entertainment and gaming industries is intense and our existing and future offerings may not be able to compete against other competing forms of entertainment such as television, movies and sporting events, as well as other entertainment and gaming options on the Internet. If our offerings do not continue to be popular, our business could be harmed.
We operate in the global entertainment and gaming industries. The users of our offerings face a vast array of entertainment choices. Other forms of entertainment, such as television, movies, sporting events and in-person casinos, are more well established and may be perceived by our users to offer greater variety, affordability, interactivity and enjoyment. Our products compete with these other forms of entertainment for the discretionary time and income of end users. If we are unable to sustain sufficient interest in our products and offerings in comparison to other forms of entertainment, including new forms of entertainment, our business model may not continue to be viable.
We face the risk of fraud, theft, and cheating.
We face the risk that third-parties, employees or consultants may attempt or commit fraud or theft or cheat using our products. Such risks include backdoors, nefarious code and other efforts. Failure to discover such acts or schemes in a timely manner could result in losses in our operations and those of our customers. Negative publicity related to such acts or schemes could have an adverse effect on our reputation, potentially causing a material adverse effect on our business.
We face cyber security risks that could result in damage to our reputation and/or subject us to fines, payment of damages, lawsuits and restrictions on our use of data.
Our information systems and data, including those we maintain with our third-party service providers, may be subject to cyber security breaches in the future. Computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate, copy or pirate our confidential information or that of third parties, create system disruptions or cause interruptions or shutdowns of our internal systems and services. Our website may become subject to denial-of-service attacks, where a website is bombarded with information requests eventually causing the website to overload, resulting in a delay or disruption of service. Computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms and other malicious software programs that attack our products or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities of our products. Also, there is a growing trend of advanced persistent threats being launched by organized and coordinated groups against corporate networks to breach security for malicious purposes.
The techniques used to obtain unauthorized, improper, or illegal access to our systems, our data or customers’ data, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems are constantly evolving and have become increasingly complex and sophisticated, may be difficult to detect quickly, and often are not recognized or detected until after they have been launched. Although we have developed systems and processes designed to protect our data and customer data and to prevent data loss and other security breaches and expect to continue to expend significant resources to bolster these protections, there can be no assurance that these security measures will provide absolute security.
Disruptions in the availability of our computer systems, through cyber-attacks or otherwise, could damage our computer or telecommunications systems, impact our ability to service our customers, adversely affect our operations and the results of operations, and have an adverse effect on our reputation. The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and the efforts to address these problems could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers and may impede our sales, distribution and other critical functions. We may also be subject to regulatory penalties and litigation by customers and other parties whose information has been compromised, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows.
Systems failures and resulting interruptions in the availability of our websites, applications, products, or services could harm our business.
Our systems may experience service interruptions or degradation because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, distributed denial-of-service and other cyberattacks, human error, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, and other natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, computer viruses or other malware, or other events. Some of our systems are not fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning may not be sufficient for all eventualities.
A prolonged interruption in the availability or reduction in the availability, speed, or functionality of our products and services will result in a loss of revenue and could materially harm our business. Frequent or persistent interruptions in our services could cause current or potential customers to believe that our systems are unreliable, leading them to switch to our competitors or to avoid or reduce the use of our products and services, and could permanently harm our reputation and brands. Moreover, if any system failure or similar event results in damages to our customers or their business partners, these customers or partners could seek significant compensation or contractual penalties from us for their losses, and those claims, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time-consuming and costly for us to address.
The full-time availability and expeditious delivery of our products and services is a critical part of our offerings to our consumers. We continually refine our technology, implementing system upgrades. Despite network security, disaster recovery and systems management measures in place, we may encounter unexpected general systems outages or failures that may affect our ability to conduct development activities, provide maintenance services for our products, manage our contractual arrangements, accurately and efficiently maintain our books and records, record our transactions, provide critical information to our management and prepare our consolidated financial statements. Additionally, these unexpected systems outages or failures may require additional personnel and financial resources, disrupt our business or cause delays in the reporting of our financial results. We may also be required to modify, enhance, upgrade or implement new systems, procedures and controls to reflect changes in our business or technological advancements, which could cause us to incur additional costs and require additional management attention, placing burdens on our internal resources.
We also rely on facilities, components, and services supplied by third parties, including data center facilities and cloud storage services. If these third parties cease to provide the facilities or services, experience operational interference or disruptions, breach their agreements with us, fail to perform their obligations and meet our expectations, or experience a cybersecurity incident, our operations could be disrupted or otherwise negatively affected, which could result in customer dissatisfaction and damage to our reputation and brands, and materially and adversely affect our business. We do not carry business interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for all losses that may result from interruptions in our service as a result of systems failures and similar events.
There may be losses or unauthorized access to or releases of confidential information, including personally identifiable information, that could subject the Company to significant reputational, financial, legal and operational consequences.
The Company’s business requires it to use, transmit and store confidential information including, among other things, personally identifiable information (“PII”) with respect to the Company’s customers and employees. The Company devotes significant resources to network and data security, including through the use of encryption and other security measures intended to protect its systems and data. But these measures cannot provide absolute security, and losses or unauthorized access to or releases of confidential information occur and could materially adversely affect the Company’s reputation, financial condition and operating results. The Company’s business also requires it to share confidential information with third parties. Although the Company takes steps to secure confidential information that is provided to third parties, such measures are not always effective and losses or unauthorized access to or releases of confidential information occur and could materially adversely affect the Company’s reputation, financial condition and operating results.
For example, the Company may experience a security breach impacting the Company’s information technology systems that compromises the confidentiality, integrity or availability of confidential information. Such an incident could, among other things, impair the Company’s ability to attract and retain customers for its products and services, impact the Company’s stock price, materially damage supplier relationships, and expose the Company to litigation or government investigations, which could result in penalties, fines or judgments against the Company.
The Company has implemented systems and processes intended to secure its information technology systems and prevent unauthorized access to or loss of sensitive data. As with all companies, these security measures may not be sufficient for all eventualities and may be vulnerable to hacking, employee error, malfeasance, system error, faulty password management or other irregularities. In addition to the risks relating to general confidential information described above, the Company is also subject to specific obligations relating to payment card data. Under payment card rules and obligations, if cardholder information is potentially compromised, the Company could be liable for associated investigatory expenses and could also incur significant fees or fines if the Company fails to follow payment card industry data security standards. The Company could also experience a significant increase in payment card transaction costs or lose the ability to process payment cards if it fails to follow payment card industry data security standards, which would materially adversely affect the Company’s reputation, financial condition and operating results.
A significant portion of our employees, consultants and operations are located outside of the U.S. and in many different foreign locations.
We have employees, consultants and staff located in multiple countries and a significant level of operations outside of the U.S. We have software development, customer support and sales centers in Philippines, Australia, and Taiwan, which account for most of our software development support and sales personnel. The fact that all of our employees and consultants are not located in one place subjects us to additional costs and risks that could adversely affect our operating results.
We have business operations located in non-U.S. countries which subject us to additional costs and risks that could adversely affect our operating results.
Certain of our operations are in, and sales take place outside of, the U.S. Compliance with international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. As a result of our international operations, we are subject to a variety of risks and challenges in managing an organization operating in various countries, including those related to:
| ● | challenges caused by distance as well as language and cultural differences; |
| ● | general economic conditions in each country or region; |
| ● | regulatory changes; |
| ● | political unrest, terrorism and the potential for other hostilities; |
| ● | public health risks, particularly in areas in which we have significant operations; |
| ● | longer payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | difficulties in transferring funds from certain countries; |
| ● | laws such as the UK Bribery Act 2010 and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and local laws which also prohibit corrupt payments to governmental officials; and |
| ● | reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries. |
If we are unable to expand or adequately staff and manage our existing development operations located outside of the U.S., we may not realize, in whole or in part, the anticipated benefits from these initiatives (including lower development expenses), which in turn could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Because certain of our executive officers and directors live outside of the United States, you may have no effective recourse against them for misconduct and may not be able to enforce judgment and civil liabilities against them. Investors may not be able to receive compensation for damages to the value of their investment caused by wrongful actions by certain of our directors and officers.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer and certain of our directors currently live outside of the United States and all or a substantial portion of their assets are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to enforce within the United States any judgments obtained against our officers and directors who live outside of the United States or obtain judgments against them outside of the United States that are predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof.
Our results of operations may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency values.
We receive revenues and expend expenses in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Changes in the value of the currencies which we receive revenues and pay expenses, versus each other, and the U.S. dollar, could result in an adverse charge being recorded to our income statement. Our currency remeasurement gains and losses are charged against earnings in the period incurred.
We depend on the services of key personnel to execute our business strategy. If we lose the services of our key personnel or are unable to attract and retain other qualified personnel, we may be unable to operate our business effectively.
We believe that the future success of our business depends on the services of a number of key management and operating personnel. Some of these key employees have strong relationships with our customers and our business may be harmed if these employees leave us. In addition, our ability to manage our growth depends, in part, on our ability to identify, hire and retain additional qualified employees. We face intense competition for qualified individuals from numerous technologies, software and service companies. If we are unsuccessful in attracting and retaining these key management and operating personnel our ability to operate our business effectively could be negatively impacted and our business, operating results and financial condition would be materially adversely affected.
We rely on third party cloud services and such providers or services have in the past, and may in the future, encounter technical problems and service interruptions.
We host our customers’ iGaming operations on a combination of proprietary and cloud servers including the Amazon Elastic Compute (EC2) Server. Such servers have in the past and may in the future experience slower response times or interruptions as a result of increased traffic or other reasons. Additionally, we currently host our GM-X system on Amazon Web Services (“AWS”), a third-party provider of cloud infrastructure services. We do not, and will not, have control over the operations of the facilities or infrastructure of the third-party service providers that we use. Such third parties’ facilities are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, cybersecurity attacks, terrorist attacks, power outages and similar events or acts of misconduct. Our platform’s continuing and uninterrupted performance will be critical to our success. We have experienced, and we expect that in the future we will experience, interruptions, delays and outages in service and availability from these third-party service providers from time to time due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, website hosting disruptions and capacity constraints. In addition, any changes in these third parties’ service levels may adversely affect our ability to meet the requirements of our users. Since our platform’s continuing and uninterrupted performance is critical to our success, sustained or repeated system failures would reduce the attractiveness of our offerings. It may become increasingly difficult to maintain and improve our performance, especially during peak usage times, as we expand, and the usage of our offerings increases. Any negative publicity arising from these disruptions could harm our reputation and brand and may adversely affect the usage of our offerings. Any of the above circumstances or events may harm our reputation, reduce the availability or usage of our platform, lead to a significant loss of revenue, increase our costs, and impair our ability to attract new customers any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our operations rely heavily on an uninterrupted supply of electrical power.
Any unscheduled disruption in the supply of electrical power to us, our customers or our service providers, or the Internet in general, could result in an immediate, and possibly substantial, loss of revenues due to a shutdown of our operations, those of our customers or service providers. In the event such electrical power were to be out for a prolonged period of time, it could prevent us from generating revenues, result in a decrease in demand for our services or result in lawsuits or other litigation against us.
Our business is vulnerable to changing economic conditions and to other factors that adversely affect the industries in which we operate.
The demand for entertainment and leisure activities tends to be highly sensitive to changes in consumers’ disposable income, and thus can be affected by changes in the economy and consumer tastes, both of which are difficult to predict and beyond the control of the Company. Unfavorable changes in general economic conditions, including recessions, economic slowdown, sustained high levels of unemployment, and increasing fuel or transportation costs, may reduce customers’ disposable income or result in fewer individuals visiting casinos, whether land-based or online, or otherwise engaging in entertainment and leisure activities, including gaming. As a result, the Company cannot ensure that demand for its products or services will remain constant. Continued or renewed adverse developments affecting economies throughout the world, including a general tightening of availability of credit, decreased liquidity in many financial markets, increasing interest rates, increasing energy costs, acts of war or terrorism, transportation disruptions, natural disasters, declining consumer confidence, sustained high levels of unemployment or significant declines in stock markets, all of which may be caused by, or exacerbated by, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, could lead to a further reduction in discretionary spending on leisure activities, such as gaming. Any significant or prolonged decrease in consumer spending on entertainment or leisure activities could reduce the Company’s online games, reducing the Company’s cash flows and revenues. If the Company experiences a significant unexpected decrease in demand for its products, it could incur losses.
The Company’s results of operations could be affected by natural events in the locations in which we operate or where our customers or service providers operate and we do not currently have insurance in place to mitigate such risks.
We, our customers, and our service providers have operations in locations subject to natural occurrences such as severe weather and other geological events, including hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods that could disrupt operations. Any serious disruption at any of our facilities or the facilities of our customers or service providers due to a natural disaster could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and increase our costs and expenses. If there is a natural disaster or other serious disruption at any of our facilities, it could impair our ability to adequately supply our customers, cause a significant disruption to our operations, cause us to incur significant costs to relocate or re-establish these functions and negatively impact our operating results. While we intend to seek insurance against certain business interruption risks, the Company does not currently have any insurance in place and any eventual insurance may not adequately compensate us for any losses incurred as a result of natural or other disasters. In addition, any natural disaster that results in a prolonged disruption to the operations of our customers or suppliers may adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover all possible losses that we could suffer, and our insurance costs may increase.
We have insurance policies with coverage features and insured limits that we believe are customary in their breadth and scope. However, in the event of a substantial loss, the insurance coverage we carry may not be sufficient to pay the full market value or replacement cost of our lost investment or could result in certain losses being totally uninsured. Market forces beyond our control may limit the scope of the insurance coverage we can obtain in the future or our ability to obtain coverage at reasonable rates. Certain catastrophic losses may be uninsurable or too expensive to justify obtaining insurance. As a result, if we suffer such a catastrophic loss, we may not be successful in obtaining future insurance without increases in cost or decreases in coverage levels.
We have agreed to pay certain amounts to a consultant as a bonus in connection with the operations of GMG Assets.
In October 2022, and effective in August 2022, we acquired 100% of GMG Assets, which was formed for the sole purpose of facilitating the Company’s operation of RKings and to facilitate cash alternative offers for winners of prizes within RKings’ business. As part of such acquisition, the Company agreed to pay Mr. Mark Weir a monthly cash incentive bonus to assist in the running of GMG Assets. The bonus structure provides for the payment to Mr. Weir of 100% of the profits generated up to 50,000 GBP) (approximately $58,000) then thereafter 10% of the profits generated by GMG Assets up to a maximum of 150,000 GBP per annum. The aforementioned profits will be calculated as revenues less cost of goods sold, less any taxes paid or incurred. A cash alternative maximum percentage of the prize value in RKings will be set by the Board of Directors of the Company, from time to time. The bonus payable as discussed above may materially decrease the amount of funds we generate from the operations of GMG Assets and/or disincentive Mr. Weir from generating profits after the first 50,000 GBP or 150,000 GBP.
There is a risk that the Company’s network systems will be unable to meet the growing demand for its online products.
The growth of internet usage has caused frequent interruptions and delays in processing and transmitting data over the internet. There can be no assurance that the internet infrastructure or our own network systems will be able to meet the demand placed on it by the continued growth of the internet, the overall online gaming and interactive entertainment industry and our customers.
The internet’s viability as a medium for products and services offered by us could be affected if the necessary infrastructure is not sufficient, or if other technologies and technological devices eclipse the internet as a viable channel.
End-users of our products and services will depend on internet service providers and our system infrastructure (or those of our licensed partners) for access to us or our licensees’ products and services. Many of these services have experienced service outages in the past and could experience service outages, delays, and other difficulties due to system failures, stability, or interruption.
Malfunctions of third-party communications infrastructure, hardware and software expose us to a variety of risks we cannot control.
Our business will depend upon the capacity, reliability and security of the infrastructure owned by third parties over which our offerings would be deployed. We have no control over the operation, quality, or maintenance of a significant portion of that infrastructure or whether or not those third parties will upgrade or improve their equipment. We depend on these companies to maintain the operational integrity of our connections. If one or more of these companies is unable or unwilling to supply or expand our levels of service in the future, our operations could be adversely impacted. Also, to the extent the number of users of networks utilizing our future products and services suddenly increases, the technology platform and secure hosting services which will be required to accommodate a higher volume of traffic may result in slower response times or service interruptions. System interruptions or increases in response time could result in a loss of potential or existing users and, if sustained or repeated, could reduce the appeal of the networks to users. In addition, users depend on real-time communications; outages caused by increased traffic could result in delays and system failures. These types of occurrences could cause users to perceive that our products and services do not function properly and could therefore adversely affect our ability to attract and retain licensees, strategic partners, and customers.
Risks Related to Regulation
Our products are generally part of new and evolving industries, which presents significant uncertainty and business risks.
The gaming platforms, systems and gaming content industries are relatively new and continue to evolve. Whether these industries grow and whether our business will ultimately succeed, will be affected by, among other things, mobile platforms, legal and regulatory developments (such as passing new laws or regulations or extending existing laws or regulations to online gaming and related activities), taxation of gaming activities, data and information privacy and payment processing laws and regulations, and other factors that we are unable to predict and which are beyond our control.
Given the dynamic evolution of these industries, it can be difficult to plan strategically, including as it relates to product launches in new or existing jurisdictions which may be delayed or denied, and it is possible that competitors will be more successful than we are at adapting to change and pursuing business opportunities. Additionally, as the online gaming industry advances, including with respect to regulation in new and existing jurisdictions, we may become subject to additional compliance-related costs, including regulatory infractions, licensing, and taxes. If our product offerings do not obtain popularity or maintain popularity, or if they fail to grow in a manner that meets our expectations, or if we cannot offer our product offerings in particular jurisdictions that may be material to our business, then our results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.
Changes in the UK government’s or the Republic of Ireland’s rules relating to gaming could have a material negative impact on our business.
RKings is not currently subject to the UK government’s or The Republic of Ireland’s rules relating to gaming, as it is a skill game whereby the prize competitions require entrants to demonstrate sufficient skill, knowledge, or judgment to have a chance of winning and participants are provided with a route to free entry to the prize competitions as required by UK law. We refer to these as “pay to enter prize competitions”. Future changes to such rules and regulations could require RKings and its operations to be subject to such rules and requirements, which could result in significant expenses, or potentially force us to change or abandon such current operations, and/or could result in significant fines and penalties.
Data privacy and security laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we do business could increase the cost of our operations and subject us to possible sanctions and other penalties.
Our business is subject to a number of federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations governing data privacy and security, including with respect to the collection, storage, use, transmission and protection of personal information. In particular, we are subject to the GDPR, as discussed above under “Item 1. Business—Regulation—Non-U.S. Regulatory Environment”. Compliance with the GDPR requires us to incur significant compliance and operational costs. In addition, a data supervisory authority may find our data processing practices and compliance steps to be inconsistent with the GDPR’s application in their respective jurisdiction. Data supervisory authorities also have the power to issue fines for non-compliance of the GDPR of up to 4% of an organization’s annual worldwide turnover or €20m (£17.5 million under the UK GDPR) (or approximately $19.7 million and $19.9 million, respectively, as of October 31, 2022), whichever is higher. Data subjects also have a right to compensation, as a result of an organization’s breach of the GDPR that has affected them, for financial or non-financial losses (e.g., distress). Our non-compliance with the GDPR and/or other similar laws could result in significant penalties and liability for the Company.
We are subject to various laws relating to trade, export controls, and foreign corrupt practices, the violation of which could adversely affect our operations, reputation, business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.
We are subject to risks associated with doing business outside of the United States, including exposure to complex foreign and U.S. regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) and other anti-corruption laws which generally prohibit U.S. companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Violations of the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws may result in severe criminal and civil sanctions and other penalties. It may be difficult to oversee the conduct of any contractors, third party partners, representatives or agents who are not our employees, potentially exposing us to greater risk from their actions. If our employees or agents fail to comply with applicable laws or company policies governing our international operations, we may face legal proceedings and actions which could result in civil penalties, administration actions and criminal sanctions. Any determination that we have violated any anti-corruption laws could have a material adverse impact on our business. Changes in trade sanctions laws may restrict our business practices, including cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries or with sanctioned entities.
Violations of these laws and regulations could result in significant fines, criminal sanctions against the Company, its officers or its employees, requirements to obtain export licenses, disgorgement of profits, cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries, prohibitions on the conduct of its business and its inability to market and sell the Company’s products in one or more countries. Additionally, any such violations could materially damage the Company’s reputation, brand, international expansion efforts, ability to attract and retain employees and the Company’s business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.
We also deal with significant amounts of cash in our operations and are subject to various reporting and anti-money laundering regulations. Any violation of anti-money laundering laws or regulations by any of our properties could have a material adverse impact on our business.
The Company’s ability to operate in the U.S. is currently, and may continue to be, limited.
According to actionnetwork.com, as of November 22, 2022, sports betting is legal in 33 states. As a result, we believe that the current U.S. market for the Company’s products and services is robust and the Company hopes that more U.S. states will pass laws in the upcoming years to legalize more forms of online gambling. While the Company has engaged specialist legal counsel to assist with understanding the compliance requirements of U.S. gaming legislation and potentially submitting an application for a U.S. gaming license, the Company anticipates the majority of its revenues coming from the UK, Asia, South America, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
In the event that more U.S. states do not adopt more favorable online gaming laws in the future, the federal government prohibits online gaming, or the current states that allow for online gaming change or restrict their current laws, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to generate revenues and operate in the U.S., which could cause the value of its securities to decline in value or become worthless.
Failure to comply with regulatory requirements in a particular jurisdiction, or the failure to successfully obtain a license or permit applied for in a particular jurisdiction, could impact our ability to comply with licensing and regulatory requirements in other jurisdictions, or could cause the rejection of license applications or cancelation of existing licenses in other jurisdictions.
Compliance with the various regulations applicable to online gaming is costly and time-consuming. Regulatory authorities at the federal, state and local levels (both in the U.S. and in foreign jurisdictions) have broad powers with respect to the regulation and licensing of real money online gaming operations and may revoke, suspend, condition or limit our licenses, or those of our customers, impose substantial fines on us or our customers, and take other actions, any one of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. These laws and regulations are dynamic and subject to potentially differing interpretations, and various legislative and regulatory bodies may expand current laws or regulations or enact new laws and regulations regarding these matters. We will strive to comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to our business. It is possible, however, that these requirements may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules. Non-compliance with any such law or regulations could expose us or our customers to claims, proceedings, litigation and investigations by private parties and regulatory authorities, as well as substantial fines and negative publicity, each of which may materially and adversely affect our business and/or those of our customers.
Our or our customers’ gaming licenses could be revoked, suspended or conditioned at any time. The loss of a license in one jurisdiction could trigger the loss of a license or affect our (or our customer’s) eligibility for such a license in another jurisdiction, and any of such losses, or potential for such loss, could cause us to cease offering some or all of our offerings in the impacted jurisdictions or cause any of our customers to cease offering our products in those jurisdictions. We and our customers may be unable to obtain or maintain all necessary registrations, licenses, permits or approvals, and could incur fines or experience delays related to the licensing process, which could adversely affect our operations or those of our customers. Our delay or failure to obtain or maintain licenses in any jurisdiction may prevent us from distributing our offerings, increasing our customer base and/or generating revenues. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain and maintain the licenses and related approvals necessary to conduct our iGaming operations. Any failure by us or our customers to maintain or renew existing licenses, registrations, permits or approvals could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our product offerings must be approved in most regulated jurisdictions in which they are offered; this process cannot be assured or guaranteed.
If we fail to obtain necessary gaming licenses in a given jurisdiction, we would likely be prohibited from distributing and providing our product offerings in that particular jurisdiction. If we fail to seek, do not receive, or receive a suspension or revocation of a license in a particular jurisdiction for our product offerings (including any related technology and software) then we cannot offer the same in that jurisdiction and our gaming licenses in other jurisdictions may be impacted. Furthermore, some jurisdictions require license holders to obtain government approval before engaging in some transactions. We may not be able to obtain all necessary licenses in a timely manner, or at all. Delays in regulatory approvals or failure to obtain such approvals may also serve as a barrier to entry to the market for our product offerings. If we are unable to overcome the barriers to entry, it will materially affect our results of operations and future prospects.
To the extent new online gaming jurisdictions are established or expanded, we cannot guarantee we will be successful in penetrating such new jurisdictions or expanding our business or customer base in line with the growth of existing jurisdictions. As we directly or indirectly enter into new markets, we may encounter legal, regulatory and political challenges that are difficult or impossible to foresee and which could result in an unforeseen adverse impact on planned revenues or costs associated with the new market opportunity. If we are unable to effectively develop and operate directly or indirectly within these new markets or if our competitors are able to successfully penetrate geographic markets that we cannot access or where we face other restrictions, then our business, operating results and financial condition could be impaired. Our failure to obtain or maintain the necessary regulatory approvals in jurisdictions, whether individually or collectively, would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Legislative and regulatory changes could negatively affect our business and the business of our customers.
Legislative and regulatory changes may affect demand for or place limitations on the placement of our products. Such changes could affect us in a variety of ways. Legislation or regulation may introduce limitations on our products or opportunities for the use of our products and could foster competitive products or solutions at our or our customers’ expense. Our business will likely also suffer if our products become obsolete due to changes in laws or the regulatory framework. Moreover, legislation to prohibit, limit or add burdens to our business may be introduced in the future in states where gaming has been legalized. In addition, from time to time, legislators and special interest groups have proposed legislation that would expand, restrict or prevent gaming operations or which may otherwise adversely impact our operations in the jurisdictions in which we operate.
Legislative or regulatory changes negatively impacting the gaming industry as a whole, or our customers in particular, could also decrease the demand for our products. Opposition to gaming could result in restrictions or even prohibitions of gaming operations in any jurisdiction or could result in increased taxes on gaming revenues. Tax matters, including changes in state, federal or other tax legislation or assessments by tax authorities could have a negative impact on our business. A reduction in growth of the gaming industry or in the number of gaming jurisdictions or delays in the opening of new or expanded casinos could reduce demand for our products. Changes in current or future laws or regulations or future judicial intervention in any particular jurisdiction may have a material adverse effect on our existing and proposed foreign and domestic operations. Any such adverse change in the legislative or regulatory environment could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Material increases to our taxes or the adoption of new taxes or the authorization of new or increased forms of gaming could have a material adverse effect on our future financial results.
We believe that the prospect of significant revenue is one of the primary reasons that jurisdictions permit or expand legalized gaming. As a result, gaming companies are typically subject to significant revenue-based taxes and fees in addition to normal federal, state and local income taxes, and such taxes and fees are subject to increase at any time. From time-to-time, federal, state, and local legislators and officials have proposed changes in tax laws, or in the administration of such laws, affecting the gaming industry. In addition, worsening economic conditions could intensify the efforts of state and local governments to raise revenues through increases in gaming taxes, property taxes and/or by authorizing additional gaming properties each subject to payment of a new license fee. It is not possible to determine with certainty the likelihood of changes in such laws or in the administration of such laws. Such changes, if adopted, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. The large number of state and local governments with significant current or projected budget deficits makes it more likely that those governments that currently permit gaming will seek to fund such deficits with new or increased gaming or new or increased gaming taxes and/or property taxes and worsening economic conditions could intensify those efforts. Any new or increased gaming or the material increase or adoption of additional taxes or fees, could have a material adverse effect on our future financial results, especially in light of our significant fixed rent payments.
Gaming opponents may persist in their efforts to curtail the expansion of legalized gaming, which, if successful, could limit the growth of our operations.
There is significant debate over, and opposition to, land-based and interactive gaming. We cannot assure that this opposition will not succeed in preventing the legalization of gaming in jurisdictions where it is presently prohibited, prohibiting or limiting the expansion of gaming where it is currently permitted or causing the repeal of legalized gaming in any jurisdiction. Any successful effort to curtail the expansion of, or limit or prohibit, legalized gaming could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
In addition, there is significant opposition in some jurisdictions to gaming (online or otherwise). Such opposition could lead these jurisdictions to adopt legislation or impose a regulatory framework to govern interactive gaming specifically. These could result in a prohibition on gaming or increase our costs to comply with these regulations, all of which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Regulators and investors may perceive gaming software suppliers and operators similarly and consider their respective regulatory risk to be similar.
While operators that directly provide wagering services to their customers are generally perceived to be exposed to a greater degree of enforcement risk than their suppliers, in some jurisdictions, laws extend to directly impact such suppliers. Furthermore, a supplier’s nexus with a particular jurisdiction may expose it to specific enforcement risks, irrespective of whether there has been an attempt to bring proceedings against any supported operator. In some circumstances, enforcement proceedings brought against an operator may result in action being taken against a supplier (and even brought in the absence of the former).
Ultimately, the market may view, or in the future may view, the regulatory risk associated with the business of supplying software and services to gaming operators as being comparable with the regulatory risk attaching to operators themselves. In such circumstances, there is an associated risk that investors may apply valuation methods to any such supplier that are the same as the valuation methods used to value operators, and which build in the same regulatory risk even though, in many territories, such suppliers would be considered sufficiently removed from the transactional activity to warrant the application of a discrete risk analysis.
Climate change, climate change regulations and greenhouse gas effects may adversely impact our operations.
There is a growing political and scientific consensus that greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions continue to alter the composition of the global atmosphere in ways that are affecting and are expected to continue affecting the global climate. We may become subject to legislation and regulation regarding climate change, and compliance with any new rules could be difficult and costly. Concerned parties, such as legislators and regulators, stockholders and nongovernmental organizations, as well as companies in many business sectors, are considering ways to reduce GHG emissions. Many states and countries have announced or adopted programs to stabilize and reduce GHG emissions and in the past federal legislation has been proposed in Congress. If such legislation is enacted, we could incur increased energy, environmental and other costs and capital expenditures to comply with the limitations. Unless and until legislation is enacted and its terms are known, we cannot reasonably or reliably estimate its impact on our financial condition, operating performance, or ability to compete. Climate change could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
The gaming industry is highly regulated, and we must adhere to various regulations and maintain applicable licenses to continue our operations. Failure to abide by regulations or maintain applicable licenses could be disruptive to our business and could adversely affect our operations.
We and our products are subject to extensive regulation under federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules and regulations of the jurisdictions in which we do business and our products are used. We currently block direct access to wagering on our website from the United States and other jurisdictions in which we do not have a license to operate through IP address filtering. Individuals are required to enter their age upon gaining access to our platform and any misrepresentation of such users age will result in the forfeiting of his or her deposit and any withdrawals from such users account requires proof of government issued identification. In addition, our payment service providers use their own identify and internet service provider (ISP) verification software. Despite all such measures, it is conceivable that a user, underage, or otherwise could devise a way to evade our blocking measures and access our website from the United States or any other foreign jurisdiction in which we are not currently permitted to operate.
Violations of laws in one jurisdiction could result in disciplinary action in other jurisdictions. Licenses, approvals or findings of suitability may be revoked, suspended or conditioned. In sum, we may not be able to obtain or maintain all necessary registrations, licenses, permits or approvals. The licensing process may result in delays or adversely affect our operations and our ability to maintain key personnel, and our efforts to comply with any new licensing regulations will increase our costs.
We may be unable to obtain licenses in new jurisdictions where our customers operate.
We are subject to regulation in any jurisdiction where our customers access our website. To expand into any such jurisdiction, we may need to be licensed, or obtain approvals of our products or services. If we do not receive or receive a revocation of a license in a particular jurisdiction for our products, we would not be able to sell or place our products in that jurisdiction. Any such outcome could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and any growth plans for our business.
Privacy concerns could result in regulatory changes and impose additional costs and liabilities on the Company, limit its use of information, and adversely affect its business.
Personal privacy has become a significant issue in Canada, the United States, Europe, and many other countries in which we currently operate and may operate in the future. Many federal, state, and foreign legislatures and government agencies have imposed or are considering imposing restrictions and requirements about the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information obtained from individuals. Changes to laws or regulations affecting privacy could impose additional costs and liability on us and could limit our use of such information to add value for customers. If we were required to change our business activities or revise or eliminate services, or to implement burdensome compliance measures, our business and results of operations could be harmed. In addition, we may be subject to fines, penalties, and potential litigation if we fail to comply with applicable privacy regulations, any of which could adversely affect our business, liquidity, and results of operation.
We have previously identified material weaknesses in our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. If we identify future material weakness in our disclosure controls and procedures and/or internal control over financial reporting, that could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and a failure to meet our reporting and financial obligations, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and the trading price of our common stock.
Maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and effective disclosure controls and procedures are necessary for us to produce reliable financial statements. Our management previously determined that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of October 31, 2021, and such controls and procedures were not effective for several years prior to October 31, 2021, provided that management has determined that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective as of October 31, 2022. Separately, management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2021, and determined that such internal control over financial reporting was not effective as a result of such assessment, provided that management has determined that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective as of October 31, 2022.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. A control deficiency exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent or detect misstatements on a timely basis.
Maintaining effective disclosure controls and procedures and effective internal control over financial reporting are necessary for us to produce reliable financial statements and the Company is committed to remediating its material weaknesses in such controls as promptly as possible. However, there can be no assurance as to when these material weaknesses will be remediated or that additional material weaknesses will not arise in the future. The development of new material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and cause us to fail to meet our reporting and financial obligations, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and the trading price of our common stock, and/or result in litigation against us or our management. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements or our periodic reports filed with the SEC.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property and Technology
If we are unable to protect our proprietary information or other intellectual property, our business could be adversely affected.
We rely to a significant degree on trade secret laws to protect our proprietary information and technology. Breaches of the security of our data center systems and infrastructure or other IT resources could result in the exposure of our proprietary information. Additionally, our trade secrets may be independently developed by competitors. The steps we have taken to protect our trade secrets and proprietary information may not prevent unauthorized use or reverse engineering of our trade secrets or proprietary information. Additionally, to the extent that we have not registered the copyrights in any of our copyrightable works, we will need to register the copyrights before we can file an infringement suit in the United States (or another jurisdiction), and our remedies in any such infringement suit may be limited.
Effective protection of our intellectual property rights may require additional filings and applications in the future. However, pending and future applications may not be approved, and any of our existing or future patents, trademarks or other intellectual property rights may not provide sufficient protection for our business as currently conducted or may be challenged by others or invalidated through administrative process or litigation. Additionally, patent rights in the United States have switched from the former “first-to-invent” system to a “first-to-file” system, which may favor larger competitors that have the resources to file more patent applications. Additionally, to the extent that our employees, contractors or other third parties with whom we do business use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights to such intellectual property.
Further, the laws of certain countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States and, therefore, in certain jurisdictions, we may be unable to protect our proprietary technology adequately against unauthorized third-party copying, infringement or use, which could adversely affect our competitive position.
To protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, we may initiate litigation against third parties. Any lawsuits that we initiate could be expensive, take significant time and divert management’s attention from other business concerns. Additionally, we may unintentionally provoke third parties to assert claims against us. These claims could invalidate or narrow the scope of our intellectual property. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we may initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially valuable. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may be unable to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property. The occurrence of any of these events may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our intellectual property may be insufficient to properly safeguard our technology and brands.
We may apply for patent protection in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries relating to certain existing and proposed processes, designs and methods and other product innovations. Patent applications can, however, take many years to issue and we can provide no assurance that any of these patents will be issued at all. If we are denied any or all of these patents, we may not be able to successfully prevent our competitors from imitating our solutions or using some or all of the processes that are the subject of such patent applications. Such limitation may lead to increased competition within the finite market for our solutions. Even if pending patents are issued to us, our intellectual property rights may not be sufficiently comprehensive to prevent our competitors from developing similar competitive products and technologies. Our success may also depend on our ability to obtain trademark protection for the names or symbols under which we market our products and to obtain copyright protection and patent protection of our proprietary technologies, intellectual property, and other game innovations and if the granted patents are challenged, protection may be lost. We may not be able to build and maintain goodwill in our trademarks or obtain trademark or patent protection, and there can be no assurance that any trademark, copyright or issued patent will provide competitive advantages for us or that our intellectual property will not be successfully challenged or circumvented by competitors.
We will also rely on trade secrets, ideas, and proprietary know-how. Although we generally require our employees and independent contractors to enter into confidentiality and intellectual property assignment agreements, we cannot be assured that the obligations therein will be maintained and honored. If these agreements are breached, it is unlikely that the remedies available to us will be sufficient to compensate us for the damages suffered. In spite of confidentiality agreements and other methods of protecting trade secrets, our proprietary information could become known to or independently developed by competitors. If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property and confidential information, our business may be harmed, and our liquidity and results of operations may be materially adversely impacted.
We may be subject to claims of intellectual property infringement or invalidity and adverse outcomes of litigation could unfavorably affect our operating results.
Monitoring infringement and misappropriation of intellectual property can be difficult and expensive, and we may not be able to detect infringement or misappropriation of our proprietary rights. Although we intend to aggressively pursue anyone who is reasonably believed to be infringing upon our intellectual property rights and who poses a significant commercial risk to the business, to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, initiating and maintaining suits against such third parties will require substantial financial resources. We may not have the financial resources to bring such suits, and, if we do bring such suits, we may not prevail. Regardless of our success in any such actions, the expenses and management distraction involved may have a material adverse effect on our financial position.
A significant portion of our revenues may be generated from products using certain intellectual property rights, and our operating results would be negatively impacted if we were unsuccessful in licensing certain of those rights and/or protecting those rights from infringement, including losses of proprietary information from breaches of our cyber security efforts.
Further, our competitors have been granted patents protecting various gaming products and solutions features, including systems, methods, and designs. If our products and solutions employ these processes, or other subject matter that is claimed under our competitors’ patents, or if other companies obtain patents claiming subject matter that we use, those companies may bring infringement actions against us. The question of whether a product infringes a patent involves complex legal and factual issues, the determination of which is often uncertain. In addition, because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be applications now pending of which we are unaware, which might later result in issued patents that our products and solutions may infringe. There can be no assurance that our products, including those with currently pending patent applications, will not be determined to have infringed upon an existing third-party patent. If any of our products and solutions infringes a valid patent, we may be required to discontinue offering certain products or systems, pay damages, purchase a license to use the intellectual property in question from its owner, or redesign the product in question to avoid infringement. A license may not be available or may require us to pay substantial royalties, which could in turn force us to attempt to redesign the infringing product or to develop alternative technologies at a considerable expense. Additionally, we may not be successful in any attempt to redesign the infringing product or to develop alternative technologies, which could force us to withdraw our product or services from the market.
We may also infringe other intellectual property rights belonging to third parties, such as trademarks, copyrights, and confidential information. As with patent litigation, the infringement of trademarks, copyrights and confidential information involve complex legal and factual issues and our products, branding or associated marketing materials may be found to have infringed existing third-party rights. When any third-party infringement occurs, we may be required to stop using the infringing intellectual property rights, pay damages and, if we wish to keep using the third-party intellectual property, purchase a license or otherwise redesign the product, branding or associated marketing materials to avoid further infringement. Such a license may not be available or may require us to pay substantial royalties.
It is also possible that the validity of any of our intellectual property rights might be challenged either in standalone proceedings or as part of infringement claims in the future. There can be no assurance that our intellectual property rights will withstand an invalidity claim and, if declared invalid, the protection afforded to the product, branding or marketing material will be lost.
Moreover, the future interpretation of intellectual property law regarding the validity of intellectual property by governmental agencies or courts in the United States, Canada, Europe, or other jurisdictions in which we have rights could negatively affect the validity or enforceability of our current or future intellectual property. This could have multiple negative impacts including, without limitation, the marketability of, or anticipated revenue from, certain of our products. Additionally, due to the differences in foreign patent, trademark, copyright, and other laws concerning proprietary rights, our intellectual property may not receive the same degree of protection in foreign countries as it would in the United States, Canada, or Europe. Our failure to possess, obtain or maintain adequate protection of our intellectual property rights for any reason in these jurisdictions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Furthermore, infringement and other intellectual property claims, with or without merit, can be expensive and time-consuming to litigate, and we may not have the financial and human resources to defend ourself against any infringement suits that may be brought against us. Litigation can also distract management from day-to-day operations of the business.
In addition, our business is dependent in part on the intellectual property of third parties. Our success may depend upon our ability to obtain licenses to use new and existing intellectual property and our ability to retain or expand existing licenses for certain products. If we are unable to obtain new licenses or renew or expand existing licenses, we may be required to discontinue or limit our use of such products that use the licensed marks and our financial condition, operating results or prospects may be harmed.
Risks Relating to our Management
We rely on our management and if they were to leave our company our business plan could be adversely affected.
We are largely dependent upon the personal efforts and abilities of our existing management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Anthony Brian Goodman, who plays an active role in our operations. Moving forward, should the services of Mr. Goodman be lost for any reason, the Company will incur costs associated with recruiting replacements and any potential delays in operations which this may cause. If we are unable to replace such individual with a suitably trained alternative individual(s), we may be forced to scale back or curtail our business plan.
We do not currently have any key person life insurance policies on our executive officers. If our executive officers do not devote sufficient time towards our business, we may never be able to effectuate our business plan.
Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, exercises majority voting control over us, which limits your ability to influence corporate matters and could delay or prevent a change in corporate control.
Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, as well as our principal shareholder, currently controls approximately 53.9% of the voting power of our capital stock (including shares of common stock which will be issuable to Mr. Goodman upon the vesting of Restricted Stock Units upon the filing of this Report), including as a result of his ownership of 1,000 shares of Series B Preferred Stock which vote 7,500,000 shares on all shareholder matters. As a result, Mr. Goodman can influence our management and affairs and control the outcome of matters submitted to our shareholders for approval, including the election of directors and any sale, merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.
Mr. Goodman acquired his securities for substantially less than the current trading prices of our shares of common stock, and may have interests, with respect to his common stock, that are different from other holders of our common stock and the concentration of voting power held by Mr. Goodman may have an adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
In addition, this concentration of ownership might adversely affect the market price of our common stock by: (1) delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of our Company; (2) impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving our Company; or (3) discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our Company. Because Mr. Goodman can control the shareholder vote, investors may find it difficult or impossible to replace Mr. Goodman (and such persons as he may appoint from time to time) as members of our management if they disagree with the way our business is being operated. Additionally, the interests of Mr. Goodman may differ from the interests of the other shareholders and thus result in corporate decisions that are adverse to other shareholders.
Any investor who purchases shares in the Company will be a minority shareholder and as such will have little to no say in the direction of the Company and the election of directors. Additionally, it will be difficult if not impossible for investors to remove our current directors, which will mean they will remain in control of who serves as officers of the Company as well as whether any changes are made in the Board of Directors. As a potential investor in the Company, you should keep in mind that even if you own shares of the Company’s common stock and wish to vote them at annual or special shareholder meetings, your shares will likely have little effect on the outcome of corporate decisions. Because of Mr. Goodman’s voting control, investors may find it difficult to replace our management if they disagree with the way our business is being operated. Additionally, the interests of Mr. Goodman may differ from the interests of the other shareholders and thus result in corporate decisions that are adverse to other shareholders. This concentrated control limits or severely restricts other shareholders’ ability to influence corporate matters and Mr. Goodman may take actions that some of our shareholders do not view as beneficial, each of which could reduce the market price of our securities.
Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman beneficially owns greater than 50% of our outstanding voting shares, which causes us to be deemed a “controlled company” under the rules of Nasdaq.
Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, our principal shareholder, controls approximately 53.9% of the voting power of our capital stock as of the date of this Report (including shares of common stock which will be issuable to Mr. Goodman upon the vesting of Restricted Stock Units upon the filing of this Report), including as a result of his ownership of 1,000 shares of Series B Preferred Stock which vote 7,500,000 shares on all shareholder matters. As a result, we are a “controlled company” under the rules of Nasdaq. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, a group or another company is a “controlled company” and, as such, can elect to be exempt from certain corporate governance requirements, including requirements that:
| ● | a majority of the Board of Directors consist of independent directors; |
| ● | the board maintain a nominations committee with prescribed duties and a written charter; and |
| ● | the board maintain a compensation committee with prescribed duties and a written charter and comprised solely of independent directors. |
As a “controlled company,” we may elect to rely on some or all of these exemptions; although we do not currently intend to take advantage of any of these exemptions. However, should we take advantage of any of these exemptions in the future, and should the interests of Mr. Goodman differ from those of other shareholders, the other shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Additionally, even if we do not avail ourselves of these exemptions, our status as a controlled company could make our common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price. Additionally, if as a “controlled company”, we take advantage of any or all of the exemptions under the rules of Nasdaq relating to “controlled companies”, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq.
The employment agreements of Mr. Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Ms. Weiting ‘Cathy’ Feng, our Chief Operating Officer, provide for the payment of certain severance payments upon termination.
The employment agreements of Mr. Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Ms. Weiting ‘Cathy’ Feng, our Chief Operating Officer provide that if either are terminated during the term of such agreements by the Company without cause (as defined in the agreement) or by the executive for good reason (as defined in the agreement), such executives are due a severance payment. That severance payment is equal to (a) a lump sum cash severance payment equal to the sum of (i) 18 months of Mr. Goodman’s then current annual basic salary (six months of Ms. Feng’s plus (ii) an amount equal to his targeted bonus for the year of termination (such total payment referred to herein as the “Severance Payment”). Additionally, if either executive is terminated (a) by the Company for any reason other than cause or due to illness or death, or (b) by the executive for good reason, during the twelve month period following a Change of Control (as defined in the agreements) or in anticipation of a Change of Control, the Company is required to pay the executive, within 60 days following the later of (i) the date of such Change of Control termination; and (ii) the date of such Change of Control, a cash severance payment in a lump sum in an amount equal to 3.0 times the sum of (a) the current annual base salary of the executive (less any actual payments made in connection with any severance payments already paid); and (b) the amount of the most recent bonus paid to the executive for the last completed fiscal year, if any (less any actual payments made in connection with any other severance payments). Additionally, if either executive is involuntarily terminated, any unvested options vest immediately and are exercisable until the later of the original termination date thereof and 24 months after such termination date.
Potential competition from our existing executive officers, after they leave their employment with us, and subject to the non-compete terms of their employment agreements, could negatively impact our profitability.
Although Mr. Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Ms. Weiting ‘Cathy’ Feng, our Chief Operating Officer, are prohibited from competing with us while they are employed with us and for twelve months thereafter (subject to the terms of, and exceptions set forth in, their employment agreements with the Company), none of such individuals will be prohibited from competing with us after such twelve-month period ends. Accordingly, any of these individuals could be in a position to use industry experience gained while working with us to compete with us. Such competition could distract or confuse customers, reduce the value of our intellectual property and trade secrets, or have a material adverse effect on our revenues, results of operations and cash flows. Any of the foregoing could reduce our future revenues, earnings or growth prospects.
Risks Related to International Operations
The risks related to international operations, in particular in countries outside of the United States and Canada, could negatively affect the Company’s results including foreign exchange and currency risks that could adversely affect its operations, and the Company’s ability to mitigate its foreign exchange risk through hedging transactions may be limited.
It is expected that moving forward, the Company will derive more than 60% of its revenue from transactions denominated in currencies other than the United States and the Canadian dollar. For the year ended October 31, 2022, the Company derived 62% of its revenue from transactions denominated in currencies other than the United States and the Canadian dollar. As such, the Company’s operations may be adversely affected by changes in foreign government policies and legislation or social instability and other factors which are not within the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, recessions in foreign economies, expropriation, nationalization and limitation or restriction on repatriation of funds, assets or earnings, longer receivables collection periods and greater difficulty in collecting accounts receivable, changes in consumer tastes and trends, renegotiation or nullification of existing contracts or licenses, changes in gaming policies, regulatory requirements or the personnel administering them, currency fluctuations and devaluations, exchange controls, economic sanctions and royalty and tax increases, risk of terrorist activities, revolution, border disputes, implementation of tariffs and other trade barriers and protectionist practices, taxation policies, including royalty and tax increases and retroactive tax claims, volatility of financial markets and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, difficulties in the protection of intellectual property particularly in countries with fewer intellectual property protections, the effects that evolving regulations regarding data privacy may have on the Company’s online operations, adverse changes in the creditworthiness of parties with whom the Company has significant receivables or forward currency exchange contracts, labor disputes and other risks arising out of foreign governmental sovereignty over the areas in which the Company’s operations are conducted. The Company’s operations may also be adversely affected by social, political and economic instability, and by laws and policies of such foreign jurisdictions affecting foreign trade, taxation and investment. If the Company’s operations are disrupted and/or the economic integrity of its contracts is threatened for unexpected reasons, its business may be harmed.
The Company’s international activities may require protracted negotiations with host governments, national companies and third parties. Foreign government regulations may favor or require the awarding of contracts to local contractors or require foreign contractors to employ citizens of, or purchase supplies from, a particular jurisdiction. In the event of a dispute arising in connection with the Company’s operations in a foreign jurisdiction where it conducts its business, the Company may be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of foreign courts or may not be successful in subjecting foreign persons to the jurisdictions of the courts of United States or Canada or enforcing American and Canadian judgments in such other jurisdictions. The Company may also be hindered or prevented from enforcing its rights with respect to a governmental instrumentality because of the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Accordingly, the Company’s activities in foreign jurisdictions could be substantially affected by factors beyond the Company’s control, any of which could have a material adverse effect on it. The Company believes that management’s experience to date in commercializing its products and solutions in Asia Pacific may be of assistance in helping to reduce these risks. Some countries in which the Company may operate may be considered politically and economically unstable.
Doing business in the industries in which the Company operates often requires compliance with numerous and extensive procedures and formalities. These procedures and formalities may result in unexpected or lengthy delays in commencing important business activities. In some cases, failure to follow such formalities or obtain relevant evidence may call into question the validity of the entity or the actions taken. Management of the Company is unable to predict the effect of additional corporate and regulatory formalities which may be adopted in the future including whether any such laws or regulations would materially increase the Company's cost of doing business or affect its operations in any area.
We have and may in the future enter into agreements and conduct activities outside of the jurisdictions where we currently carry on business, which expansion may present challenges and risks that we have not faced in the past, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations and/or financial condition.
In addition, as the majority of the Company’s revenue is generated from transactions denominated in currencies other than the United States and the Canadian dollar, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar, the Pound Sterling, the Euro and other currencies may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Our consolidated financial results are affected by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Foreign currency exchange rate exposures arise from current transactions and anticipated transactions denominated in currencies other than United States dollars and from the translation of foreign-currency-denominated balance sheet accounts into United States dollar-denominated balance sheet accounts. We are exposed to currency exchange rate fluctuations because portions of our revenue and expenses are denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar, particularly the Euro and the Pound Sterling. In particular, uncertainty regarding economic conditions in Europe and the debt crisis affecting certain countries in the European Union pose risk to the stability of the Euro. Exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect our operating results and cash flows and the value of our assets outside of the United States. If a foreign currency is devalued in a jurisdiction in which we are paid in such currency, then our customers may be required to pay higher amounts for our products, which they may be unable or unwilling to pay.
While we may enter into forward currency swaps and other derivative instruments intended to mitigate the foreign currency exchange risk, there can be no assurance we will do so or that any instruments that we enter into will successfully mitigate such risk. If we enter into foreign currency forward or other hedging contracts, we would be subject to the risk that a counterparty to one or more of these contracts may default on its performance under the contracts. During an economic downturn, a counterparty’s financial condition may deteriorate rapidly and with little notice, and we may be unable to take action to protect our exposure. In the event of a counterparty default, we could lose the benefit of its hedging contract, which may harm our business and financial condition. In the event that one or more of our counterparties becomes insolvent or files for bankruptcy, our ability to eventually recover any benefit lost as a result of that counterparty’s default may be limited by the liquidity of the counterparty. We expect that we will not be able to hedge all of our exposure to any particular foreign currency, and we may not hedge our exposure at all with respect to certain foreign currencies. Changes in exchange rates and our limited ability or inability to successfully hedge exchange rate risk could have an adverse impact on our liquidity and results of operations.
Risks Relating to our Common Stock and Securities
Nevada law and our articles of incorporation authorize us to issue shares of stock, which shares may cause substantial dilution to our existing shareholders.
We have authorized capital stock consisting of 250,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.00001 par value per share and 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.00001 par value per share. As of the date of this Report, we have 35,574,526 shares of common stock issued and outstanding (which is expected to increase to 36,099,526 after the filing of this Report upon the vesting of certain restricted Stock Units) and 1,000 shares of Series B Voting Preferred Stock issued and outstanding. The holder of the shares of the Series B Voting Preferred Stock (Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman) has the right to vote those shares of the Series B Voting Preferred Stock regarding any matter or action that is required to be submitted to the shareholders of the Company for approval.
As a result of the number of authorized but unissued shares of our common stock and preferred stock, our Board of Directors has the ability to issue a large number of additional shares of common stock without shareholder approval, which if issued could cause substantial dilution to our then shareholders. Additionally, shares of preferred stock may be issued by our Board of Directors without shareholder approval with voting powers, and such preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and powers as determined by our Board of Directors, which may be greater than the shares of common stock currently outstanding. As a result, shares of preferred stock may be issued by our Board of Directors which cause the holders to have super-majority voting power over our shares (similar to our outstanding Series B Voting Preferred Stock, discussed below), provide the holders of the preferred stock the right to convert the shares of preferred stock they hold into shares of our common stock, which may cause substantial dilution to our then common stock shareholders and/or have other rights and preferences greater than those of our common shareholders. Investors should keep in mind that the Board of Directors has the authority to issue additional shares of common stock and preferred stock, which could cause substantial dilution to our existing shareholders. Additionally, the dilutive effect of any preferred stock, which we may issue may be exacerbated given the fact that such preferred stock may have super-majority voting rights (similar to our outstanding Series B Voting Preferred Stock, discussed below) and/or other rights or preferences which could provide the preferred shareholders with voting control over us subsequent to such offering and/or give those holders the power to prevent or cause a change in control. As a result, the issuance of shares of common stock and/or preferred stock may cause the value of our securities to decrease and/or become worthless.
Our Series B Voting Preferred Stock provides the holder(s) thereof majority voting power over the Company.
As of the date of this Report, we have 1,000 shares of Series B Voting Preferred Stock issued and outstanding. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Anthony Brian Goodman is the holder of the shares of the Series B Voting Preferred Stock. The Series B Preferred Stock, includes (a) the right of the holder of the Series B Preferred Stock to convert each share of the Series B Preferred Stock into 1,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at the holder’s option from time to time after May 20, 2022; (b) provide for the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock into common stock of the Company, on a 1,000 for 1 basis, on the date when the aggregate beneficial ownership of the Company’s common stock of Mr. Goodman, falls below 10% of the Company’s common stock then outstanding, or the first business day thereafter that the Company becomes aware of such; and (c) provide that each share of Series B Preferred Stock entitles the holder to 7,500 votes on all matters presented to the Company’s shareholders for a vote of shareholders, whether such vote is taken in person at a meeting or via a written consent (7,500,000 votes in aggregate for all outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock).
As such, the Series B Voting Preferred Stock in effect votes approximately 17% of the current total vote on all shareholder matters and exercises control in determining the outcome of all corporate transactions or other matters, including the election of directors, mergers, consolidations, the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, the power to prevent or cause a change in control and to determine the outcome of most matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders. The interests of Mr. Goodman may differ from the interests of the other shareholders and thus result in corporate decisions that are adverse to other shareholders. This preferred share structure severely restricts other shareholders’ ability to influence corporate matters and Mr. Goodman may take actions that some of our shareholders do not view as beneficial, each of which could reduce the market price of our securities. See also the risk factor entitled, “Anthony Brian Goodman, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, exercises majority voting control over us, which limits your ability to influence corporate matters and could delay or prevent a change in corporate control”, below for additional risks related to Mr. Goodman’s voting control over the Company.
Certain warrants we have granted include anti-dilutive rights
In connection with our October 2021 placement of common stock and warrants, we granted the investors in the offering warrants to purchase 496,429 shares of common stock, which have a term of three years, and an exercise price of $8.63 per share (subject to customary adjustments for stock splits, dividends and recapitalizations). Additionally, the exercise price of the warrants include anti-dilution rights, which provide that if at any time the warrants are outstanding, we issue (or announce any offer, sale, grant or any option to purchase or other disposition) or are deemed to have issued (which includes shares issuable upon exercise of warrants and options and conversion of convertible securities) any common stock or common stock equivalents for consideration less than the then current exercise price of the warrants, the exercise price of such warrants will be automatically reduced to the lowest price per share of consideration provided or deemed to have been provided for such securities. Notwithstanding the above, certain excepted issuances do not trigger a reset of the anti-dilution rights, including the issuance of (a) shares of common stock or options to employees, officers, directors or consultants of the Company pursuant to any stock or option plan for services rendered to the Company, (b) securities issuable upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any securities outstanding as of the date of grant, and (c) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions, provided that such securities are issued as “restricted securities” and carry no registration rights that require or permit the filing of any registration statement in connection therewith (subject to certain exceptions), and provided that such issuances are only made to an owner of an asset (or the equity holders thereof) in a business synergistic with the business of the Company, in case subject to certain other requirements. The reduction of the exercise price of the warrants in the event that we offer, sell, grant or issue, or are deemed to have offered, sold, granted or issued shares of common stock below the then exercise price of the warrants, could result in the Company receiving significantly less consideration upon the exercise of the warrants (or in some cases only nominal consideration), result in greater dilution to existing shareholders, and/or create additional overhang for our common stock. Any or all of the above could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.
There may not be sufficient liquidity in the market for our securities in order for investors to sell their shares. The market price of our comment stock has been, and may continue to be, volatile.
The market price of our common stock has been, and is likely to continue to be, highly volatile, as is the stock market in general. Some of the factors that may materially affect the market price of our common stock are beyond our control, such as conditions or trends in the industry in which we operate or sales of our common stock. This situation is attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that we are a small company which is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community that generate or influence sales volume, and that even if we came to the attention of such persons, they tend to be risk‑averse and would be reluctant to follow an unproven company such as ours or purchase or recommend the purchase of our shares until such time as we became more seasoned and viable.
As a consequence, there have been, and may be, periods of several days or more when trading activity in our shares is minimal or non‑existent, as compared to a mature issuer which has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support continuous sales without an adverse effect on share price. It is possible that a broader or more active public trading market for our common stock will not develop or be sustained, or that trading levels will not continue. These factors have, and may in the future, materially adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our performance. In addition, the public stock markets have experienced extreme price and trading volume volatility. This volatility has significantly affected the market prices of securities of many companies for reasons frequently unrelated to the operating performance of the specific companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
The issuance of common stock upon conversion of our outstanding Series B Preferred Stock will cause immediate and substantial dilution to existing shareholders and the sale of common stock upon conversion of our outstanding Series B Preferred Stock may depress the market price of our common stock.
As of the date of this Report, we had 1,000 outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock, all of which were held by Anthony Brian Goodman, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company. Each holder of Series B Preferred Stock may, at its option, convert each of its shares of Series B Preferred Stock into 1,000 shares of common stock, or 1,000,000 shares of common stock in aggregate. The conversion of the Series B Preferred Stock into common stock of the Company will cause significant dilution to the then holders of our common stock.
Additionally, if conversions of our outstanding Series B Preferred Stock and sales of such converted shares take place, the price of our common stock may decline. In addition, the common stock issuable upon conversion of our outstanding Series B Preferred Stock may represent overhang that may also adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Overhang occurs when there is a greater supply of a company’s stock in the market than there is demand for that stock. When this happens the price of the company’s stock will decrease, and any additional shares which shareholders attempt to sell in the market will only further decrease the share price. If the share volume of our common stock cannot absorb converted shares sold by the holder of the Series B Preferred Stock, then the value of our common stock will likely decrease.
Our common stock may continue to be followed by only a limited number of analysts and there may continue to be a limited number of institutions acting as market makers for our common stock.
For the foreseeable future, our common stock is unlikely to be followed by a significant number of market analysts, and there may be few institutions acting as market makers for our common stock. Either of these factors could adversely affect the liquidity and trading price of our common stock. Until our common stock is fully distributed and an orderly market develops in our common stock, if ever, the price at which it trades is likely to fluctuate significantly. Prices for our common stock are determined in the marketplace and may be influenced by many factors, including the depth and liquidity of the market for shares of our common stock, developments affecting our business, including the impact of the factors referred to elsewhere in these Risk Factors, investor perception of us and general economic and market conditions. No assurances can be given that an orderly or liquid market will ever develop for the shares of our common stock.
We currently have an illiquid and volatile market for our common stock, and the market for our common stock is and may remain illiquid and volatile in the future.
We currently have a highly sporadic, illiquid and volatile market for our common stock, which market is anticipated to remain sporadic, illiquid and volatile in the future. During the last 52 weeks our common stock has traded as high as $10.72 per share and as low as $2.21 per share. The market price of our common stock may continue to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. Our financial performance, government regulatory action, tax laws, interest rates, and market conditions in general could have a significant impact on the future market price of our common stock.
Some of the factors that could negatively affect or result in fluctuations in the market price of our common stock include:
| ● | actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results; |
| ● | changes in market valuations of similar companies; |
| ● | adverse market reaction to the level of our indebtedness (if any); |
| ● | additions or departures of key personnel; |
| ● | actions by shareholders; |
| ● | speculation in the press or investment community; |
| ● | general market, economic, and political conditions, including an economic slowdown or dislocation in the global credit markets, continued increases in interest rates and/or inflation and/or global conflicts; |
| ● | our operating performance and the performance of other similar companies; |
| ● | changes in accounting principles; and |
| ● | passage of legislation or other regulatory developments that adversely affect us or the gaming industry. |
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “GMGI.” Our stock price may be impacted by factors that are unrelated or disproportionate to our operating performance. The stock markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. Additionally, general economic, political and market conditions, such as recessions, inflation, war, interest rates or international currency fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Due to the limited volume of our shares which trade, we believe that our stock prices (bid, ask and closing prices) may not be related to our actual value, and not reflect the actual value of our common stock. You should exercise caution before making an investment in us.
Additionally, as a result of the illiquidity of our common stock, investors may not be interested in owning our common stock because of the inability to acquire or sell a substantial block of our common stock at one time. Such illiquidity could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. In addition, a shareholder may not be able to borrow funds using our common stock as collateral because lenders may be unwilling to accept the pledge of securities having such a limited market. An active trading market for our common stock may not develop or, if one develops, may not be sustained.
In the past, many companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.
Compliance, Reporting and Listing Risks
We incur significant costs to ensure compliance with U.S. and Nasdaq Capital Market reporting and corporate governance requirements.
We incur significant costs associated with our public company reporting requirements and with applicable U.S. and Nasdaq Capital Market corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other rules implemented by the SEC and The Nasdaq Capital Market. The rules of The Nasdaq Capital Market include requiring us to maintain independent directors, comply with other corporate governance requirements and pay annual listing and stock issuance fees. All of such SEC and Nasdaq obligations require a commitment of additional resources including, but not limited to, additional expenses, and may result in the diversion of our senior management’s time and attention from our day-to-day operations. We expect all of these applicable rules and regulations to significantly increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time consuming and costly. We also expect that these applicable rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our Board of Directors or as executive officers.
We will continue to incur increased costs as a result of being a reporting company, and given our limited capital resources, such additional costs may have an adverse impact on our profitability.
We are an SEC-reporting company. The rules and regulations under the Exchange Act require reporting companies to provide periodic reports with interactive data files, which require that we engage legal, accounting and auditing professionals, and inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) and EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) service providers. The engagement of such services can be costly, and we may continue to incur additional losses, which may adversely affect our ability to continue as a going concern. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as a variety of related rules implemented by the SEC, have required changes in corporate governance practices and generally increased the disclosure requirements of public companies. For example, as a result of being a reporting company, we are required to file periodic and current reports and other information with the SEC, and we have adopted policies regarding disclosure controls and procedures and regularly evaluate those controls and procedures.
The additional costs we continue to incur in connection with becoming a reporting company (expected to be several hundred thousand dollars per year) will continue to further stretch our limited capital resources. Due to our limited resources, we have to allocate resources away from other productive uses in order to continue to comply with our obligations as an SEC reporting company. Further, there is no guarantee that we will have sufficient resources to continue to meet our reporting and filing obligations with the SEC as they come due.
We need to meet certain continued listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market in order to not have our common stock delisted from such markets.
We need to continue to meet the continued listing standards of The Nasdaq Capital Market. Among the conditions required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, Nasdaq generally requires listed companies to maintain at least $2.5 million in shareholders’ equity or $500,000 in net income over the prior two years or two of the prior three years, to have a majority of independent directors, have an audit committee of at least three members, and to maintain a stock price over $1.00 per share, among other requirements. If we fail to timely comply with the applicable requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market, our stock may be delisted. In addition, even if we demonstrate compliance with the requirements above, we will have to continue to meet other objective and subjective listing requirements to continue to be listed on the applicable market. Delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market could make trading our common stock more difficult for investors, potentially leading to declines in our share price and liquidity. Without Nasdaq Capital Market, shareholders may have a difficult time getting a quote for the sale or purchase of our stock, the sale or purchase of our stock would likely be made more difficult and the trading volume and liquidity of our stock could decline. Delisting from The Nasdaq Capital Market could also result in negative publicity and could also make it more difficult for us to raise additional capital. The absence of such a listing may adversely affect the acceptance of our common stock as currency or the value accorded by other parties. Further, if we are delisted, we would also incur additional costs under state blue sky laws in connection with any sales of our securities. These requirements could severely limit the market liquidity of our common stock and the ability of our shareholders to sell our common stock in the secondary market. If our common stock is delisted by Nasdaq, our common stock may be eligible to trade on an over-the-counter quotation system, such as the OTCQX Market or OTCQB Market, where an investor may find it more difficult to sell our stock or obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our common stock. In the event our common stock is delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market, we may not be able to list our common stock on another national securities exchange or obtain quotation on an over-the counter quotation system.
Risks Related To our Governing Documents and Nevada Law
Our Bylaws provide for indemnification of officers and directors at our expense, which may result in a major cost to us and hurt the interests of our shareholders because corporate resources may be expended for the benefit of officers or directors.
Our Bylaws provide that we shall indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by the Nevada Revised Statutes; and, provided, further, that we are not required to indemnify any director or officer in connection with any proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person unless (i) such indemnification is expressly required to be made by law, (ii) the proceeding was authorized by the Board of Directors, (iii) such indemnification is provided by the Company, in its sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in the Company under the Nevada Revised Statutes, or (iv) such indemnification is required to be made pursuant to the terms of the Bylaws. We also have power to indemnify our employees and other agents as set forth in the Nevada Revised Statutes. Our Bylaws also provide that we are required to advance to any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that he is or was a director or officer, of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director or executive officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, prior to the final disposition of the proceeding, promptly following request therefor, all expenses incurred by any director or officer in connection with such proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such person to repay said amounts if it should be determined ultimately that such person is not entitled to be indemnified under the Bylaws or otherwise.
We have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, indemnification for liabilities arising under federal securities laws is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification for liabilities arising under federal securities laws, other than the payment by us of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding, is asserted by a director, officer or controlling person in connection with our activities, we will (unless in the opinion of our counsel, the matter has been settled by controlling precedent) submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction, the question whether indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. The legal process relating to this matter if it were to occur is likely to be very costly and may result in us receiving negative publicity, either of which factors is likely to materially reduce the market and price for our shares, if such a market ever develops.
Our Articles of Incorporation contains a specific provision that limits the liability of our directors and officers for monetary damages to the Company and the Company’s shareholders to the fullest extent permitted by Nevada law and requires us, under certain circumstances, to indemnify officers, directors and employees.
The limitation of monetary liability against our directors, officers and employees under Nevada law and the existence of indemnification rights to them may result in substantial expenditures by us and may discourage lawsuits against our directors, officers and employees.
Our Articles of Incorporation contain a specific provision that limits the liability of our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the Nevada Revised Statutes. We also have contractual indemnification obligations under our employment and engagement agreements with our executive officers and directors, as well as pursuant to certain indemnification agreements. The foregoing indemnification obligations could result in us incurring substantial expenditures to cover the cost of settlement or damage awards against our directors and officers, which the Company may be unable to recoup. These provisions and resultant costs may also discourage us from bringing a lawsuit against our directors and officers for breaches of their fiduciary duties and may similarly discourage the filing of derivative litigation by our stockholders against our directors and officers, even though such actions, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders.
Anti-takeover provisions in our Articles of Incorporation, as amended and our Bylaws, as well as provisions of Nevada law, might discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of our common stock.
Our Articles of Incorporation, as amended and Bylaws and Nevada law contain provisions that may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control that shareholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which you might otherwise receive a premium for your shares of our common stock. These provisions may also prevent or delay attempts by our shareholders to replace or remove our management. Our corporate governance documents include the following provisions:
| ● | a classified board of directors, as a result of which our board of directors is divided into three classes, with each class serving for staggered three-year terms; | |
| ● | the removal of directors only with the approval of shareholders holding at least two-thirds of the voting power of the issued and outstanding stock entitled to vote in the election of directors; | |
| ● | requiring advance notice of shareholder proposals for business to be conducted at meetings of our shareholders and for nominations of candidates for election to our Board of Directors; | |
| ● | authorizing blank check preferred stock, which could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock; | |
| ● | requiring super-majority voting to amend certain provisions of our Articles of Incorporation, including the provisions dealing with a classified Board of Directors; and | |
| ● | limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers. | |
Any provision of our Articles of Incorporation, as amended or Bylaws or Nevada law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our shareholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
The existence of the foregoing provisions and anti-takeover measures could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition.
Our Articles of Incorporation allow for our Board of Directors to create new series of preferred stock without further approval by our shareholders, which could have an anti-takeover effect and could adversely affect holders of our common stock.
Our authorized capital includes preferred stock issuable in one or more series. Our board has the authority to issue preferred stock and determine the price, designation, rights, preferences, privileges, restrictions and conditions, including voting and dividend rights, of those shares without any further vote or action by stockholders. The rights of the holders of common stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future (including, but not limited to the Series B Voting Preferred Stock which has already been authorized by the Board of Directors). The issuance of additional preferred stock, while providing desirable flexibility in connection with possible financings and acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of the voting power of our outstanding voting securities, which could deprive our holders of common stock of a premium that they might otherwise realize in connection with a proposed acquisition of our company.
Risks Related to the Transactions Contemplated by the Meridian Purchase Agreement
The number of shares of common stock issuable pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement will cause significant dilution to existing shareholders.
Pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement, following the initial closing of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, the Meridian Sellers are expected to own approximately 61.6% of the aggregate outstanding shares of common stock of the Company and approximately 60.0% of our outstanding voting shares, with the Company’s shareholders prior to the initial closing date holding approximately 38.4% of the aggregate outstanding common stock and approximately 40.0% of the aggregate voting shares of the combined company, which Seller ownership will increase to approximately 62.8% of the Company’s total voting shares upon the final closing of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, and assuming the post-closing shares are issued. As a result, the total shares of common stock and preferred stock issuable upon initial closing of the Meridian Purchase Agreement will cause significant dilution to existing shareholders, and result in a change of control.
The number of shares of common stock and preferred stock that will be issuable in the Meridian Purchase Agreement are not adjustable based on the market price of the Company’s common stock, so the shares issued at the closing may have a greater or lesser value than the market price at the time the Meridian Purchase Agreement was signed.
The number of shares of common stock issuable at the closings of the Meridian Purchase Agreement is fixed. Any changes in the market price of the Company’s common stock before the closings will not affect the number of shares the Meridian Sellers will be entitled to receive pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement. Therefore, if before the closing, the market price of the Company’s common stock declines from the market price on the date of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, then the Meridian Sellers could receive consideration with a substantially lower value. Similarly, if before the completion of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, the market price of the Company’s common stock increases from the market price on the date of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, then the Meridian Sellers could receive consideration with substantially more value for their shares of the Meridian Companies capital stock than the parties had negotiated for in the establishment of the initial value per share of Company common stock ($3.50 per share). The Meridian Purchase Agreement does not include a price-based termination right.
The market price of the Company’s common stock following the Meridian Purchase Agreement may decline as a result of the transactions.
The market price of the Company’s common stock may decline as a result of the Meridian Purchase Agreement for a number of reasons, including if:
| · | investors react negatively to the combined company’s business and prospects; or |
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| · | the performance of the combined company’s business or its prospects are not consistent with the expectations of financial or industry analysts. |
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The Company’s shareholders will have a reduced ownership and voting interest in, and will exercise less influence over the management of, the combined company following the completion of the Meridian Purchase Agreement.
Pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement, following the initial closing of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, the Meridian Sellers are expected to own approximately 61.6% of the aggregate outstanding shares of common stock of the Company and approximately 60.0% of our outstanding voting shares, with the Company’s shareholders prior to the initial closing date holding approximately 38.4% of the aggregate outstanding common stock and approximately 40.0% of the aggregate voting shares of the combined company, which Seller ownership will increase to approximately 62.8% of the Company’s total voting shares upon the final closing of the Meridian Purchase Agreement, and assuming the post-closing shares are issued. In addition, the seven-member board of directors of the combined company will initially be comprised of two members selected by the Meridian Sellers (which appointment right is set forth in the designation of the Series C Voting Preferred Stock) and five directors selected by the current members of the board of directors of the Company. Consequently, the Company’s shareholders will be able to exercise less influence over the management and policies of the combined company than they currently exercise over the management and policies of the Company.
The Company’s shareholders may not realize a benefit from the Meridian Purchase Agreement commensurate with the ownership dilution they will experience in connection with the Meridian Purchase Agreement.
If the combined company is unable to realize the full strategic and financial benefits anticipated from the Meridian Purchase Agreement, the Company’s shareholders will have experienced substantial dilution of their ownership interests without receiving any commensurate benefit, or only receiving part of the commensurate benefit to the extent the combined company is able to realize only part of the strategic and financial benefits currently anticipated from the Meridian Purchase Agreement.
Regulatory and other approvals may not be received, may take longer than expected or may impose conditions that are not presently anticipated or that could have an adverse effect on the combined company following the Meridian Purchase Agreement.
Before the Meridian Purchase Agreement may be completed, applicable approvals may need to be obtained under certain laws and regulations and from various third parties. In deciding whether to grant regulatory clearances and approvals, the relevant governmental entities may consider, among other things, the effect of the Meridian Purchase Agreement on competition within their relevant jurisdiction. The terms and conditions of the approvals that are granted may impose requirements, limitations or costs or place restrictions on the conduct of the combined company’s business. There can be no assurance that regulators will not impose conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions and that such conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions will not have the effect of delaying completion of the Meridian Purchase Agreement or that obtaining the consent of such regulators or third parties will not result in additional material costs. In addition, any such conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions may result in the delay or abandonment of the Meridian Purchase Agreement.
The consummation of the Meridian Purchase Agreement will result in a change of control of the Company.
Due to the significant number of shares issuable at the initial closing of the Meridian Purchase Agreement (i.e., 56,999,000 shares of the Company’s common stock and 1,000 shares of Series C Voting Preferred Stock, which vote 7,500,000 voting shares on all shareholder matters), a change of control of the Company will be deemed to have occurred, and the Meridian Sellers will obtain voting control of the Company. Additionally, the Meridian Sellers will exercise control in determining the outcome of all corporate transactions or other matters, including the election and removal of directors, mergers, consolidations, the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, and also the power to prevent or cause a further change in control. Any investors who purchase shares or hold shares prior to the initial closing of the Meridian Purchase Agreement will be minority shareholders and as such will have little to no say in the direction of the Company and the election of directors. Additionally, it will be difficult if not impossible for investors to remove the directors appointed by the Meridian Sellers, which will mean they will remain in control of who serves as officers of the Company as well as whether any changes are made in the board of directors. An owner of the Company’s securities should keep in mind that your shares, and your voting of such shares, will likely have little effect on the outcome of corporate decisions.
The Meridian Purchase Agreement contains provisions that may discourage other companies from trying to combine with us on more favorable terms while the Meridian Purchase Agreement is pending.
The Meridian Purchase Agreement contains provisions that may discourage a third party from submitting a business combination proposal to us that might result in greater value to our shareholders than the Meridian Purchase Agreement. These provisions include a general prohibition on us from soliciting, or, subject to certain exceptions, entering into discussions with any third party regarding any acquisition proposal or offers for competing transactions.
The lack of a public market for the Meridian Companies shares makes it difficult to determine the fair market value of the Meridian Companies, and the consideration to be issued to the Meridian Sellers may exceed the actual value of the Meridian Companies.
The outstanding capital stock of the Meridian Companies are privately held and is not traded on any public market, which makes it difficult to determine the fair market value of the Meridian Companies. There can be no assurances that the consideration to be issued to the Meridian Sellers will not exceed the actual value of the Meridian Companies.
Completion of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies is subject to certain conditions, and if these conditions are not satisfied or waived, the acquisition will not be completed. We may owe certain break-fees in the event the Meridian Purchase Agreement is terminated.
The obligations of the parties to the Meridian Purchase Agreement to complete such sale and purchase are subject to satisfaction or waiver (if permitted) of a number of conditions, including the Company raising required funding, the Meridian Sellers and the Meridian Companies entering into various shareholder agreements with the minority shareholders of the subsidiaries of the Meridian Companies and the Company’s shareholders approving the acquisition. The satisfaction of all of the required conditions could delay the completion of the transaction for a significant period of time or prevent it from occurring. Any delay in completing the acquisition could cause the Company not to realize some or all of the benefits that the Company expects to achieve if the acquisition is successfully completed within its expected time frame. Further, there can be no assurance that the conditions to the closing of the acquisition will be satisfied or waived or that the acquisition will be completed.
To the extent that any term sheet, letter of intent or other agreement or understanding relating to the Required Financing includes any break-fee, termination fee, or other expenses payable by the Company upon termination thereof, to the proposed lender, financier, investment bank or agent (each a “Break-Fee”), despite the parties’ best efforts to avoid such a requirement, each of the Company and Meridian Sellers shall be responsible for 50% of any such Break-Fee, including any amounts required to be escrowed in connection therewith. Any Break-Fee payable by us may be material and may have an adverse effect on our cash flows, liquidity and results of operations.
Failure to complete the acquisition of the Meridian Companies could negatively impact our stock price and future business and financial results.
If the acquisition of the Meridian Companies is not completed, our ongoing business may be adversely affected and we would be subject to a number of risks, including the following:
| · | we will not realize the benefits expected from the acquisition of the Meridian Companies, including a potentially enhanced competitive and financial position, expansion of assets and operations, and economies of scale, and therefore opportunities, and will instead be subject to all the risks we currently face as an independent company; |
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| · | we may experience negative reactions from the financial markets and our partners and employees; |
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| · | the Meridian Purchase Agreement places certain restrictions on the conduct of our business prior to the completion of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies or the termination of the Meridian Purchase Agreement. Such restrictions, the waiver of which is subject to the consent of the counterparties to such agreement, may prevent us from making certain acquisitions, taking certain other specified actions or otherwise pursuing business opportunities during the pendency of the Meridian Purchase Agreement; and |
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| · | matters relating to the acquisition of the Meridian Companies (including integration planning, negotiation of the purchase agreement and ancillary agreements, required proxy statements and other disclosures) may require substantial commitments of time and resources by our management, which would otherwise have been devoted to other opportunities that may have been beneficial to us. |
Significant costs are expected to be incurred in connection with the consummation of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies and integration of the Company and the Meridian Companies into a single business, including legal, accounting, financial advisory and other costs.
If the acquisition of the Meridian Companies is consummated, the Company is expected to incur significant costs in connection with integrating the Meridian Companies operations. These costs may include costs for:
| · | employee redeployment, relocation or severance; |
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| · | integration of information systems; and |
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| · | reorganization or closures of facilities. |
In addition, the Company expects to incur a number of non-recurring costs associated with combining the operations of the Meridian Companies, which cannot be estimated accurately at this time. The Company will also incur transaction fees and other costs related to the acquisition of the Meridian Companies. Additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in the integration of the Meridian Companies. Although we expect that the elimination of duplicative costs, as well as the realization of other efficiencies related to the integration of the businesses, may offset incremental transaction and transaction-related costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in these integration efforts.
Combining the Meridian Companies and the Company may be more difficult, costly or time-consuming than expected and the Company may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies, including expected financial and operating performance of the Company.
The success of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies will depend, in part, on the Company’s ability to realize anticipated cost savings from combining the businesses of the Company and the Meridian Companies. To realize the anticipated benefits and cost savings from the acquisition of the Meridian Companies, the Company must successfully integrate and combine the business of the Meridian Companies in a manner that permits those cost savings to be realized. If the Company is not able to successfully achieve this objective, the anticipated benefits of the Meridian Companies may not be realized fully or at all or may take longer to realize than expected.
The Company and the Meridian Companies have operated, and until the completion of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies, must continue to operate independently. It is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of key employees, the disruption of our ongoing businesses or inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures and policies that adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and employees or to achieve the anticipated benefits and cost savings. Integration efforts may also divert management attention and resources. These integration matters could have an adverse effect on each of the Company and the Meridian Companies during this transition period and for an undetermined period after completion of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies.
We will need to raise significant additional capital to complete the acquisition of the Meridian Companies.
Pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement, the Meridian Sellers agreed to sell us 100% of the outstanding capital stock of each of the Meridian Companies in consideration for (a) a cash payment of $50 million, due at the initial closing of the acquisition; (b) 56,999,000 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Phase 1 Closing Shares”), with an agreed upon value of $3.50 per share; (c) 1,000 shares of a to be designated series of Series C preferred stock of the Company, discussed in greater detail below (the “Series C Voting Preferred Stock”); (d) $10,000,000 in cash and 4,285,714 restricted shares of Company common stock (the “Post-Closing Shares”) within five business days following the six month anniversary of the Phase 1 Closing (defined below) if (and only if) the Company has determined that: the Meridian Sellers and their affiliates are not then in default in any of their material obligations, covenants or representations under the Meridian Purchase Agreement, or any of the other transaction documents entered into in connection therewith (the “Post-Closing Consideration”); (e) a promissory note in the amount of $10,000,000 (the “Promissory Note”), due nine months after the Phase 1 Closing; and (f) 4,000,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock payable at the Phase 2 Closing (defined below)(the “Phase 2 Shares”).
We currently estimate that we will need raise approximately $50.0 million to complete such acquisition. We plan to raise this funding through the sale of debt; however, we have not entered into any loan agreements regarding such funding to date, and such funding may not be available on favorable terms, if at all. If debt financing is available and obtained, our interest expense may increase and we may be subject to the risk of default, depending on the terms of such financing. If equity financing is available and obtained it may result in our shareholders experiencing significant dilution. If such financing is unavailable, we may be unable to complete the acquisition of the Meridian Companies.
We anticipate financing a portion of the purchase price of the Meridian Companies by way of debt which is expected to be secured by a priority security interest in substantially all of our assets.
As described above, we currently anticipate the need for approximately $50 million of additional funding to complete the acquisition of the Meridian Companies. We have not entered into any loan documents relating to the funding to date. In the event that such funding is available to us, and we are able to borrow such planned funding, we anticipate our obligations under the debt facility being secured by a priority security interest in substantially all of our assets. We further expect that substantially all of our subsidiaries would be required to guarantee our obligations under such loan facility. As such, our creditors will likely have security interests over our assets and/or our subsidiaries which secure the repayment of such obligations, and in the event we default under such facility, the lenders may be able to take control of our assets and operations, force a sale of our assets, force us to seek bankruptcy protection, or force us to curtail or abandon our current business plans and operations. If that were to happen, any investment in the Company (including, but not limited to any investment in our common stock) could become worthless.
Our failure to comply with the covenants in any documents governing future indebtedness could materially adversely affect our financial condition and liquidity.
In connection with our planned debt facility discussed above, we anticipate being subject to certain affirmative and negative covenants and to be subject to financial covenants. A breach of any of these covenants, if uncured or unwaived, could lead to an event of default, which in some circumstances could give our creditors the right to demand that we accelerate repayment of amounts due and/or enforce their rights under the debt agreement. In the event of any such breach, we may need to seek covenant waivers or amendments from our creditors or seek alternative or additional sources of financing, and we may not be able to obtain any such waivers or amendments or alternative or additional financing on acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, any covenant breach or event of default could harm our credit rating and our ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms. The occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and liquidity and/or cause our lenders to pursue enforcement remedies available to them under their respective debt agreements which could ultimately result in foreclosure, which would have a material adverse effect on our operations and the value of our securities.
We will be subject to business uncertainties and contractual restrictions while the acquisition of the Meridian Companies is pending.
Uncertainty about the effect of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies on employees and partners may have an adverse effect on us. These uncertainties may impair our ability to attract, retain and motivate key personnel until the acquisition of the Meridian Companies is completed, and could cause partners and others that deal with us to seek to change existing business relationships, cease doing business with us or cause potential new partners to delay doing business with us until the acquisition of the Meridian Companies has been successfully completed or terminated. Retention of certain employees may be challenging during the pendency of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies, as certain employees may experience uncertainty about their future roles or compensation structure. If key employees depart because of issues relating to the uncertainty and difficulty of integration or a desire not to remain with the business, our business following the acquisition of the Meridian Companies could be negatively impacted. In addition, the acquisition of the Meridian Companies restricts us from making certain acquisitions and taking other specified actions until the acquisition of the Meridian Companies is completed without certain consents and approvals. These restrictions may prevent us from pursuing attractive business opportunities that may arise prior to the completion of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies or the termination of the Meridian Purchase Agreement.
The Meridian Purchase Agreement may be terminated in accordance with its terms and the acquisition of the Meridian Companies may not be completed.
The Meridian Purchase Agreement is subject to several conditions that must be fulfilled in order to complete the Acquisition of the Meridian Companies. These conditions to the closing of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies may not be fulfilled and, accordingly, the acquisition of the Meridian Companies may not be completed. In addition, the parties to the Meridian Purchase Agreement can generally terminate such agreement if (a) the initial closing contemplated under such agreement is not completed by June 30, 2023; or (b) funding is not obtained for such acquisition by May 31, 2023, and the Company can terminate the Meridian Purchase Agreement under certain circumstances as a result of its due diligence process or if certain shareholder agreements are not entered into with certain minority shareholders of the subsidiaries of the Meridian Companies by February 25, 2023 (45 days after the entry into the Meridian Purchase Agreement), provided the agreement may also be terminated under certain other conditions, including if the terms of the Meridian Purchase Agreement are breached, and the parties can mutually decide to terminate the Meridian Purchase Agreement at any time.
Litigation could prevent or delay the closing of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies or otherwise negatively impact the business and operations of the Company.
The Company may incur costs in connection with the defense or settlement of any shareholder lawsuits filed in connection with the acquisition of the Meridian Companies. Such litigation could have an adverse effect on the financial condition and results of operations of the Company and could prevent or delay the consummation of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies. Such litigation, affecting the Meridian Companies and/or the transaction, could delay or prevent the closing of the acquisition of the Meridian Companies.
Termination of the Meridian Purchase Agreement could negatively impact the Company.
In the event the Meridian Purchase Agreement is terminated, our business may have been adversely impacted by our failure to pursue other beneficial opportunities due to the focus of management on the acquisition of the Meridian Companies, and the market price of our common stock might decline to the extent that the current market price reflects a market assumption that the acquisition of the Meridian Companies will be completed. If the Meridian Purchase Agreement is terminated and our Board of Directors seeks another acquisition or business combination, our shareholders cannot be certain that we will be able to find a party willing to offer equivalent or more attractive consideration than the consideration provided for by the acquisition of the Meridian Companies.
The indemnification obligations of the Company pursuant to the Meridian Purchase Agreement may be satisfied through the issuance of additional shares of common stock valued at the then fair market value of the Company’s common stock, which may cause significant dilution to existing shareholders.
If the Company is obligated under the Meridian Purchase Agreement to indemnify, compensate, or reimburse Meridian Sellers, then the Company agreed to take any and all action necessary to ensure that Meridian Sellers (in their capacity as shareholders of the Company) are not directly or indirectly held liable for such amount(s), and instead are reimbursed in full. Additionally, at Meridian Sellers’ election, the Company agreed to issue additional shares of common stock of the Company to the Meridian Sellers, based on the then fair market value of such shares, in an amount necessary to satisfy such obligation. The issuance of shares of common stock to settle the indemnification obligations of the Company at the option of the Meridian Sellers may cause significant dilution to existing shareholders.
General Risk Factors
If we make any future acquisitions, they may disrupt or have a negative impact on our business.
If we make acquisitions in the future, funding permitting, which may not be available on favorable terms, if at all, we could have difficulty integrating the acquired company’s assets, personnel and operations with our own. We do not anticipate that any acquisitions or mergers we may enter into in the future would result in a change of control of the Company. In addition, the key personnel of the acquired business may not be willing to work for us. We cannot predict the effect expansion may have on our core business. Regardless of whether we are successful in making an acquisition, the negotiations could disrupt our ongoing business, distract our management and employees and increase our expenses. In addition to the risks described above, acquisitions are accompanied by a number of inherent risks, including, without limitation, the following:
| ● | the difficulty of integrating acquired products, services or operations; |
| ● | the potential disruption of the ongoing businesses and distraction of our management and the management of acquired companies; |
| ● | difficulties in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies; |
| ● | the potential impairment of relationships with employees and customers as a result of any integration of new management personnel; |
| ● | the potential inability or failure to achieve additional sales and enhance our customer base through cross-marketing of the products to new and existing customers; |
| ● | the effect of any government regulations which relate to the business acquired; |
| ● | potential unknown liabilities associated with acquired businesses or product lines, or the need to spend significant amounts to retool, reposition or modify the marketing and sales of acquired products or operations, or the defense of any litigation, whether or not successful, resulting from actions of the acquired company prior to our acquisition; and |
| ● | potential expenses under the labor, environmental and other laws of various jurisdictions. |
Our business could be severely impaired if and to the extent that we are unable to succeed in addressing any of these risks or other problems encountered in connection with an acquisition, many of which cannot be presently identified. These risks and problems could disrupt our ongoing business, distract our management and employees, increase our expenses and adversely affect our results of operations.
Our insurance may not provide adequate levels of coverage against claims.
We maintain insurance that we believe is customary for businesses of our size and type. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not economically reasonable to insure. Moreover, any loss incurred could exceed policy limits and policy payments made to us may not be made on a timely basis. Such losses could adversely affect our business prospects, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
We have not paid any cash dividends in the past and have no plans to issue cash dividends in the future, which could cause the value of our common stock to have a lower value than other similar companies which do pay cash dividends.
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not anticipate any cash dividends being paid to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. While our dividend policy will be based on the operating results and capital needs of the business, it is anticipated that any earnings will be retained to finance our future expansion. As we have no plans to issue cash dividends in the future, our common stock could be less desirable to other investors and as a result, the value of our common stock may decline, or fail to reach the valuations of other similarly situated companies who have historically paid cash dividends in the past.
Litigation costs and the outcome of litigation could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business.
From time to time, the Company may be subject to litigation claims through the ordinary course of our business operations regarding, but not limited to, employment matters, security of consumer and employee personal information, contractual relations with suppliers, marketing and infringement of trademarks and other intellectual property rights. Litigation to defend the Company against claims by third parties, or to enforce any rights that the Company may have against third parties, may be necessary, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of the Company’s resources, causing a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company is not aware of any current material legal proceedings outstanding, threatened or pending as of the date hereof by or against the Company, given the nature of its business, it is, and may from time to time in the future be, party to various, and at times numerous, legal, administrative and regulatory inquiries, investigations, proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of business. Because the outcome of litigation is inherently uncertain, if one or more of such legal matters were to be resolved against the Company for amounts in excess of management’s expectations, the Company’s results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Shareholders may be diluted significantly through our efforts to obtain financing and satisfy obligations through the issuance of additional shares of our common stock.
Wherever possible, our Board of Directors will attempt to use non-cash consideration to satisfy obligations. In many instances, we believe that the non-cash consideration will consist of restricted shares of our common stock or where shares are to be issued to our officers, directors, and applicable consultants. Our Board of Directors has authority, without action or vote of the shareholders, to issue all or part of the authorized but unissued shares of common stock. In addition, we may attempt to raise capital by selling shares of our common stock, possibly at a discount to market. These actions will result in dilution of the ownership interests of existing shareholders, which may further dilute common stock book value, and that dilution may be material. Such issuances may also serve to enhance existing management’s ability to maintain control of the Company because the shares may be issued to parties or entities committed to supporting existing management.
The sale of shares by our directors and officers may adversely affect the market price for our shares.
Sales of significant amounts of shares held by our officers and directors, or the prospect of these sales, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Management’s stock ownership may discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us, which in turn could reduce our stock price or prevent our stockholders from realizing a premium over our stock price.
There may be future sales of our common stock, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and dilute a stockholder’s ownership of common stock.
The exercise of (a) any options granted to executive officers and other employees under our equity compensation plans and (b) of any warrants, and other issuances of our common stock could have an adverse effect on the market price of the shares of our common stock. We are not restricted from issuing additional shares of common stock, including any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive shares of common stock, provided that we are subject to the requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market (which generally requires stockholder approval for any transactions which would result in the issuance of more than 20% of our then outstanding shares of common stock or voting rights representing over 20% of our then outstanding shares of stock). Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market or the perception that such sales might occur could materially adversely affect the market price of the shares of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Accordingly, our stockholders bear the risk that our future offerings will reduce the market price of our common stock and dilute their stock holdings in us.
Our common stock has in the past been a “penny stock” under SEC rules, and may be subject to the “penny stock” rules in the future. It may be more difficult to resell securities classified as “penny stock.”
In the past (including immediately prior to our common stock being listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market), our common stock was a “penny stock” under applicable SEC rules (generally defined as non-exchange traded stock with a per-share price below $5.00). While our common stock is not now considered a “penny stock” because it is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, if we are unable to maintain that listing, unless we maintain a per-share price above $5.00, our common stock will become a “penny stock.” These rules impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that recommend the purchase or sale of penny stocks to persons other than those who qualify as “established customers” or “accredited investors.” For example, broker-dealers must determine the appropriateness for non-qualifying persons of investments in penny stocks. Broker-dealers must also provide, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, disclose the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, furnish monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account, provide a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser, and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction.
Legal remedies available to an investor in “penny stocks” may include the following:
| ● | If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in violation of the requirements listed above, or other federal or states securities laws, the investor may be able to cancel the purchase and receive a refund of the investment. |
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| ● | If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in a fraudulent manner, the investor may be able to sue the persons and firms that committed the fraud for damages. |
These requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity, if any, in the secondary market for a security that becomes subject to the penny stock rules. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by such requirements may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our securities, which could severely limit the market price and liquidity of our securities. These requirements may restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our common stock and may affect your ability to resell our common stock.
Many brokerage firms will discourage or refrain from recommending investments in penny stocks. Most institutional investors will not invest in penny stocks. In addition, many individual investors will not invest in penny stocks due, among other reasons, to the increased financial risk generally associated with these investments.
For these reasons, penny stocks may have a limited market and, consequently, limited liquidity. We can give no assurance at what time, if ever, our common stock will not be classified as a “penny stock” in the future.
A significant number of our shares are eligible for sale and their sale or potential sale may depress the market price of our common stock.
Sales of a significant number of shares of our common stock in the public market could harm the market price of our common stock. Most of our common stock is available for resale in the public market, and if sold would increase the supply of our common stock, thereby causing a decrease in its price. Some or all of our shares of common stock may be offered from time to time in the open market pursuant to effective registration statements and/or compliance with Rule 144, which sales could have a depressive effect on the market for our shares of common stock. Subject to certain restrictions, a person who has held restricted shares for a period of six months may generally sell common stock into the market. The sale of a significant portion of such shares when such shares are eligible for public sale may cause the value of our common stock to decline in value.
Our ability to grow and compete in the future will be adversely affected if adequate capital is not available.
The ability of our business to grow and compete depends on the availability of adequate capital, which in turn depends in large part on our cash flow from operations and the availability of equity and debt financing. Our cash flow from operations may not be sufficient or we may not be able to obtain equity or debt financing on acceptable terms or at all to implement our growth strategy. As a result, adequate capital may not be available to finance our current growth plans, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could harm our business.
If we are unable to manage future growth effectively, our profitability and liquidity could be adversely affected.
Our ability to achieve our desired growth depends on our execution in functional areas such as management, sales and marketing, finance and general administration and operations. To manage any future growth, we must continue to improve our operational and financial processes and systems and expand, train and manage our employee base and control associated costs. Our efforts to grow our business, both in terms of size and in diversity of customer bases served, will require rapid expansion in certain functional areas and put a significant strain on our resources. We may incur significant expenses as we attempt to scale our resources and make investments in our business that we believe are necessary to achieve long-term growth goals. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our expenses could increase without a proportionate increase in revenue, our margins could decrease, and our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We may be adversely affected by climate change or by legal, regulatory or market responses to such change.
The long-term effects of climate change are difficult to predict; however, such effects may be widespread. Impacts from climate change may include physical risks (such as rising sea levels or frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions), social and human effects (such as population dislocations or harm to health and well-being), compliance costs and transition risks (such as regulatory or technology changes) and other adverse effects. The effects of climate change could increase the cost of certain products, commodities and energy (including utilities), which in turn may impact our ability to procure goods or services required for the operation of our business. Climate change could also lead to increased costs as a result of physical damage to or destruction of our facilities, loss of inventory, and business interruption due to weather events that may be attributable to climate change. These events and impacts could materially adversely affect our business operations, financial position or results of operation.
We might be adversely impacted by changes in accounting standards.
Our consolidated financial statements are subject to the application of U.S. GAAP, which periodically is revised or reinterpreted. From time to time, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards issued by recognized authoritative bodies, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and the SEC. It is possible that future accounting standards may require changes to the accounting treatment in our consolidated financial statements and may require us to make significant changes to our financial systems. Such changes might have a materially adverse impact on our financial position or results of operations.
For all of the foregoing reasons and others set forth herein, an investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk.