MGA adds two brands to Esports Entertainment gaming licence

The Maltese regulator has approved the addition of the group’s VIE.bet and SportNation brands to its gaming licence.

Malta.- The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has approved the addition of Esports Entertainment Group’s brands VIE.bet and SportNation to its gaming service licence.

The move will allow the two brands to market their services in more than 150 jurisdictions, the operator said. 

That will allow the SportNation brand, which Esports Entertainment acquired in July, to expand beyond Great Britain.

Esports Entertainment obtained its MGA licence in April 2020, at which stage the licence only covered pool-based betting through the operator’s VIE.gg betting exchange. 

See also: Esports Entertainment Group to complete acquisition of EGL

Esports Entertainment Group chief executive, Grant Johnson, said: “This move greatly expands the reach of our VIE.bet and SportNation offerings.

“We are particularly excited to see the team at SportNation bring their marketing expertise and innovative rewards system outside the UK for the first time.”

Johnson said the group planned to expand into South and Central America, and Northern and Eastern Europe. 

He also noted that the expanded MGA licence would allow the brands to cross-sell through its recent acquisition of the online casino Lucky Dino, which is licensed separately by the MGA. 

He said: “Lucky Dino’s assets will give us a substantial foothold in multiple new jurisdictions where esports are extremely popular, while bringing us 30,000 monthly active casino players and a greatly strengthened tech stack.”