A subsidiary of Bally’s Corporation has agreed to invest $5m into Snipp Interactive Inc – a global provider of digital marketing promotions, rebates, and loyalty solutions – subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX) and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
As part of the investment, Bally’s can nominate one director to Snipp’s board of directors, which is expected to be increased in size to five directors. It will also have a right of first refusal to any offer to purchase all or substantially all of the provider’s assets received by Snipp from any competitor of the operator.
Bally’s is anticipated to own approximately 9% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Snipp following the investment’s completion, having subscribed for 25,000,000 common shares of the provider at $0.20 per share (CAD $0.25 per share).
The two firms will enter into commercial agreements whereby Bally’s will become Snipp’s exclusive gaming partner for Snipp’s recently acquired loyalty gaming platform Gambit Rewards Inc, a customer network that converts brand rewards points into risk-free online gaming and sports betting.
Bally’s will also receive a three-year term license of the SnippLOYALTY software platform, implementing it across its physical and online properties with work beginning in Q2 2022. The operator may also license the source code for the specific version(s) of the software platform implemented in any of its properties for $10m.
“Bally’s is one of the most forward-thinking companies in the gaming industry and their investment illustrates the value that they see in SnippLOYALTY as well as our SnippCARE customer acquisition, retention, and engagement platform,” commented Atul Sabharwal, Founder & CEO of Snipp Interactive.
“Our acquisition of Gambit was intended as a way to better align ourselves with the Gaming world. Now, only a couple of months later, we’re entering a deep relationship with Bally’s. We welcome their presence on our board and look forward to tapping their deep expertise in this high-growth industry.”
Adi Dhandhania, Chief Operating Officer of Bally’s Interactive, North America, added: “Working together with Snipp furthers our strategic goals around omnichannel integration with well-established technology that can combine rewards platforms across the Bally’s brand and thereby provide our customers with a seamless user journey.”
As part of the deal, Snipp will also license selected Bally’s free-to-play games and trademarks for Gambit Rewards. Through participating loyalty sites, Gambit free-to-play tokens are offered as a point redemption option. Bally’s members will have access to Gambit’s free-to-play mode, while Gambit members will be able to redeem their Gambit Prize Tokens in the form of Bally’s loyalty points.
Richard Pistilli, Founder & CEO of Gambit Rewards, stated: “With 14 casinos, a racetrack, and digital sports betting properties across the country, Bally’s is the perfect partner to power Gambit’s Loyalty Gaming platform, and we look forward to revealing the newly designed and co-branded version of the platform in the near future.
“Our ability to deliver a proprietary gaming experience to consumers in nearly every state will help to expand Bally’s presence across the US.”
Gambit will include Bally’s branding, feature its free-to-play games, and connect its loyalty points with Gambit’s Play Tokens. A rebranding exercise of the existing Gambit Rewards platform is expected to take place soon after closing as well.
Snipp shares purchased by Bally’s as part of the Investment will be subject to a four-month and one-day hold period under Canadian securities laws and the policies of the TSXV. No finder’s fee is payable in connection with the investment, and Snipp will use the investment’s proceeds for sales & marketing and general working capital purposes.