Allwyn has the potential to become a valuable listed business, but investors should not expect the move anytime soon, the group’s long-serving CEO Robert Chvatal tells the new edition of SBC Leaders magazine.

In issue 37’s cover feature, Chvatal reflects on the transformation of Sazka (as the business was called when he became CEO 12 years ago) from a lottery-led company into the vast gambling industry conglomerate that Allwyn is today.

He talks about key acquisitions, including stakes in international betting and gaming operators Kaizen Gaming and Novibet, as well as why digital is the way forward for the lotteries Allwyn now runs in multiple European markets.

Chvatal also looks at what the future may hold for the company.

Back in 2022, that future looked set to lie on the New York Stock Exchange, only for a planned SPAC deal with Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp to be terminated. It appears that the thinking of major shareholder Karel Komárek and the leadership team has since changed.

“We are clearly listable or IPOable,” says Chvatal. “We have a track record. We have quite a long-term established presence in capital markets because we finance ourselves also by issuing bonds.

“So we are on the debt side of capital markets but not on the equity side. But this means you are exposed to the same investors.”

Despite that, Chvatal seems more comfortable with the idea of remaining as a private company and enjoying the added agility that comes with that status.

“Even if we were to get listed, I think we would like to keep control, so we would not go and sell the whole company,” he explains.

“As long as Karel has a belief and an appetite that he can still improve Allwyn – and I believe he definitely does – then we will continue as at least a partially-private company.”

US regulation, Brazilian insight and East European data

The magazine also includes an interview with FanDuel’s SVP, Public Policy and Sustainability Cory Fox, who discusses the US operator’s latest responsible gambling efforts and whether the emergence of a challenge from prediction markets may drive a move towards federal regulation.

“We think, by and large, our state regulators are doing a very good job of regulating the industry,” says Fox. “But this has become a successful industry that many people are exposed to via a lot of national television advertising. And so there is interest in it, from sort of across the spectrum at the federal level.

“But I think in the end, gambling has been and will continue to be effectively regulated at the state level. But it’s also on the state regulators, the operators, the entire ecosystem to ensure that at its core users are properly protected, and in order to ensure that the current system can continue.”

Elsewhere, there are in-depth examinations of the early stages of the regulated market in Brazil and proposed changes to its advertising regulations, an evaluation of player behaviour data from Eastern Europe, and a deep dive into why traditional trading might just be more effective than AI for sharp bookmakers.

TotoGaming’s CEO Harutyun Vardanyan and his Deputy Artak Ashkhatoyan discuss the latest changes to Romania’s regulatory environment, while there’s a profile of the women executives driving Stake’s business in Latin America, and a look at why we may all soon have to work with stablecoins.

Finally, we hear from some of the leading suppliers and advisors in the industry, including Mike de Graaff of BetComply, Warren Russell of eyeDP and Elton Dimech of Payhound.

From the sports betting sector, there are features with Rostyslav Likhtin of Data.bet, Marek Suchar of Oddin.gg and STATSCORE CEO Dariusz Łęczyński. While there’s a wealth of online casino talk from experts including Soft2Bet CPO Yoel Zuckerberg, Gamomat’s Iris Wallner, Elantil’s CEO Jonathan Gauci, Edgelabs CEO Marina Rodov, Bragg Gaming Group CEO Matevž Mazij, Michael Bauer of Greentube, 3Oaks Gaming CCO Yuriy Muratov and Vegangster CPO Michael Oziransky.

Pick up your copy of SBC Leaders magazine Issue 37 at SBC Summit in Lisbon from 16th-18th September, or read the digital edition here.

——————————————————————————–

September 15 will see SBC organise a ground breaking charity football event in Lisbon. Make sure you get the chance to see some of the most legendary names in football by securing your ticket today at https://www.legendscharitygame.com/