Capital Ideas Media | February 9, 2021 | SmallCapPower: COVID-19 restrictions have actually benefited some industries, with online gaming being one of them. Many casinos have closed, at least temporarily, to help slow the pandemic’s spread, which appears to be pushing more people onto the Internet to get their gaming fix.

Online gambling globally is estimated to grow at 11.5% compounded annually from 2020 to 2027 to become a US$127.3 billion market, according to Grand View Research.

FansUnite Entertainment Inc. (CSE:FANS) is a highly-speculative opportunity in the sports and entertainment space that appears to have some upward momentum during the past couple of months, especially after completing what it called a “transformative” merger with Askott Entertainment, adding an esports wagering component to its portfolio of businesses.

[Editor’s Note: Shares of FansUnite Entertainment have jumped more than 35% since Capital Ideas wrote about the company about seven weeks ago.]

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FansUnite’s other divisions include FansUnite Sportsbook, which will take wagers on all pro, college and regulated sporting events; BetMaker Labs, a B2B sports betting technology to launch new sportsbooks and; McBookie.com, which focuses on the Scottish market and has over 20,000 active members who have placed more than $100 million in bets during the past three years.

McBookie is particularly notable, as it saw a 433% year-over-year increase in revenue to $602,000 and 713% increase in gross margin during October 2020, which “far exceeded” the expectations of Mackie Research Capital analyst Bill Newman, who added that the Company’s growth could continue with the return of European sports leagues and new live casino offerings.

“FansUnite is a growth story within a rapidly-expanding iGaming industry and has the platforms, infrastructure, management team, and board to allow for rapid organic growth of its B2B and B2C revenue streams. In parallel, FansUnite is committed to completing strategic acquisitions which could result in rapid growth for the company and move it towards its goal of becoming a global online gaming leader,” he said.

FansUnite’s global initiatives include a partnership agreement with Las Vegas-based GameCo LLC, which holds gaming licenses in about 30 US jurisdictions.

The Company’s Askott Entertainment (Malta) Ltd. and E.G.G Limited subsidiaries were also recently granted a Gaming Service License and Critical Gaming Supply license, respectively, from the Malta Gaming Authority, enabling them to offer a full spectrum of online gambling services in Europe, covering Casino, Fixed Odds Betting, Pool Betting and Controlled Skilled Games.

And, the Canadian government announced in late November 2020, that it will introduce legislation that would legalize single-event sports betting in Canada, a move FansUnite said it is positioned to capitalize on “if and when it happens.”