GAN conditionally approved to provide sports betting in Nevada

After the departure of its CEO a week before the hearing, new GAN CEO Seamus McGill hopes licensing is in place by November.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has recommended a conditional two-year license for GAN to provide sports betting, after the recent departure of the company’s CEO, Dermot Smurfit. If final approval is granted on October 19, GAN will replace the current sports betting platform in place at Red Rock Resorts’ Station Casinos locations in southern Nevada.

Smurfit resigned one week prior to the company’s Nevada licensing hearing. GAN’s stock price also declined a significant 25% throughout the month before the hearing.

As GAN Chairman Seamus McGill has now been appointed CEO, the NGCB has put a caveat on the conditional two-year license that the executive can not hold both positions. Brian Chang also assumed the role of GAN’s Interim CFO in November 2022, but it has not been stated whether he will fully transition into the role long-term.

Chairman of the NGCB, Kirk Hendrick, said, “I think an ongoing agreement [would require] the company to stay in contact with the investigative division and provide all updates. I’m personally OK with the idea that a CEO has an application file with the Gaming Control Board within a year.”

GAN’s sports betting platform would potentially replace Station Casinos’ STN Sports and McGill has hinted at a possible expansion to Wynn Resorts’ properties on The Strip, as the company provides sports betting to Wynn Resorts’ Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts.

According to local reports, Gaming Analyst Chad Beynon of Maquarie Securities said of the conditional license, “The company has still not launched its sports betting products with [Red Rock Resorts] in Nevada almost two years post-deal announcement, which raises more questions.”

Red Rock Resorts was fined $80,000 by state regulators, and agreed to pay in June 2022, to settle complaints regarding system errors where around 348 wagers were taken on events with known outcomes.

McGill hopes to have licensing in place by November this year. He said, “The plan is to expand into other jurisdictions, including Nevada, and not only with Wynn, but other major customers in the Nevada market, and then to take it throughout the rest of the US.”

Stephanie Feeley

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