No more games
Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has announced that it will no longer be investing in its proprietary GiG Games studio, effective immediately.
The company is looking to cut down on its operational expenditure. It also wants to go back to focusing on the core aspects of the GiG business. This is mainly the development of technology platforms and similar provisions in the iGaming space.
As a result of the closure of GiG Games, GiG expects to save €250,000 ($273,000) per month.
Statement from GiG
Richard Brown, acting CEO of GiG, spoke about this change in direction via a statement. He said:
The decision to halt in-house content production is a strategic choice to facilitate full focus and resources on becoming the platform of choice for the iGaming industry.”
He went on to talk about how this closure is part of a recent change in strategy to minimize non-marketing expenditure costs. Brown thanked everyone who worked in the gaming studio.
Short-lived business
It was only in 2017 that GiG Games was founded, with the managing director of this division being Mathias Larsson.
Its first casino game, the Wild Reels online slot, was launched in October 2018. In total, only four games were created, none of which proved successful.
The original plan was to create between six and eight games per year. However, the revenue from the first few games was well below expectations.
only four games were created, none of which proved successful
The goal of starting this business was to create unique IP gaming content. This content would then be used to help with the growth of the main company’s network services in the B2C and B2B spaces.
Aftermath of the closure
GiG plans to continue providing casino games for external and internal operators that have been provided by third parties.
The 25 employees who were working for GiG Games received redundancy packages due to the studio’s closure. The studio itself will be maintained until the trading year comes to an end.
Issues in sports betting market
It was in July that GiG suspended its Swedish sports betting license.
The company was on the receiving end of a $370,000 fine from the Swedish Gaming Authority for allegedly offering betting markets on sports events involving underage athletes.
GiG claimed that the new gambling framework in Sweden is not clear and that it would be suspending its own license until the regulators clarify the regulations.
This new framework was only introduced in June 2018 and the sports betting market opened in January 2019.