Michele Ciavarella to continue as Executive Chairman
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$ELYS #DT9—Elys Game Technology, Corp. (“Elys” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:ELYS), an interactive gaming and sports betting technology company, today announced the appointment of Matteo Monteverdi as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2021. Mr. Monteverdi served as an independent strategic advisor to the Company since March 2020, and in September 2020 was appointed President. Michele Ciavarella will continue in his current role as Executive Chairman of the Company.
Matteo has been leading world-class B2B and B2C teams in the technology and digital industry for over 20 years between Silicon Valley and Boston. He spent the last decade of his career at the intersection of social gaming, digital betting, i-gaming and media working for international organizations in high growth segments. Prior to joining Elys, Mr. Monteverdi served as the US President of Sportradar, a global leader in real-time sports data and analytics, where he led the strategic direction of the company in the newly regulated US betting market. He was a key contributor in signing exclusive distribution deals with the NBA, NFL and MLB while turning around the company’s US media products and business. From 2015 to 2018, he served as SVP Global Digital Products for International Gaming Technology (NYSE: IGT), where he led the real money and social gaming global businesses. Mr. Monteverdi played a pivotal role in the $6 billion acquisition of IGT by GTECH by integrating and accelerating the combined digital businesses, positioning the new organization as the prime digital gaming B2B player in US.
While at GTECH (MIB: GTK), the largest B2C lottery operator in the world and leading gaming technology provider based in Rome and Boston, he covered the roles of SVP of Sales and Trade Marketing, President of the Digital & Sport Betting Unit and SVP iGaming and iLottery B2B Products.
Mr. Monteverdi also served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Venture Partner at Innogest Capital, an early-stage Venture Capital firm, and worked as VP Products and Marketing for Promptu Systems, a mobile SW voice recognition and AI company co-located in SRI (Stanford Research Institute).
Mr. Monteverdi holds an MBA from SDA Bocconi, a Law Degree from Milan University, and a specialization in Marketing from Stanford Graduate Business School.
“We are honored to welcome one of most accomplished and recognized gaming executives in the industry to our team,” stated Michele (Mike) Ciavarella, Chairman and CEO of Elys Game Technology, Corp. “Matteo brings over 20 years of industry experience, including an amazing track record in the betting, gaming and technology sectors. In the short time since joining the Company, he has already demonstrated his leadership and continuous innovation. We believe his experience in driving organic revenue growth, combined with his background in M&A, will help accelerate growth in both our online and land-based retail channels.”
Mr. Monteverdi commented, “Over the past 9 months, I have had an opportunity to fully immerse myself with the Elys team, customers, and technologies. I can confidently state that Elys has built a first-class operation with a strong product foundation and has tremendous potential waiting to be unleashed. Given the convergence of shifts in the US regulatory landscape and technological innovation, Elys is positioned to capitalize on emerging trends as sport betting evolves into new forms of entertainment at the intersection of media and gaming. The Company offers a differentiated omni-channel framework that provides a distinct competitive advantage in this market. Overall, I believe Elys has the potential to become a market leader and capture a significant share of the i-gaming and sports betting markets in Europe and the Americas.”
About Elys Game Technology, Corp.
Elys Game Technology, Corp., is a B2B global gaming technology company operating in multiple countries worldwide, with B2C online and land-based gaming operations in Italy. In Italy, Elys offers its clients a full suite of leisure gaming products and services, such as sports betting, e-sports, virtual sports, online casino, poker, bingo, interactive games and slots.
The Company’s innovative wagering solution services online operators, casinos, retail betting establishments and franchise distribution networks. The Company has completed the product regulatory requirements to commence B2B operations in the United States. Additional information is available on our corporate website at www.elysgame.com.
Investors may also find us on Twitter @ELYS_gaming.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified by the use of the words “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “continue,” “predict,” “potential,” “project” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements and include statements regarding accelerating growth in both our online and land-based retail channels, and potential to become a market leader and capture a significant share of the i-gaming and sports betting markets in Europe and the Americas. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the contribution of Mr. Monteverdi to the Company, the Company’s ability to accelerate growth in both its online and land-based retail channels, and ability to become a market leader and capture a significant share of the i-gaming and sports betting markets in Europe and the Americas as believed, the duration and scope of the COVID-19 outbreak worldwide, including the impact to the state and local economies, and the risk factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
Contacts
Crescendo Communications, LLC
David Waldman
Tel: (212) 671-1020
Email: elys@crescendo-ir.com
