In somewhat of a shock move, the Swedish publicly listed Gaming Innovation Group yesterday ( 3rd June 2024 ) announced the acquisition of the popular player advocacy site Casinomeister, in a deal worth €3m.
The super affiliate GiG who over the course of the past 24 months have been snapping up their rivals, acquiring the likes of Ask Gamblers from Catena Media in a €45m deal and Kafe Rocks for €35m, have subsequently added the leading player advocate site to their roster. This acquisition of Casinomeister further demonstrates their commitment to the iGaming affiliate space.
In April GiG achieved the position of third place in the Annual EGR Power Affiliates, thanks to their portfolio of high traffic iGaming websites, which include WSN.com, Time2play.com, Askgamblers.com and Casinotopsonline.com.
This acquisition of Casinomeister further enhances GiG’s portfolio of sites, particularly with the Player Complaints Service and Casino Forum that Casinomeister operates.
Commenting on the acquisition of Casinomeister, the Gaming Innovation Group CEO Jonas Warrer stated:
Casinomeister’s renowned dedication to fair play and community support perfectly aligns with our recent acquisition of Askgamblers.com. Together, these platforms will enhance our market reach and optimise the complaint resolution services we provide to the community, reinforcing our position at the forefront of player advocacy.
While the person known as Casinomeister himself, founder of the site Bryan Bailey said:
I have dedicated twenty-six years to building this business, and now it’s time to pass the reins to a new, dynamic team who can lead it into the future. This business has been my passion, starting as a hobby website in 1998 and growing into what it is today.
I am entrusting this to the most capable team in the industry to continue its mission of advocating for fair play. I have a long history with GiG Media, and I am confident that they will maintain the values and principles that Casinomeister stands for, ensuring a smooth transition and a bright future for the online gaming community.
Bailey further expanded on the news with a thread he created on the popular casino forum that operates on Casinomeister, with Bailey stating:
I hit retirement age last year, and it’s time for me to slowly fade away. I will be around of course and will still be at the helm while handing over my duties. Everything is business as usual – and I see this site finally taking off as it should.
Some might say I’ve ridden “the wave” for long enough – well, thinking on this – perhaps it was me who started that wave. Like my son recently said, “Old man get out of the way!” sure thing – that’s what I’m going to do. I wish GiG the best of luck to continue this Casinomeister journey.I will still be working here for the next several months, so it’s not like I’m really going away.
The post at the time of writing has received many responses, congratulating and thanking Bailey for providing what has been and has proven to be an inspirational site, keeping online casinos on the straight and narrow over the course of the past quarter of a century.
All the team here at Online Casino HQ who have known Bryan for many years, value him as a friend and also as a boss, wish him all the best on a well deserved retirement.
Dave Sawyer has nearly 25 years experience working within the iGaming Industry. Initially starting out with Ladbrokes based in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar in 2000, after 5 years with the tier one operator in his role of IT Services Manager, Dave left to setup his own casino affiliate site.
During the years Dave has spoken at several industry events, including the Casino Affiliate Convention held in Amsterdam in 2006, where Dave appeared on the forum panel. Other events Dave has been a speaker at include the iGB London Affiliate Conference.
More recently Dave has written for Casinomeister.com and has been a moderator on the popular Casinomeister Forum since 2010, where he posts under the user handle Webzcas.