New CEO Möller outlines Ninja Gaming’s Swedish plans
New Global Gaming chief executive Joacim Möller has made the successful transition of leading brand Ninja Casino to the re-regulated Swedish market his immediate priority after taking the job on a permanent basis.
Möller, previously chief operating officer, was confirmed as group chief executive after serving in the position on an interim basis since May. He replaced Stefan Olsson, who took on an innovation role at Malmö-headquartered Global, which also today (Wednesday) released its interim results to June 30.
Global was one of the first companies to apply for a gambling licence in Sweden, filing its submission on the opening day of August 1 ahead of the expected launch in January 2019.
Möller told iGamingBusiness.com he is confident about Ninja’s existing offering in Sweden, noting its main brand is already one of the leading online casinos in the pre-regulation market. He also indicated that “good results” are expected from SpelLandet, which launched last month.
Looking ahead to January he told iGamingBusiness.com: “Sweden is already our main market and where we are a major player so we will continue developing Ninja Casino and prepare it for the upcoming requirements.
“What will it take to be a success in Sweden? First of all, you need to have a licence, of course, but other than that we will continue focusing on the player experience.
“With Ninja Casino we have a promise to the customers that we will make it possible for them to focus on the fun and that is what we will continue working on.”
Möller would not comment on how he expects regulation to affect growth in the Swedish market.
The company today posted its interim for January to June 2018, noting a 181% rise in income to SEK426.4m (€41m/$46m). Operating profit was up 85% to SEK70.3m in H1, while Ninja Casino, boosted by the Fifa World Cup, contributed 91% of group revenues during the second quarter.
Highlights during the period included the awarding of a licence to operate in Estonia.
Looking ahead to the coming months, Möller said in a statement: “In conjunction with launching Ninja Casino on the Estonian market, we will also launch a new front-end platform that will make us much more flexible in the future.
“At Ninja Casino we have launched ‘branded’ tables at NetEnts Livecasino and we will also introduce their ‘Live Beyond Live’ concepts in our own environments.”
Ninja Casino, which offers more than 200 slots from the likes of NetEnt and Play’n GO, removes traditional registration requirements and features a bespoke payment solution that only requires a deposit via a player’s bank and ensures most winnings are paid in less than five minutes.
In announcing Möller’s appointment, Global chairman Peter Eidensjö said: “It is our pleasure to appoint Joacim Möller to the role of CEO and Group CEO.
“Considering his business sense and solid leadership skills, we are confident he is the right person to lead Global Gaming forward in its growth journey and in the process of obtaining a gambling licence in Sweden.”