Who Are Aspire Global & Everything You Ever Wanted to Know
Aspire Global are a fast growing company who are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the worldwide
gaming industry. Founded in 2005, they have been around for quite a while by the standards of this
rapidly changing sector, but they have largely been flying under the radar of most market analysts…
until now.
Recent years have seen the company burst into the limelight with the launch of several new casino
platforms. At the time of writing, they already have around half a dozen or so successful brands up and
running. Read on to find out more…
The History of Aspire
This company has been focused on the online gaming industry since the very beginning. It was founded on
the Mediterranean island of Malta, where its headquarters remain to this day. It also has a major office
in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Other names associated with this company include NeoPoint Technologies, which was originally registered
on the UK overseas territory of Gibraltar. Aspire Global appear to be currently using this name as an
associated brand or trademark. Aspire also operates under similar sounding brands. NeoGames for example,
also based in Tel Aviv, operates as a major international software and service provider for lotteries.
Countries where this brand holds licences to operate include Belgium, Denmark, Italy and the United
States.
The company is now in the process of developing a rapidly growing portfolio of clients who licence Aspire
Global’s software and management services in order to operate their casinos.
What do they do?
Aspire Global provide a comprehensive suite of services, designed to enable independent clients to set up
and operate online casinos. These management and software services enable casino operators to focus on
marketing and promoting their brands. Meanwhile, Aspire Global take care of the basic infrastructure,
such as website software and other back office functions. These essential support services include:
- Platform: Aspire design and customise the software platform that powers its clients’ casinos. Plans
are also afoot to diversify into the sportsbook market too. This service goes far further than just
providing the site infrastructure. The site is delivered fully populated with content and with all
the extra services required to enable the operator to get things up and running immediately.
- Game Providers: Licencing deals have been signed with close to thirty of the industry’s leading game
software designers. This means that site operators can choose from the very best and most popular
games. Each site can therefore be unique, and yet still offer all the games that players really want
to play. Licenced providers include NetEnt, NYX Gaming, Lightning Box and Thunderkick, to name just
four of the dozens signed up.
- Payment Methods: Over thirty different payment options are available for operators to choose from.
For UK based players, all the usual credit and debit cards are accepted. Other e-payments like
Neteller and Skrill, plus the pre-payment Paysafecard are also provided.
- Security and Risk: Aspire look after all the necessary security measures, such as fraud prevention,
data protection and the prevention of other malicious acts such as hacking or Denial of Service
(DNS) attacks.
- Data Analysis: All relevant data such as game performance and player preferences are recorded and
compiled into practical management reports. This enables the operator to maximise efficiency and
keep the site fresh and entertaining for its customers.
- Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM): Using the data analysis and management reports outlined
above, Aspire can offer a full service devoted to maximising player satisfaction and player
retention rates. This can be achieved by means such as the creative design of marketing campaigns
and attractive bonus offers.
- Customer Support: Aspire offer clients a seven days a week customer services operation. This
includes live chat, an e-mail response service and a live telephone help desk.
- Licencing: Licences are provided for operations in any European country. Sites eligible for UK based
players are licenced via the Malta Gaming Authority. This means that they are fully regulated by the
UK Gambling Commission, and are therefore regarded as safe to play.
- VIP Management: A full relationship management service is offered for its clients’ VIP customers.
This is intended to enhance customer loyalty and maximise player satisfaction and retention rates.
Aspire Global Casinos in Europe
Aspire Global’s primary target is the European market, where it carries out 90% of its operations.
The market is certainly large, with total revenues for online gaming estimated to be around €20
billion in 2016, the last full year for which figures are available at the time of writing. Of this
total, the online casino sector is responsible for around €7 billion, with bingo estimated at a
further €1 billion. The company also has interests via subsidiary and linked companies in the
lottery sector (around €2.5 billion in total) and is seeking to diversify into the sports betting
sector too (which represents an overall market total of about €8 billion).
So there is no doubt that there is plenty of cake to go round – not only are these figures
impressive, but the market continues to expand rapidly, with revenues estimated to be up around 10%
from the previous year. This rate of growth is expected to continue, so that by 2021, at the current
rate of growth, the total online European market is estimated to be worth well over €30 billion.
However, while the overall levels of expected growth are certainly very encouraging for the company,
it is a very competitive field. Existing operators who are already established in the sector are
already expanding their portfolios at a rapid rate. Direct competitors include big
names like Nektan and Progress Play, to name just two. Furthermore, in such a rapidly growing
environment, further new entrants can be expected too.
Nevertheless, Aspire Global provide a service which is well regarded in the industry and are showing
signs of increasing success. They may well have been largely unknown and hidden below the radar
until now, but that is clearly no longer the case.
In their favour, the market is extremely fragmented. This means that there are a large number of
operators, making it easier to gain a foothold. The reverse is the case, for example, with food
retailing in the United Kingdom, where a few large brands dominate the market (Tesco, Sainsbury,
ASDA and Morrisons battle it out for supremacy), making it much more difficult for new entrants to
compete.
Aspire Casino Sites in the United Kingdom
With regard to future growth prospects within the UK market, threatening noises are being made by the
Government regarding a tightening of regulations with regard to online and real world gambling.
However, no actual measures are yet proposed and the current preference for self-regulation is
expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Although Aspire Global is well known and highly regarded by industry insiders within the UK gambling
marker, its brand recognition amongst players is currently relatively low. However, this is expected
to increase over the next few years as further investment is made and as the company develops
increasing numbers of licenced casinos for its clients. It has ambitious aspirations to match the
impressively widespread networks of already established operators such as Nektan and Progress Play.
The impending launch its new sportsbook service will also increase the visibility of the company to
the British market. A new Head of Sports was appointed in October 2017 in order to lead the
company’s diversification into this new strategic area.
Financial Progress
All these expansion plans require a considerable amount of investment, both in terms of labour and
capital. The company is actively recruiting in both its main bases on the Mediterranean island of
Malta and the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv. Both these places will seem particularly exotic and
attractive locations to UK residents enduring another cold and frosty winter or dull and drab
“summer”.
Financially, the company is also in a good place. With revenues of close to €70 million for the end
of the 2016 financial year, there is plenty of cash flow to support Aspire Global’s expansion plans.
The cash available for investment has also recently received a significant boost. This came with the
company’s successful launch on NASDAQ’s Nordic listing for rapidly growing technology companies,
trading on Sweden’s Stockholm stock exchange.
Approximately 25% of the company’s shares were on offer at the July 2017 launch, at an offer price of
30 Swedish Krona (SEK). This resulted in a proposed value of the company of around 330 million SEK
(equivalent to around €35 million). Funds raised from this share issue will be used to support
Aspire Global’s continued investment in product and platform
development, to expand services into new markets and to boost its commercial operations. At the time
of writing, shares in the company were trading at around 35 SEK.