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Neogames Sa (NGMS)
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US Market

NeoGames (NGMS) Risk Analysis

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Public companies are required to disclose risks that can affect the business and impact the stock. These disclosures are known as “Risk Factors”. Companies disclose these risks in their yearly (Form 10-K), quarterly earnings (Form 10-Q), or “foreign private issuer” reports (Form 20-F). Risk factors show the challenges a company faces. Investors can consider the worst-case scenarios before making an investment. TipRanks’ Risk Analysis categorizes risks based on proprietary classification algorithms and machine learning.

NeoGames disclosed 62 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. NeoGames reported the most risks in the “Finance & Corporate” category.

Risk Overview Q4, 2020

Risk Distribution
62Risks
35% Finance & Corporate
27% Legal & Regulatory
18% Ability to Sell
11% Tech & Innovation
5% Production
3% Macro & Political
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
This chart displays the stock's most recent risk distribution according to category. TipRanks has identified 6 major categories: Finance & corporate, legal & regulatory, macro & political, production, tech & innovation, and ability to sell.

Risk Change Over Time

S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
NeoGames Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.

The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.

Risk Highlights Q4, 2020

Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 22 Risks
Finance & Corporate
With 22 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
62
S&P 500 Average: 31
62
S&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
0Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Dec 2020
0Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Dec 2020
Number of Risk Changed
0
S&P 500 Average: 3
0
S&P 500 Average: 3
See the risk highlights of NeoGames in the last period.

Risk Word Cloud

The most common phrases about risk factors from the most recent report. Larger texts indicate more widely used phrases.

Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 62

Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 22/62 (35%)Above Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights11 | 17.7%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
Ownership in our Ordinary Shares is restricted by gambling laws, and persons found "unsuitable" may be required to dispose of their shares.
Gambling authorities or lottery authorities, as applicable, have the right to investigate any individual or entity having a relationship to, or involvement with, us or any of our subsidiaries or joint ventures, to determine whether such individual or entity is suitable as a business associate of ours. Many jurisdictions also require any person who acquires beneficial ownership of more than a certain percentage of voting securities of a gambling company to report the acquisition to the local regulatory authorities, and those authorities may require such holders to apply for qualification or a finding of suitability, subject to limited exceptions for "institutional investors" that hold a company's voting securities for investment purposes only. Gambling and/or lottery authorities have very broad discretion in determining whether an applicant should be deemed suitable. Subject to certain administrative proceeding requirements, these regulators have the authority to deny any application or limit, condition, restrict, revoke or suspend any license, registration, finding of suitability or approval, or fine any person licensed, registered or found suitable or approved, for any cause deemed reasonable by those authorities. Any person found unsuitable by a competent authority may be precluded from holding direct, indirect, beneficial or record ownership of any voting security, nonvoting security or debt security of any public corporation which is registered with the relevant gambling or lottery authority beyond the time prescribed by such authority. Our failure, or the failure of any of our major shareholders, directors, officers, key employees, products or technology, to obtain or retain a required license or approval in one jurisdiction could negatively impact our ability (or the ability of any of our major shareholders, directors, officers, key employees, products or technology) to obtain or retain required licenses and approvals in other jurisdictions. In light of these regulations and the potential impact on our business, our articles of association allow for the restriction of stock ownership by persons or entities who fail to comply with informational or other regulatory requirements under applicable gambling laws, who are found unsuitable to hold our shares by competent authorities, whose stock ownership adversely affects our ability to obtain, maintain, renew or qualify for a license, contract, franchise or other regulatory approval from a gambling or lottery authority or a purported transferee of a stockholder who acquires shares made invalid pursuant to our articles of association. The licensing procedures and background investigations of the authorities that regulate our businesses and the restriction in our articles of association may inhibit potential investors from becoming significant stockholders or inhibit existing stockholders from retaining or increasing their ownership.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
If a U.S. person is treated as owning at least 10% of our Ordinary Shares, such holder may be subject to adverse United States federal income tax consequences.
If a U.S. person is treated as owning (directly, indirectly, or constructively) at least 10% of the value or voting power of our Ordinary Shares, such person may be treated as a "U.S. shareholder" with respect to each "controlled foreign corporation" in our group (if any). Because our group includes a U.S. subsidiary, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries will be treated as controlled foreign corporations (regardless of whether or not we are treated as a controlled foreign corporation). A U.S. shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation may be required to report annually and include in its United States taxable income its pro rata share of "Subpart F income," "global intangible low-taxed income," and investments in U.S. property by controlled foreign corporations, regardless of whether we make any distributions. An individual that is a U.S. shareholder with respect to a controlled foreign corporation generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a U.S. shareholder that is a U.S. corporation. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations may subject a U.S. shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such shareholder's United States federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting. We cannot provide any assurance that we will assist investors in determining whether we are or any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is treated as a controlled foreign corporation or whether any investor is treated as a U.S. shareholder with respect to any such controlled foreign corporation or furnish to any U.S. shareholders information that may be necessary to comply with the aforementioned reporting and tax paying obligations. A U.S. investor should consult its advisers regarding the potential application of these rules to an investment in our Ordinary Shares.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
The trading price of our Ordinary Shares is likely to be volatile, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
The following factors, in addition to other risks described in this Annual Report, may have a significant effect on the market price of our Ordinary Shares: - variations in our operating results;- actual or anticipated changes in the estimates of our operating results;- changes in stock market analyst recommendations regarding our Ordinary Shares, other comparable companies or our industry generally;- macro-economic conditions in the countries in which we do business;- currency exchange fluctuations and the denominations in which we conduct business and hold our cash reserves;- market conditions in our industry;- actual or expected changes in our growth rates or our competitors' growth rates;- changes in regulation applicable to our industry;- changes in the market valuation of similar companies;- the trading volume of our shares on Nasdaq;- sales of our Ordinary Shares by our Founding Shareholders and William Hill;- sales of our Ordinary Shares by us or our shareholders; and - the adoption or modification of regulations, policies, procedures or programs applicable to our business. In addition, if the market for technology stocks or the stock market in general experiences a loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our Ordinary Shares could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or operating results. The trading price of our Ordinary Shares might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry, even if these events do not directly affect us. Each of these factors, among others, could harm the value of your investment in our Ordinary Shares. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management's attention and resources, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Securities Act, and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our Ordinary Shares less attractive to investors because we may rely on these reduced disclosure requirements.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may also take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including presenting only limited selected financial data and not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ("Section 404"). As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information that they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years following the completion of our initial public offering on Form F-1, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if our total annual revenues exceed $1.07 billion, if we issue more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during any three-year period, or if we become a "large accelerated filer" under U.S. securities laws. We cannot predict if investors will find our Ordinary Shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Ordinary Shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Ordinary Shares and our share price may be more volatile.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
The coverage of our business or our Ordinary Shares by securities or industry analysts or the absence thereof could adversely affect the trading price and trading volume of our Ordinary Shares.
Our Ordinary Shares are listed on Nasdaq. However, we cannot assure you that an active trading market for our Ordinary Shares will develop on that exchange or elsewhere or, if developed, that any such market will be sustained. The trading market for our securities is influenced in part by the research and other reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business or industry from time to time. We do not control these analysts or the content and opinions included in their reports. We may be slow to attract equity research coverage, and the analysts who publish information about our securities will have had relatively little experience with our company, which could affect their ability to accurately forecast our results and make it more likely that we fail to meet their estimates. If no or few analysts commence equity research coverage of us, the trading price and volume of our securities would likely be negatively impacted. If analysts do cover us and one or more of them downgrade our securities, or if they issue other unfavorable commentary about us or our industry or inaccurate research, our stock price would likely decline. Furthermore, if one or more of these analysts cease coverage or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets. Any of the foregoing would likely cause our stock price and trading volume to decline. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of the likelihood that an active trading market will develop or be maintained, the liquidity of any trading market, your ability to sell your Ordinary Shares when desired or the price that you may be able to obtain in any such sale.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
Future sales or the perception of future sales of our Ordinary Shares could adversely affect the price of our Ordinary Shares.
As of December 31, 2020, there were 24,983,855 Ordinary Shares outstanding. We, all of our directors and executive officers, and the holders of substantially all of our outstanding Ordinary Shares (including the Founding Shareholders and William Hill) have entered into lock-up agreements pursuant to which we and they are subject to certain restrictions with respect to the sale or other disposition of our Ordinary Shares until the date that is 180 days following the date of our initial public offering on Form F-1. Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, who acted as the representative of the underwriters in our initial public offering on Form F-1, may at any time and without notice, may release all or any portion of the Ordinary Shares subject to the foregoing lock-up agreements. If the restrictions under the lock-up agreements are waived, then the Ordinary Shares, subject to compliance with the Securities Act or exceptions therefrom, will be available for sale into the public markets, which could cause the market price of our Ordinary Shares to decline and impair our ability to raise capital through a future sale of, or pay for acquisitions using, our equity securities. Sales of a substantial number of shares upon expiration of the lock-up agreements or the perception that such sales may occur may also cause the market price of our Ordinary Shares to fall or make it more difficult for you to sell your Ordinary Shares at a time and price that you deem appropriate.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7
We are a "controlled company" under Nasdaq rules, and we are able to rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of companies that are not controlled companies.
The Founding Shareholders hold approximately 51.1% of our issued Ordinary Shares. Accordingly, we are a "controlled company" under Nasdaq rules. As a controlled company, we are exempt from Nasdaq rules with respect to certain corporate governance requirements, such as the requirement that we have a majority of independent directors and we utilize this exemption. While we do not currently take advantage of other exemptions, if we elect to take advantage of any other exemptions in the future, our shareholders will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all Nasdaq rules.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8
Our articles of association designate the federal district courts of the United States as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our shareholders.
Our articles of association provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the U.S. federal district courts shall be the sole and exclusive forum for any claim asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. This choice of forum provision may limit a shareholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees and may increase the costs associated with such lawsuits, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our articles of association inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our share capital shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the choice of forum provisions of our articles of association described above. This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the U.S. federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9
The rights of our shareholders may differ from the rights they would have as shareholders of a United States corporation, which could adversely impact trading in our Ordinary Shares and our ability to conduct equity financings.
The Company's corporate affairs are governed by the Company's articles of association and the laws of Luxembourg, including the Luxembourg Company Law (loi du 10 août 1915 concernant les sociétés commerciales, telle qu'elle a été modifiée). The rights of our shareholders and the responsibilities of our directors and officers under Luxembourg law are different from those applicable to a corporation incorporated in the United States. For example, under Delaware law, the board of directors of a Delaware corporation bears the ultimate responsibility for managing the business and affairs of a corporation. In discharging this function, directors of a Delaware corporation owe fiduciary duties of care and loyalty to the corporation and its shareholders. Luxembourg law imposes a duty on directors of a Luxembourg company to: (i) act in good faith with a view to the best interests of a company; and (ii) exercise the care, diligence, and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in a similar position and under comparable circumstances. Additionally, under Delaware law, a shareholder may bring a derivative action on behalf of a company to enforce a company's rights. Under Luxembourg law, the board of directors has sole authority to decide whether to initiate legal action to enforce a company's rights (other than, in certain circumstances, an action against members of our board of directors, which may be initiated by the general meeting of the shareholders, or, subject to certain conditions, by minority shareholders holding together at least 10% of the voting rights in the company). Further, under Luxembourg law, there may be less publicly available information about us than is regularly published by or about U.S. issuers. In addition, Luxembourg laws governing the securities of Luxembourg companies may not be as extensive as those in effect in the United States, and Luxembourg laws and regulations in respect of corporate governance matters might not be as protective of minority shareholders as are state corporation laws in the United States. Therefore, our shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in connection with actions taken by our directors, officers or principal shareholders than they would as shareholders of a corporation incorporated in the United States. As a result of these differences, our shareholders may have more difficulty protecting their interests than they would as shareholders of a U.S. issuer.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10
Our Founding Shareholders have significant influence over the nominations and elections of members of our board of directors.
Our Founding Shareholders have the exclusive right under our amended and restated articles of association ("articles of association") to nominate up to 50% of our directors so long as they own in the aggregate at least 40.0% of our issued and outstanding share capital. In addition, the Founding Shareholders own, in the aggregate, approximately 51.1% of our issued and outstanding shares, and have entered into a voting agreement providing that the Founding Shareholders shall vote as one group with regard to any matter relating to the nomination, election, appointment or removal of directors. As a result, the Founding Shareholders control the outcomes of matters submitted to the shareholders for approval, including the nomination, election, appointment and removal of the members of our board of directors. The Founding Shareholders are entitled to vote their shares according to their own interests, and such interests may be different than the interests of our other shareholders and may delay, deter or prevent a change in control or other business combination that might otherwise be beneficial to our shareholders. See Item 7.B. "Related Party Transactions - Voting Agreement," and Item 6.B. "Board Practices - Board Composition."
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11
Certain of our directors and shareholders may experience a conflict of interest between their duties to us and to Aspire.
We were established as an independent company in 2014, following a spin-off from Aspire (as defined in Item 4.B. below). Prior to our spin-off from Aspire, our management team was responsible for the iLottery business of Aspire. Barak Matalon and Aharon Aran, members of our board of directors, are also members of Aspire's board of directors. Further, Barak Matalon, Elyahu Azur, Pinhas Zahavi and Aharon Aran (collectively, the "Founding Shareholders"), who collectively own a majority of the shares of Aspire, may control the outcome of matters submitted to our shareholders for approval. Such directors and majority shareholders could experience a conflict of interest between their duties to us and Aspire in the future, which may have an adverse effect on our business and prospects. For example, the Aspire Software License Agreement (as defined in Item 7.B. below) does not prevent NeoGames from using the Mixed-Use Software (as defined in Item 7.B. below) to design, develop and implement games content, so long as it is not sold through certain platform providers or white label companies which are competitors of Aspire, and provided that we do not design, develop and implement casino and slot content to games aggregators. See Item 7.B. "Related Party Transactions - Relationship with Aspire - Aspire Software License Agreement." Accordingly, both we and Aspire could compete in future engagements for provision of games content or for a contract with a white label provider. Furthermore, the Aspire Software License Agreement does not prevent either NeoGames or Aspire from using the Mixed-Use Software for (i) B2B customers in the iGaming and sports betting business in the United States, (ii) B2G customers in the iLottery business anywhere outside the United States, and (iii) offering games content to customers worldwide except for B2G customers in the United States and for customers who are providers of iLottery content which are NeoGames competitors. Accordingly, both we and Aspire could compete for the same B2B iGaming and sports betting customers in the United States or B2G iLottery customers outside the United States. In the event that such circumstances arise, the shared directors or shareholders may decide to prevent NeoGames from pursuing such opportunities in favor of Aspire.
Accounting & Financial Operations3 | 4.8%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
We have incurred operating losses in the past, may incur operating losses in the future and may never maintain sustainable profit margins.
We generated a net profit of $6.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2020. It was the first reporting period that the Company generated a net profit since incorporation. We expect to continue the development and expansion of our business, and we anticipate additional costs in connection with legal, accounting and other administrative expenses related to operating as a public company. While our revenue has grown in recent years, if our revenue declines or fails to grow at a rate sufficient to offset increases in our operating expenses, we may generate losses. We cannot ensure that we will successfully manage to sustain profitability in the future.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
Our limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects.
The market for our offerings is relatively new and evolving, and we have a limited operating history under the majority of our customer agreements. As a result, our business and future prospects are difficult to evaluate and our ability to accurately forecast our future results of operations is limited and subject to a number of uncertainties. We entered into our first customer agreement in 2014, and a majority of our customer agreements are in their initial terms. In 2018 and 2019, we began providing turnkey solutions to the NHL and NCEL, respectively and in December 2020, the MSL Agreement was extended for an additional period of four years through July 2026. Furthermore, during 2020 we have transitioned the VAL solution into a full iLottery program, launched a new turnkey solution with the province of Alberta in Canada and in February 2021 we have launched Instant games with the Austrian Lotteries (Österreichische Lotterien). Our limited operating history under certain of these arrangements makes it difficult to accurately assess our future prospects and increase the risk associated with your investment. Any future changes to our revenue model could materially and adversely affect our business. Our historical revenue growth should not be considered indicative of our future performance. In future periods, our revenue growth could slow and our revenues could decline for a number of reasons, including declining player demand, increasing competition, decreasing growth of the iLottery market or our failure to continue entering into new arrangements. We will continue to encounter risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly changing industries. If our assumptions regarding these risks, uncertainties or future revenue growth are incorrect, or if we do not address these risks successfully, our operating and financial results could differ materially from our expectations and our business could suffer.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
We do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.
We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our Ordinary Shares in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and expansion of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to compliance with applicable laws and covenants under any future credit facility, which may restrict or limit our ability to pay dividends. The amount of any future dividend payments we may make will depend on, among other factors, our strategy, future earnings, financial condition, cash flow, working capital requirements, capital expenditures and applicable provisions of our articles of association. Unless and until we declare and pay dividends, any return on your investment will only occur if the value of our Ordinary Shares appreciates. Additionally, under Luxembourg law, at least 5% of our net profits per year must be allocated to the creation of a legal reserve until such reserve has reached an amount equal to 10% of our issued share capital. The allocation to the legal reserve becomes compulsory again when the legal reserve no longer represents 10% of our issued share capital. Our legal reserve is not available for distribution.
Debt & Financing2 | 3.2%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
We may require additional capital to support our growth plans, and such capital may not be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all. This could hamper our growth and adversely affect our business.
Our business generally requires significant upfront capital expenditures for software customization and implementation and systems and equipment installation and configuration. In connection with a renewal of or bid for a lottery or gaming contract, a customer may seek to impose new service requirements, which may require additional capital expenditures in order to retain or win the contract, as applicable. To the extent that we do not have sufficient liquidity levels to fund such capital expenditures, our ability to procure new contracts and renew existing contracts would depend on, among other things, our ability to obtain additional financing on commercially reasonable terms. Our ability to obtain additional capital, if and when required, will depend on, among other factors, our business plans, investor demand and the capital markets. We have historically funded our operations with, among other things, borrowings under the WH Credit Facility (as defined in Item 7.B. "Related Party Transactions"). On October 20, 2020, we entered into a loan agreement with William Hill Finance Limited, an affiliate of William Hill, which sets out amended terms and an amended repayment schedule with respect to our outstanding loans under the WH Credit Facility and prohibits us from making any additional draws under the WH Credit Facility. See Item 7.B. "Related Party Transactions - Relationship with William Hill?-?WH Credit Facility." We completed our public listing on November 23, 2020 raising a total net amount of $43 million and our total cash balance as of December 31, 2020 was approximately $59.8 million. Any financing through the sale of equity securities may dilute the value of our outstanding Ordinary Shares. Any debt financing may require us to comply with various financial covenants and may restrict our activities. We also can provide no assurance that the funds we raise will be sufficient to finance any future capital requirements. If we are unable to obtain additional capital when required on satisfactory terms, our ability to continue to grow our business could be adversely affected.
Debt & Financing - Risk 2
We have engaged in transactions with related parties, and such transactions present possible conflicts of interest that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We provide a sub-license to the NeoSphere platform to William Hill Organization Limited ("William Hill") and certain software services to Aspire. The revenues received from William Hill and Aspire amounted to approximately 18.6% of our revenues in the year ended December 31, 2020 and approximately 29.5% of our revenues in the year ended December 31, 2019. We may have achieved more favorable terms if such transactions had not been entered into with related parties. We have also entered into certain intellectual property licenses and cost-sharing arrangements with Aspire. Transactions with our significant shareholders or entities in which our significant shareholders hold ownership interests present potential for conflicts of interest, as the interests of these parties and their stockholders may not align with the interests of our shareholders.
Corporate Activity and Growth6 | 9.7%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
Should we deem it necessary or appropriate to pursue acquisitions in the future, our lack of experience in effectuating acquisitions and/or our inability to successfully complete and integrate future acquisitions could limit our future growth or otherwise be disruptive to our ongoing business.
Since our inception, we have not performed any acquisitions in support of our strategic goals, and we therefore have no experience in integration of new acquisitions. If we do decide to pursue new acquisition as part of our growth strategy, there can be no assurance that acquisition opportunities will be available on acceptable terms or at all or that we will be able to obtain necessary financing or regulatory approvals to complete potential acquisitions. Our ability to succeed in implementing our strategy will depend to some degree upon the ability of our management to identify, complete and successfully integrate commercially viable acquisitions. Acquisition transactions may disrupt our ongoing business and distract management from other responsibilities. In connection with any such acquisitions, we could face significant challenges in managing and integrating our expanded or combined operations, including acquired assets, operations, and personnel.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
Our management team does not have experience managing a public company.
Most members of our management team do not have experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies listed in the United States. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to being a public company subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the U.S. federal securities laws and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations and constituents will require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 3
Termination of our relationship with William Hill or failure to realize the anticipated benefits of such relationship could have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Pursuant to the WH Term Sheet, we granted WHG a sub-license to our NeoSphere platform to operate its U.S. iGaming business. In addition, we customize the NeoSphere platform to assist William Hill in meeting the regulatory requirements of the states in which it operates our systems. Upon a change of control of the Company, William Hill will have the right to purchase a perpetual sub-license to the NeoSphere platform and any software updates and development that we provided to WHG (the "IP Option") for a price of £15 million. We have also agreed to provide WHG with the IP Option following the completion of a four year period from the date of the WH Term Sheet. For additional information on our relationship with William Hill, see Item 7.B. "Related Party Transactions?-?Relationship with William Hill." Revenues received from William Hill in exchange for the sub-license to use the NeoSphere platform and the related services accounted for 13.6% of the Company's revenues in the year ended December 31, 2020 and 17.0% of the Company's revenues in the year ended December 31, 2019. In the event that WHG terminates the WH Term Sheet, we will cease to generate revenues from William Hill. Additionally, the termination of our strategic relationship with William Hill could be negatively perceived by the market and could harm our brand and reputation.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 4
We do not have a formal joint venture agreement or any other operating or shareholders' agreement with Pollard with respect to NPI, through which we conduct a substantial amount of our business.
Following the MSL procurement process, the Company and Pollard established NPI to pursue other iLottery opportunities in the North American market. NPI has since been awarded iLottery contracts with the Virginia Lottery (the "VAL") in August 2015, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission (the "NHL") in September 2018 (as a subcontractor to Intralot, Inc. ("Intralot")), the North Caroline Education Lottery (the "NCEL") in October 2019 and the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (the "AGLC") in March 2020. Although we and Pollard have certain rights and obligations prescribed by law as equity holders of NPI, there is no joint venture agreement, shareholders' agreement or any other type of operating agreement between us and Pollard with respect to NPI, and we and Pollard operate NPI based on a term sheet that was executed in 2014 and expired in 2015. While to date the parties have been successfully operating NPI on the basis of non-contractual understandings, the absence of a written agreement with clearly defined rights, roles and responsibilities of each party may increase the likelihood of disputes between us and Pollard and could make the outcome of any potential dispute more uncertain. Furthermore, conducting a business through a jointly-owned entity such as NPI entails risks that are commonly associated with joint ventures, including the failure to maintain a good working relationship, differing economic and business interests and goals, and liability or reputational harm resulting from each other's actions. Differences in views between us and Pollard, or a change in the ownership of Pollard, may also result in delayed decision-making or disputes at the shareholder and board level that could negatively impact the operations of NPI and its relationship with customers. Upon the termination of the Michigan JV Agreement, neither we nor Pollard will be obligated to cooperate with each other in pursuing iLottery opportunities in North America, and both we and Pollard may choose to pursue future iLottery opportunities without each other. The termination of our business relationship with Pollard would pose several potential risks for us. In the event that our relationship with Pollard is terminated, there can be no assurance that any of NPI's employees will remain with NPI. In addition, Pollard manages the procurement process, and our ability to pursue new contracts in North America may be hindered as a result of a need to build certain legal, administrative and customer relations capabilities and functions in our North American operations, which Pollard currently contributes to NPI and which we do not currently offer in North America. As such, if we pursue future opportunities alone, we cannot assure you that we will be able to secure additional contracts in North America. Further, if we decide to collaborate with new partners with whom we have no prior relationship or track record of successful cooperation, we may fail to achieve the same degree of success that we have achieved with Pollard. We may also be delayed in pursuing future opportunities if we are required to negotiate new agreements and business arrangements with these new partners, and the terms we negotiate with these new partners may be less favorable than those we currently have with Pollard.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 5
Expansion into new markets may be important to the growth of our business in the future, and if we do not manage the business and economic risks of this expansion effectively, it could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We expect to continue to expand our operations to additional U.S. states and to expand our international operations. Any new markets or countries which we attempt to access may not be receptive. For example, we may not be able to expand further in some markets if we are not able to satisfy certain government requirements. In addition, our operations in new jurisdictions subject us to risks customarily associated with such operations, including the complexity of local laws, regulations and markets, the uncertainty of enforcement of remedies in foreign jurisdictions, the impact of local labor laws and disputes, the economic, tax and regulatory policies of local governments and the ability to attract and retain key personnel in new jurisdictions. Foreign jurisdictions could impose tariffs, quotas, trade barriers, and other similar restrictions on our international sales. In addition, our ability to expand successfully involves other risks, including difficulties in integrating operations, risks associated with entering jurisdictions in which we may have little experience and the day-to-day management of a growing and increasingly geographically diverse company. Our investments in new jurisdictions often entail entering into joint ventures or other business relationships with locally-based entities, especially in jurisdictions in which governments prefer or are required to use locally-based entities. Our reliance on partnerships with locally-based entities can involve additional risks arising from our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on a partner's financial condition, inconsistency between our business interests or goals and those of our partners and disputes between us and our partners. We may not realize the operating efficiencies, competitive advantages or financial results that we anticipate from our investments in new jurisdictions and our failure to effectively manage the risks associated with our operations in new jurisdictions could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, performance and prospects. As a significant amount of our net profits and cash flows are generated outside Luxembourg, the repatriation of funds currently held in foreign jurisdictions may result in higher effective tax rates for us. In addition, there have been proposals, at international level, and in particular at the level of the OECD, to change tax laws that could significantly impact how multinational corporations, such as the Company, are taxed on foreign earnings. Although we cannot predict the certainty, timing, scope or terms of any such laws, if enacted, certain of the proposed changes, such as those seeking to limit the deferral of taxes, could have a material adverse impact on our tax expense and cash flow.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 6
We continue to incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices.
As a public company, and particularly after we are no longer an emerging growth company, we will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Nasdaq rules and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel continue to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and continue to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors. We continue to evaluate these rules and regulations and cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs. These rules and regulations are often subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We are required to comply with the SEC's rules implementing Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires management to certify financial and other information in our annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of control over financial reporting. Though we are required to disclose material changes in internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis, we will not be required to make our first annual assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC. Additionally, while we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we will be engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. We currently have limited accounting personnel and we have begun the process of evaluating the adequacy of our accounting personnel staffing level and other matters related to our internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. If we identify one or more material weaknesses, it could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. As a result, the market price of our Ordinary Shares could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the stock exchange on which our securities are listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 17/62 (27%)Above Sector Average
Regulation11 | 17.7%
Regulation - Risk 1
The Company is organized under the laws of Luxembourg and a substantial amount of its assets are not located in the United States. It may be difficult for you to obtain or enforce judgments or bring original actions against us or the members of our board of directors in the United States.
The Company is organized under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Most of the members of our board of directors, our senior management and the experts named in this Annual Report reside outside the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for you to effect service of process within the United States upon these individuals or upon us or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws against us in the United States. Awards of punitive damages in actions brought in the United States or elsewhere are generally not enforceable in Luxembourg and penalty clauses and similar clauses on damages or liquidated damages are allowed to the extent that they provide for a reasonable level of damages and the courts of Luxembourg have the right to reduce or increase the amount thereof if it is unreasonably high or low. As there is no treaty in force on the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between the United States and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, courts in Luxembourg will not automatically recognize and enforce a final judgment rendered by a U.S. court. A valid judgment obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States may be entered and enforced through a court of competent jurisdiction in Luxembourg, subject to compliance with the enforcement procedures (exequatur). The enforceability in Luxembourg courts of judgments rendered by U.S. courts will be subject, prior to any enforcement in Luxembourg, to the procedure and the conditions set forth in the Luxembourg procedural code, which conditions may include that: - the judgment of the U.S. court is final and enforceable (exécutoire) in the United States;- the U.S. court had jurisdiction over the subject matter leading to the judgment (that is, its jurisdiction was in compliance both with Luxembourg private international law rules and with the applicable domestic U.S. federal or state jurisdictional rules);- the U.S. court has applied to the dispute the substantive law that would have been applied by Luxembourg courts. Based on recent case law and legal doctrine, it is not certain that this condition would still be required for an exequatur to be granted by a Luxembourg court;- the judgment was granted following proceedings where the counterparty had the opportunity to appear and, if it appeared, to present a defense, and the decision of the foreign court must not have been obtained by fraud, but in compliance with the rights of the defendant;- the U.S. court has acted in accordance with its own procedural laws; and - the decisions and the considerations of the U.S. court must not be contrary to Luxembourg international public policy rules, must not have been given in proceedings of a tax or criminal nature and must not have been rendered subsequent to an evasion of Luxembourg law (fraude a la loi). In addition, actions brought in a Luxembourg court against us, the members of our board of directors, our officers or the experts named herein to enforce liabilities based on U.S. federal securities laws may be subject to certain restrictions. In particular, Luxembourg courts do generally not award punitive damages. It is possible that awards of damages made under civil liabilities provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws or other laws (for example, fines or punitive damages) would be classified by Luxembourg courts as being of a penal or punitive nature and would not be recognized by Luxembourg courts. Ordinarily an award of monetary damages would not be considered as a penalty, but if the monetary damages include punitive damages, such punitive damages may be considered as a penalty. Derivative actions are generally not available to shareholders under Luxembourg law. However, minority shareholders holding securities entitled to 10% of the voting rights at the general meeting that resolved on the granting of discharge to the directors may bring an action against the directors on behalf of the company. Minority shareholders holding at least 10% of the voting rights of a company may also ask the directors questions in writing concerning acts of management of the company or one of its subsidiaries, and if the company fails to answer these questions within one month, these shareholders may apply to the Luxembourg courts to appoint one or more experts instructed to submit a report on these acts of management. This provision of Luxembourg law does not apply to claims under the U.S. federal securities laws. Furthermore, consideration would be given by a Luxembourg court in summary proceedings to acts that are alleged to constitute an abuse of majority rights against the minority shareholders. Litigation in Luxembourg also is subject to rules of procedure that differ from the U.S. rules, including with respect to the taking and admissibility of evidence, the conduct of the proceedings and the allocation of costs. Proceedings in Luxembourg would have to be conducted in the French or German language, and all documents submitted to the court would, in principle, have to be translated into French or German. There exists no published case law in Luxembourg in relation to the recognition of limited recourse provisions by which a party agrees to limit its recourse against the other party to the assets available at any given point in time with such other party and there exists no published case law in Luxembourg in relation to the recognition of foreign law governed subordination provisions whereby a party agrees to subordinate its claims of another party. If a Luxembourg court had to analyze the enforceability of such provisions, it is likely that such a court would consider the position taken by Belgian and Luxembourg legal scholars according to which limited recourse provisions are enforceable against the parties thereto but not against third parties. A contractual provision allowing the service of process against a party to a service agent could be overridden by Luxembourg statutory provisions allowing the valid serving of process against a party subject to and in accordance with the laws of the country where such party is domiciled. For these reasons, it may be difficult for a U.S. investor to bring an original action in a Luxembourg court predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us, the members of our board of directors, our executive officers and the experts named in this Annual Report. In addition, even if a judgment against us, the non-U.S. members of our board of directors, senior management or the experts named in this Annual Report based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws is obtained, a U.S. investor may not be able to enforce it in U.S. or Luxembourg courts.
Regulation - Risk 2
Luxembourg and European insolvency and bankruptcy laws are substantially different than U.S. insolvency laws and may offer our shareholders less protection than they would have under U.S. insolvency and bankruptcy laws.
As a company organized under the laws of Luxembourg and with its registered office in Luxembourg, the Company is subject to Luxembourg insolvency and bankruptcy laws in the event any insolvency proceedings are initiated against us including, among other things, Council and European Parliament Regulation (EU) 2015/848 of 20 May 2015 on insolvency proceedings (recast). Should courts in another European country determine that the insolvency and bankruptcy laws of that country apply to us in accordance with and subject to such EU regulations, the courts in that country could have jurisdiction over the insolvency proceedings initiated against us. Insolvency and bankruptcy laws in Luxembourg or the relevant other European country, if any, may offer our shareholders less protection than they would have under U.S. insolvency and bankruptcy laws and make it more difficult for them to recover the amount they could expect to recover in a liquidation under U.S. insolvency and bankruptcy laws.
Regulation - Risk 3
Negative publicity concerning the gambling industry could result in increased regulations and reputational harm.
The industries in which we operate are at times subject to negative publicity with regard to harmful gambling behavior, such as addiction, gambling by minors, risks related to digital gambling and alleged association with money laundering. Publicity regarding problem gambling and other concerns with the lottery and other gambling industries, even if not directly connected to us, could adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition. For example, if the perception develops that the gaming industry is failing to address such concerns adequately, the resulting political pressure may result in the industry becoming subject to increased regulation and restrictions on operations. Such an increase in regulation could adversely impact our results of operations, business, financial condition or prospects.
Regulation - Risk 4
We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, we are not subject to U.S. proxy rules and are subject to Exchange Act reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a U.S. domestic public company.
We report under the Exchange Act as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including (1) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act, (2) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time and (3) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information. In addition, foreign private issuers are not required to file their annual report on Form 20-F as promptly as U.S. domestic issuers. In addition, we are permitted to disclose limited compensation information for our executive officers on an individual basis. Further, we are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material nonpublic information to, among others, broker-dealers and holders of a company's securities under circumstances in which it is reasonably foreseeable that the holder will trade in the company's securities on the basis of the information. These exemptions and leniencies reduce the frequency and scope of information and protections afforded to shareholders of a company that is not a foreign private issuer. Additionally, as a foreign private issuer whose shares are listed on Nasdaq, we have the option to follow certain home country corporate governance practices rather than those of Nasdaq, provided that we disclose the requirements we are not following and describe the home country practices we are following. This will be the case even if we cease to be a "controlled company" within the meaning of the Nasdaq listing standards. Subject to the controlled company exemption, we may in the future elect to follow home country practices with regard to various corporate governance requirements for which exemptions are available to foreign private issuers, including certain requirements prescribed by Nasdaq with regard to, among other things, the composition of our board of directors and shareholder approval procedures for certain dilutive events and for the adoption of, and material changes to, equity incentive plans. As a result, our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all Nasdaq corporate governance requirements. See Item 16G. "Corporate Governance."
Regulation - Risk 5
Conditions in the jurisdictions where we operate could materially and adversely affect our business.
Our offices are located in Tel Aviv, Israel, and a number of our officers and directors are living in Israel. Accordingly, political, economic and military conditions in Israel and the surrounding region may directly affect our business and operations. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have taken place between Israel and its neighboring countries. Any hostilities involving Israel could adversely affect our operations and results of operations. In addition, one of our offices is located in Kyiv, Ukraine, where a large part of our development team is located. The political and civil situation in Ukraine cannot be accurately predicted since the removal of President Yanukovych from power by the Ukrainian parliament in February 2014, which was followed by reports of Russian military activity in the Crimean region, and the election of Volodymyr Zelensky in May 2019. Ukraine's political activities remain fluid and beyond our control. While we continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine closely, any prolonged or expanded unrest, military activities, or sanctions, should they be implemented, could have a material adverse effect on our operations.
Regulation - Risk 6
We are subject to global anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
We are subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery and similar laws and regulations in the various jurisdictions in which we operate, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA"). The FCPA prohibits us and our officers, directors, employees, agents and business partners acting on our behalf, from corruptly offering, promising, authorizing or providing anything of value to a "foreign official" for the purposes of influencing official decisions or otherwise securing an improper advantage to obtain or retain business. The FCPA further requires companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges to make and keep books and records that accurately reflect transactions and dispositions of assets and to maintain a system of adequate internal accounting controls. We conduct business directly and indirectly (through third-party vendors) with U.S. and non-U.S. governments. We are also subject to governmental oversight around the world, which may bring our officers, directors, employees and business partners acting on our behalf, including agents, into contact with government officials, all of which creates compliance risks. We will implement and maintain policies and procedures designed to comply with applicable anti-corruption laws and regulations. However, we cannot provide assurance that our internal controls and compliance systems will always protect us from liability for acts committed by employees, agents or business partners of ours that would violate U.S. and/or non-U.S. laws, including the laws governing payments to government officials, bribery, fraud, kickbacks and other related laws. Any such improper actions or allegations of such acts could subject us to civil or criminal fines and penalties, disgorgement of profits, injunctions and debarment from government contracts, as well as related stockholder lawsuits and other remedial measures, all of which could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. Investigations of alleged violations can also be disruptive and cause us to incur significant legal and investigatory fees.
Regulation - Risk 7
We are subject to anti-money laundering laws and regulations in the United States and other jurisdictions in which we operate.
We are subject to reporting, recordkeeping and anti-money laundering provisions in the United States, and are subject to similar requirements in other jurisdictions in which we operate. Recently, there has been increased regulatory scrutiny by the United States and other regulators and law enforcement agencies on companies in the gaming industry and compliance with anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Anti-money laundering laws and regulations are evolving quickly and could change or could be interpreted differently in the future, or new laws and regulations could be enacted. Any determination that we have violated such laws or regulations, or any accusations of money laundering or regulatory investigations into possible money laundering activities, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows, and changes in these laws or regulations could result in increased operating costs.
Regulation - Risk 8
We may incur substantial costs in order to meet the varied and complex regulatory requirements to which we are subject in the different jurisdictions in which we operate.
The form and scope of regulatory requirements within the iLottery and iGaming industries vary by jurisdiction. This lack of uniformity can increase the costs and burden of compliance, as well as increase the difficulty associated with expansion into new jurisdictions. Regulatory frameworks associated with the iLottery and iGaming industries exist across a wide spectrum, including within particular countries. We currently operate in eleven jurisdictions and plan to expand our operations into new jurisdictions. Expansion into new jurisdictions will subject us to a wider range of different, and potentially conflicting, regulatory requirements, which may cause it to incur increased costs and expend a greater degree of time in ensuring compliance. Our business and operations may be adversely affected by inaccurate predictions of the financial cost and administrative burden of compliance in connection with expansion into new jurisdictions. Further, the likelihood of noncompliance may be heightened in the event of expansion, which could result in payment of liquidated damages or termination of contracts in the event of material noncompliance.
Regulation - Risk 9
Failure to comply with regulations may result in the revocation or suspension of our or certain of our customers' respective licenses to operate.
Our and our customers' respective licenses to operate are subject to suspension or revocation by applicable regulatory authorities as a result of noncompliance with applicable regulatory requirements. In the event of our noncompliance, such authorities may pursue enforcement proceedings against us or certain of our customers. We can provide no assurance as to whether such proceedings would be likely to result in a favorable outcome. Further, such proceedings, irrespective of their outcome, may cause us or our customers to incur substantial costs, require operational changes and result in reputational damage, among other negative impacts, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Regulation - Risk 10
Changing enforcement of the Wire Act may negatively impact our and our customers' operations, business, financial condition or prospects.
The Wire Act of 1961 (the "Wire Act") provides that anyone engaged in the business of betting or wagering that knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, will be fined or imprisoned, or both. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice (the "DoJ") issued an opinion (the "2011 Opinion") to the effect that the conduct prohibited by the Wire Act was limited to sports gambling. In January 2019, the DoJ published an opinion (the "2019 Opinion") reversing that position. As a result of the 2019 Opinion, NPI, along with the NHL and Pollard, commenced litigation in federal district court in New Hampshire challenging the 2019 Opinion. In June 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire ruled that the Wire Act is only applicable to sports betting and related activities (the "NH Decision"). The NH Decision also set aside the 2019 Opinion, leaving the 2011 Opinion as the DoJ's only stated opinion on the subject. The DoJ appealed the NH Decision in October 2019, and a hearing on the appeal took place in June 2020. In January 2021, the federal Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the appeal by DoJ seeking to uphold the 2019 Opinion. By denying the appeal, the Court confirmed the previous 2011 Opinion, which concluded that the Act applies only to sports betting. The case may eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, however this will depend on the position of the new U.S. administration on the issue. At this stage, it is not clear whether our U.S. state lottery customers will be impacted if the Wire Act is held to extend to state lotteries. A judgment broadly interpreting the Wire Act to prohibit activities in which we, NPI and our customers are engaged, followed by a decision of the DoJ to apply that judgment to U.S. state lotteries, could result in some or all U.S. states suspending or terminating their online lotteries, or deciding not to launch an iLottery, major restructuring of operations at our expense (including relocation of components of the electronic solution or servers), financial institutions withdrawing payment platforms and/or a loss of personnel unwilling to operate under a different regulatory regime. In addition, we could be subject to investigations, criminal and civil penalties, sanctions and/or other remedial measures. In addition, we may be required to substantially change the way in which we conduct our business. Any of these results could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, business, financial condition, or prospects.
Regulation - Risk 11
The gaming and lottery industries are heavily regulated, and changes to the regulatory framework in the jurisdictions in which we operate could harm our existing operations.
We and our customers are subject to extensive laws and regulations, which vary across the jurisdictions in which we and they operate. The regulatory environment, including lottery and gaming laws, in any particular jurisdiction may change in the future, which may limit some or all of our or our customers' existing operations in such jurisdiction. There can be no assurance that our and our customers' existing operations, or the iLottery industry as a whole, in such jurisdictions will continue to be permitted. Further, even if we are still permitted to operate in a given jurisdiction, regulations may be imposed that make continued operations cost-prohibitive. We may become subject to additional regulations in any new jurisdiction in which we decide to operate in the future. The complexity of the regulatory environment may create challenges for us with respect to our ability to comply with applicable regulations, renew contracts, pursue tender offers and otherwise develop our business. We may not be able to capitalize on the expansion of internet use and other changes in the lottery industry as a consequence of lack of legislative approvals, changes in regulations or regulatory uncertainty. We aim to take advantage of the liberalization of internet and mobile gaming, both within the United States and internationally. These industries involve significant risks and uncertainty, including legal, business and financial risks. This dynamic environment can make it difficult to plan strategically and can provide opportunities for competitors to grow revenues at our expense. Our ability to successfully pursue interactive lottery and gaming strategies depends on the regulation of gambling through online channels. Regulations and laws relating to internet gaming are evolving and we cannot predict the timing, scope or terms of any such state, federal or foreign regulations, or the extent to which any such regulations will facilitate or hinder our interactive strategies. Any such changes to regulations or laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities2 | 3.2%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
We are subject to substantial penalties for failure to perform.
Our lottery contracts in the United States and in other jurisdictions and other service contracts often require performance bonds or letters of credit to secure our performance under such contracts and require us to pay substantial monetary liquidated damages in the event of non-performance by us. As of December 31, 2020, we had outstanding performance bonds and letters of credit in an aggregate amount of approximately $3.8 million. These instruments present a potential expense for us and divert financial resources from other uses. Claims on performance bonds, drawings on letters of credit, and payment of liquidated damages could individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, business, financial condition or prospects.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 2
We may become subject to litigation, from which we could incur significant monetary and reputational harm, irrespective of the merit of such claim or outcome of such litigation.
There is a risk that we may become subject to litigation and other claims and disputes in the ordinary course of business, including contractual disputes and indemnity claims, misleading and deceptive conduct claims, employment-related claims, and intellectual property disputes and claims, including those based on allegations of infringement, misappropriations or other violations of intellectual property rights. We may incur significant expense defending or settling such litigation. Any litigation to which we are a party may result in an onerous or unfavorable judgment that may not be reversed upon appeal, or in payments of substantial monetary damages or fines, the posting of bonds requiring significant collateral, letters of credit or similar instruments, or we may decide to settle lawsuits on similarly unfavorable terms. These proceedings could also result in reputational harm, criminal sanctions, consent decrees or orders preventing us from offering certain products or requiring a change in our business practices in costly ways or requiring development of non-infringing or otherwise altered products or technologies. Litigation and other claims and regulatory proceedings against us could result in unexpected disciplinary actions, expenses and liabilities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Taxation & Government Incentives3 | 4.8%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
We are exposed to costs associated with changes in levies and taxes.
We must comply with tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Tax rules or their interpretation may change in the markets in which we operate and in any markets we may enter in the future. Any changes to the corporate tax rate application in different jurisdictions, withholding taxes, transfer pricing rules, levels of value added tax, industry specific taxes and other levies, royalties and imposts could materially and adversely affect our financial position, performance and prospects. For example, there is a risk that we will not be able to pass on to our customers any additional gaming levies or taxes that apply to us. In addition, certain of our positions regarding the taxes that apply to us in the different jurisdictions in which we operate may not be accepted by the tax authorities in such jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our financial condition.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 2
We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company, as well as a controlled foreign corporation, which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to United States Holders (as defined below) of our Ordinary Shares.
We would be classified as a passive foreign investment company ("PFIC") for any taxable year if, after the application of certain look-through rules, either: (i) 75% or more of our gross income for such year is "passive income" (as defined in the relevant provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (as defined below)), or (ii) 50% or more of the value of our gross assets (generally determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income. Based on our market capitalization and the composition of our income, assets and operations, we believe we were not a PFIC for the year ending December 31, 2020 and do not expect to be a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes for the current taxable year or in the foreseeable future. However, this is a factual determination that must be made annually after the close of each taxable year. Moreover, the aggregate value of our assets for purposes of the PFIC determination may be determined by reference to the trading price of our Ordinary Shares, which could fluctuate significantly. Therefore, there can be no assurance that we will not be classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or in the future. United States Holders should consult their tax advisers regarding the application of these rules. Certain adverse United States federal income tax consequences could apply to a United States Holder if we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year during which such United States Holder holds our Ordinary Shares. See Item 10.E. "Taxation?-?Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations for United States Holders?-?Passive Foreign Investment Company."
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 3
We are dependent on Pollard with respect to our joint operation of the iLottery for the Michigan State Lottery.
We act as a subcontractor to Pollard with respect to its agreement to provide development, implementation, operational support and maintenance (including technology platforms, games and added value services) to the Michigan State Lottery ("MSL" and the "MSL Agreement"). The Michigan iLottery accounted for 54.5% of our revenues in the year ended December 31, 2020 and 40.2% of our revenues in the year ended December 31, 2019. If Pollard breaches or does not perform its obligations under the MSL Agreement to the satisfaction of the MSL or if there is otherwise a dispute between Pollard and the MSL, the MSL could seek to terminate the MSL Agreement prior to its expiration or seek to amend the terms of the MSL Agreement in a manner that would negatively impact the financial and other benefits we derive indirectly from the MSL Agreement. In addition, such an amendment to the MSL Agreement could cause Pollard to seek to amend the terms of our agreement with Pollard with respect to the MSL (the "Michigan JV Agreement") in a way that is less favorable to us. If the MSL terminates the MSL Agreement or if any disputes arise between Pollard and the MSL, our business, financial conditions and results of operations could be adversely affected as a result of our association with Pollard and the MSL.
Environmental / Social1 | 1.6%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
We are subject to laws and regulations related to data privacy, data protection and information security and consumer protection across different markets where we conduct our business, including in the United States and the European Union ("EU"), and we are also required to comply with certain industry standards including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm our business.
In the United States and other jurisdictions in which we operate, we are subject to various consumer protection laws and related regulations. If we are found to have breached any consumer protection laws or regulations in any such jurisdiction, we may be subject to enforcement actions that require us to change our business practices in a manner which may negatively impact our revenues, as well as expose us to litigation, fines, civil and/or criminal penalties and adverse publicity that could cause our customers to lose trust in us, negatively impacting our reputation and business in a manner that harms our financial position. As part of our business and on behalf of our customers, we collect information about individuals, also referred to as personal data, and other potentially sensitive and/or regulated data. Laws and regulations in the United States and around the world restrict how personal data is collected, processed, stored, used and disclosed, as well as set standards for its security, implement notice requirements regarding privacy practices, and provide individuals with certain rights regarding the use, disclosure and sale of their protected personal data. In the United States, both the federal and various state governments have adopted or are considering, laws, guidelines or rules for the collection, distribution, use and storage of information collected from or about consumers or their devices. For example, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (the "CCPA"), which came into force in 2020. The CCPA creates individual privacy rights for California residents and increases the privacy and security obligations of businesses handling personal data. The CCPA is enforceable by the California Attorney General and there is also a private right of action relating to certain data security incidents. Additionally, the California Privacy Rights Act (the "CPRA") which was approved on November 3, 2020 imposes additional data protection obligations on companies doing business in California, including additional consumer rights processes and opt outs for certain uses of sensitive data. Further, on March 2, 2021, Virginia enacted the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act ("CDPA"), a comprehensive privacy statute that shares similarities with the CCPA, CPRA, and legislation proposed in other states. Similar laws have been proposed in other states and at the federal level, reflecting a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States. If we become subject to laws, guidelines or rules such as the CCPA, CRPA or CDPA, we may be required to modify our data collection or processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply and increase our potential exposure to regulatory enforcement and/or litigation. Several foreign jurisdictions, including the EU and the European Economic Area ("EEA"), have laws and regulations which are more restrictive in certain respects than those in the United States. For example, in the EU we are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the "GDPR") in relation to our collection, control, processing, sharing, disclosure and other use of data relating to an identifiable living individual (personal data). The GDPR, and national implementing legislation in EEA Member States, impose a strict data protection compliance regime including: providing detailed disclosures about how personal data is collected and processed (in a concise, intelligible and easily accessible form); granting new rights for data subjects in regard to their personal data (including the right to be "forgotten" and the right to data portability), as well as enhancing current rights (e.g., data subject access requests); requirements to have data processing agreements in place to govern the processing of personal data on behalf of other organizations; introducing the obligation to notify data protection regulators or supervisory authorities (and in certain cases, affected individuals) of significant data breaches; maintaining a record of data processing; and complying with the principal of accountability and the obligation to demonstrate compliance through policies, procedures, training and audit. We are also subject to EU rules with respect to cross-border transfers of personal data out of the EEA. Recent legal developments in Europe have created complexity and uncertainty regarding transfers of personal data from the EEA to the United States. Most recently, on July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU (the "CJEU") invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework (the "Privacy Shield") under which personal data could be transferred from the EEA to U.S. entities who had self-certified under the Privacy Shield scheme. While the CJEU upheld the adequacy of the standard contractual clauses (a standard form of contract approved by the European Commission as an adequate personal data transfer mechanism, and potential alternative to the Privacy Shield), it made clear that reliance on these clauses alone may not necessarily be sufficient in all circumstances. Use of the standard contractual clauses must now be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the legal regime applicable in the destination country, in particular applicable surveillance laws and rights of individuals and additional measures and/or contractual provisions may need to be put in place, however, the nature of these additional measures is currently uncertain. The CJEU went on to state that if a competent supervisory authority believes that the standard contractual clauses cannot be complied with in the destination country and the required level of protection cannot be secured by other means, such supervisory authority is under an obligation to suspend or prohibit that transfer. We have relied and currently rely on standard contractual clauses to transfer personal data outside the EU, including to the U.S. among other data transfer mechanisms pursuant to the GDPR, such as transfer to jurisdictions recognized by the European Commission as providing sufficient safeguards for the processing of personal data (adequacy decision). We have previously relied on our relevant providers for the purposes of transferring personal data from the EU to the U.S. in compliance with the GDPR's data export conditions. These recent developments may require us to review and amend the legal mechanisms by which we make and/or receive personal data transfers to/in the U.S. As supervisory authorities issue further guidance on personal data export mechanisms, including circumstances where the standard contractual clauses cannot be used, and/or start taking enforcement action, we could suffer additional costs, complaints and/or regulatory investigations or fines, and/or if we are otherwise unable to transfer personal data between and among countries and regions in which we operate, it could affect the manner in which we provide our services, the geographical location or segregation of our relevant systems and operations, and could adversely affect our financial results. We depend on a number of third parties in relation to the operation of our business, a number of which process personal data on our behalf. With each such provider we attempt to mitigate the associated risks of using third parties by performing security assessments and detailed due diligence, entering into contractual arrangements to ensure that providers only process personal data according to our instructions, and that they have sufficient technical and organizational security measures in place. Where we transfer personal data outside the EU or the United Kingdom to such third parties, we do so in compliance with the relevant data export requirements, as described above. There is no assurance that these contractual measures and our own privacy and security-related safeguards will protect us from the risks associated with the third-party processing, storage and transmission of such information. Any violation of data or security laws by our third-party processors could have a material adverse effect on our business and result in the fines and penalties outlined below. We also act as a data processor on behalf of our customers and have data protection obligations to our customers, including in relation to notifying customers if we suffer a personal data breach, assisting customers with data subject rights requests in relation to the personal data we process, requirements for the use of sub-processors and restrictions on transferring personal data outside of the EU. We are subject to the supervision of local data protection authorities in those EU jurisdictions where we are established or otherwise subject to the GDPR. Fines for certain breaches of the GDPR are significant, such as an amount equal to the greater of €20 million or 4% of total global annual turnover. In addition to the foregoing, a breach of the GDPR could result in regulatory investigations, reputational damage, orders to cease/ change our processing of our data, enforcement notices, and/or assessment notices (for a compulsory audit). We may also face civil claims including representative actions and other class action type litigation (where individuals have suffered harm), potentially amounting to significant compensation or damages liabilities, as well as associated costs, diversion of internal resources, and reputational harm. We are also subject to evolving EU privacy laws on cookies and e-marketing. In the EU, regulators are increasingly focusing on compliance with requirements in the online behavioral advertising ecosystem, and current national laws that implement the ePrivacy Directive will be replaced by an EU regulation known as the ePrivacy Regulation which will significantly increase fines for non-compliance. In the EU, informed consent is required for the placement of a cookie or similar technologies on a user's device and for direct electronic marketing. The GDPR also imposes conditions on obtaining valid consent, such as a prohibition on pre-checked consents and a requirement to ensure separate consents are sought for each type of cookie or similar technology. While the text of the ePrivacy Regulation is still under development, a recent European court decision and regulators' recent guidance are driving increased attention to cookies and tracking technologies. If regulators start to enforce the strict approach in recent guidance, this could lead to substantial costs, require significant systems changes, limit the effectiveness of our marketing activities, divert the attention of our technology personnel, adversely affect our margins, increase costs and subject us to additional liabilities. Regulation of cookies and similar technologies, and any decline of cookies or similar online tracking technologies as a means to identify and potentially target individuals, may lead to broader restrictions and impairments on our marketing and personalization activities and may negatively impact our efforts to understand users. Restrictions on the collection, use, sharing or disclosure of personal data or additional requirements and liability for security and data integrity could require us to modify our solutions and features, possibly in a material manner, could limit our ability to develop new products and features and could subject us to increased compliance obligations and regulatory scrutiny. These laws and regulations constantly evolve and remain subject to significant change. In addition, the application and interpretation of these laws and regulations are often uncertain. New privacy laws add additional complexity, requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment in resources to compliance programs, and could impact trading strategies and availability of previously useful data. Such new laws may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment in resources to compliance programs, and could impact strategies and availability of previously useful data and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices and policies. We are also subject to payment card association operating rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (the "PCI DSS"), a security standard applicable to companies that collect, store or transmit certain data regarding credit and debit cards, holders and transactions. Any failure to comply with the PCI DSS may violate payment card association operating rules, federal and state laws and regulations, and the terms of our contracts with payment processors and merchant banks. Such failure to comply may result in the loss of our ability to accept credit and debit card payments, subject us to fines, penalties and damages. In addition, there is no guarantee that PCI DSS compliance will prevent illegal or improper use of our payment systems or the theft, loss or misuse of data pertaining to credit and debit cards, credit and debit card holders, and credit and debit card transactions.
Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 11/62 (18%)Above Sector Average
Competition3 | 4.8%
Competition - Risk 1
Intense competition exists in the iLottery industry, and we expect competition to continue to intensify.
We face significant competition in the evolving iLottery industry. We compete in the iLottery market with respect to our offering of technology solutions, games and related operational services on the basis of the content, features, quality, functionality, accuracy, reliability, innovation and price of such offerings. If we do not consistently deliver innovative, high-quality and reliable products and services, our ability to remain viable within the iLottery industry may suffer, especially as the level of competition increases. Some of our competitors and potential competitors have substantially greater financial and other resources (including human resources) or experience than we do. Some of our competitors also have existing relationships and insight as the legacy retail lottery provider of certain U.S. states and may realize synergies that we cannot. Competitors may devote more resources towards developing and testing products and services, undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, offer more favorable pricing terms, pursue aggressive growth initiatives or otherwise develop more commercially successful products or services. In addition, certain of our competitors may enter into contracts with less favorable terms to prevent us from procuring new contracts or renewing our existing contracts. Such potential competitive disadvantages may make it difficult for us to retain existing contracts or secure new contracts without being willing to accept significantly less favorable terms. In addition to risks directly tied to our relative lack of resources, experience and longevity, we face risks that: - we may fail to anticipate and adapt to changes in customer expectations at the same rate as our competitors;- customers who currently utilize platforms offered by our competitors may be satisfied with such solutions or may determine that it is too costly and/or time consuming to adopt our platform and solutions. Lotteries may face significant switching costs if their platforms have been integrated with those of a competitor, potentially reducing the likelihood of us being the successful tenderer;- lotteries that we currently view as potential customers may decide to develop internally products and services which compete with our products and services; and - new competitors, including large global corporations or large software vendors operating in adjacent industries, may enter our market. Moreover, current and future competitors may establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with others, including our current or future strategic partners. By doing so, these competitors may increase their ability to meet the needs of our existing and prospective customers and their players. These developments could make it more difficult for us to renew our existing contracts or win new contracts. If we are unable to compete effectively, successfully and at reasonable cost against our existing and future competitors, our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely impacted.
Competition - Risk 2
In addition to competition with other iLottery providers, we and our customers also compete with providers of other online offerings.
In addition to competition from iLottery providers, we also face competition from providers of other online offerings, including iGaming, sports betting, mobile games and eSports. While we believe that our customers' iLottery offerings target different players and provide a differentiated experience than these other online offerings, the introduction of such offerings may allow new competitors to establish a foothold in regions where we currently provide the iLottery offering. For example, on January 22, 2021, iGaming and online sports betting was launched in Michigan. The Michigan iLottery accounted for approximately 54.5% of our revenues in the year ended December 31, 2020 and approximately 40.2% of our revenues in the year ended December 31, 2019, and the introduction of other online gaming offerings, which is typically accompanied by significant marketing efforts to attract players, may adversely affect the revenue of the Michigan iLottery program, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
Competition - Risk 3
Our existing and future contractual arrangements could restrict our ability to compete effectively, which may affect our ability to grow our business and enter into new markets.
From time to time, we enter into contractual agreements that contain restrictive covenants (such as non-compete, exclusivity and license agreements) that restrict us from entering into new markets to which we may desire to expand our businesses. Our contractual arrangements with Pollard, Aspire and William Hill contain certain provisions that may restrict our ability to grow our business, enter into new markets and compete effectively. Pursuant to the Michigan JV Agreement, until its expiration, we are restricted from exploring any opportunities for further marketing, distribution and exploitation of our internet lottery, scratch cards, instant win games and slots and other online games to other national and state lotteries in the United States and Canada without Pollard. Both the Company and Pollard have the exclusive and pre-emptive right to exploit any and all such additional opportunities that may be conceived, and the participation of NPI in any such additional opportunity is subject to mutual approval of the Company and Pollard. Accordingly, as long as the Michigan JV Agreement remains in effect, the Company is unable to independently pursue any such opportunities, enter into agreements with additional lotteries in the United States and Canada or enter into new partnerships in the United States and Canada. This may negatively impact the future growth of our business or cause our business, financial conditions and results of operations to be harmed. Additionally, pursuant to the Aspire Software License Agreement, Aspire granted NeoGames a license to use Mixed-Use Software for certain purposes. However, the Aspire Software License Agreement, restricts NeoGames from using the Mixed-Use Software to (i) design, develop or implement casino and slot games for games aggregators and (ii) design, develop and implement games content for customers who are platform providers or white-label companies which are competitors of Aspire. See Item 7.B. "Related Party Transactions - Relationship with Aspire?-?Aspire Software License Agreement." While we have only focused on the iLottery business to date, these restrictions may limit our ability to enter into the market of casino, slot games and sports betting in the future and may affect our ability to expand our customer base. Further, pursuant to a binding term sheet entered into in 2018 (the "WH Term Sheet") with WHG (International) Ltd. ("WHG"), an affiliate of William Hill, we are prohibited from using the NeoSphere platform to compete with WHG in the B2C sports betting industry in the United States. While this has not impeded our ability to grow our business to date, it may limit our ability to expand into the B2C sports betting market in the future. To the extent that such restrictive contractual provisions prevent us from taking advantage of business opportunities, our business, financial position and cash flows may be adversely affected.
Demand1 | 1.6%
Demand - Risk 1
A reduction in discretionary consumer spending could have an adverse impact on our business.
Lottery and gaming represent discretionary expenditures, which are subject to volatility during times of economic, social and political change. Changes in discretionary spending or player preferences are driven by changes outside of our control, such as, but not limited to, the following economic or socio-political factors: - recessions or other economic slowdowns;- perceptions by potential players of weak or weakening economic conditions;- tax increases, including on lottery winnings;- significant declines in stock markets;- decreased liquidity in certain financial markets;- general tightening of credit;- civil unrest, terrorist activities or other forms of socio-political turbulence; and - pandemics, epidemics and the spread of contagious diseases. We generate the majority of our revenues from customer contracts based on a revenue sharing model, with our portion calculated as a percentage of GGR or NGR. Widespread reductions in disposable income could lead to a reduction in the number of lottery players and the amounts such players are willing and able to wager. Given the nature of our revenue sharing arrangements, fewer players and lower spending per player could have a significant adverse effect on our business. Because our customers' offerings are typically available only to players within their geographic borders, our revenue is highly concentrated in a limited number of locations. A significant portion of our revenue is generated from the Michigan iLottery, and any adverse impact resulting from any of the foregoing economic factors would be magnified to the extent that it disproportionately impacts players in Michigan or other jurisdictions from which we derive revenues. As our revenue sharing arrangements result in an intertwined relationship between our and our customers' financial condition, we also face significant risks during times of uncertain and unfavorable economic and socio-political conditions affecting our customers. Unfavorable economic and socio-political factors and conditions could result in budgetary and liquidity concerns for our customers, which may reduce the likelihood that we will be able to renew our existing contracts on substantially similar commercial terms or win new contracts with terms as favorable to us as the terms of our existing contracts.
Sales & Marketing6 | 9.7%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
We incur significant costs related to the procurement of new contracts, which we may be unable to recover in a timely manner, or at all.
The tender process to obtain a new contract is highly competitive and typically requires a significant upfront capital investment. The efforts and resources required to participate and win a request for proposal, commence operations of an iLottery program and procure revenues from that program is relatively long and may take several months or years to complete. This investment, which includes our management's time, may never be recovered in the event that we fail in our bid. A typical request for proposals or a tender requires us to spend substantial time and effort assisting potential customers in evaluating our products and services, including providing demonstrations and benchmarking against other available offerings by our competitors. This process can be costly and time consuming, and we often do not know if any given sales efforts will be successful until the latter stages of those efforts. After being awarded a contract, it can take years to set up the iLottery system and for the contract to become profitable. The long procurement cycle creates a significant time gap between the time we participate in a tender and dedicate the necessary resources, and the time we can recognize revenue or income from that program, if at all. This time gap creates pressure on our cash flow, as it requires significant funding up front, and in the interim period, and may not result in any income, or result in income that will only be achieved quarters after the resources have been dedicated. If we are unable to forecast market demand and conditions, we may not be able to expand our sales efforts at appropriate times and our revenues and related results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 2
The growth of our business largely depends on our continued ability to procure new contracts.
While much of our revenue growth over the past few years has come from increasing NGR generated by the Michigan iLottery, and we expect the Michigan iLottery to continue to account for a large portion of our revenues, the addition of new iLottery contracts has recently begun to contribute substantially to the growth of our business. In particular, NPI began recognizing revenues from new turnkey contracts supporting the NHL and the NCEL in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and these two contracts accounted collectively for 56.1% of NPI's revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020. We may not continue to procure new customer contracts at the same rate as in the past, or at all. There can be no assurance that additional U.S. states will seek to implement iLottery offerings or that U.S. states seeking to implement iLottery offerings will do so through a process in which NPI can compete to be the turnkey solution provider. In particular, certain of our competitors currently serve as central lottery system providers for certain U.S. states, and if these states decide to implement iLottery offerings, they may choose to do so by expanding their existing relationships with our competitors without launching a public procurement process or by including iLottery in a broader lottery system procurement process in which we may not be able to successfully compete. Even if additional U.S. states seek to implement iLottery offerings through a public procurement process, there can be no assurance that NPI will procure any new contracts. Our failure to win new contracts could materially limit the growth of our business.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 3
The illegal gaming market could negatively affect our business.
A significant threat to the lottery and gaming industry arises from illegal activities. Such illegal activities may drain significant betting volumes away from the regulated industry. In particular, illegal gaming could take away a portion of the present players that are the focus of our business. The loss of such players could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, business, financial condition or prospects. Further, public trust is critical to the long-term success of regulated gaming, including lottery. Illegal gaming activities could impact the reputation of our customers, which would have an adverse impact on their revenues and our revenues.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 4
We have a concentrated customer base, and our failure to retain our existing contracts with our customers could have a significant adverse effect on our business.
Our financial condition is heavily dependent on our ability to maintain our existing turnkey contracts and our large games contracts. We cannot guarantee that our existing contracts will be renewed or that we will be able to win a procurement process for a new contract. As is typical with many government contracts, most of our customers can terminate our contracts for convenience. Loss of any of our customer contracts would result in a substantial decline in our revenues, which also could hinder our ability to pursue growth initiatives, both in the form of new or enhanced products and services and in expansion into new markets. The loss of any of our customers could damage our reputation, which could materially damage our financial condition.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 5
If we fail to detect fraud or theft, including by our employees and our customers and their players, our reputation may suffer which could harm our brand and negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations and subject us to investigations and litigation.
We may incur losses, whether directly or indirectly through our revenue share with our customers, from various types of financial fraud, including use of stolen or fraudulent credit card data, claims of unauthorized payments by our customers' players and attempted payments by such players with insufficient funds. Bad actors use increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal activities involving personal data, such as unauthorized use of another person's identity, account information or payment information and unauthorized acquisition or use of credit or debit card details, bank account information and mobile phone numbers and accounts. Acts of fraud may involve various tactics, including collusion. Successful exploitation of our systems could have negative effects on our product offerings, services and player experience and could harm our reputation. Failure to discover such acts or schemes in a timely manner could result in harm to our operations. In addition, negative publicity related to such schemes could have an adverse effect on our reputation, potentially causing a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In the event of the occurrence of any such issues with our existing platform or product offerings, substantial engineering and marketing resources and management attention, may be diverted from other projects to correct these issues, which may delay other projects and the achievement of our strategic objectives. In addition, any misappropriation of, or access to, players' or other proprietary information or other breach of our information security could result in legal claims or legal proceedings, including regulatory investigations and actions, or liability for failure to comply with privacy and information security laws, including for failure to protect personal data or for misusing personal data, which could disrupt our operations, force us to modify our business practices, damage our reputation and expose us to claims from our customers, their players, regulators, employees and other persons, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We cannot guarantee that any measures we have taken or may take in the future to detect and reduce the occurrence of fraudulent or other malicious activity on our platform will be effective or will scale efficiently with our business. Our failure to adequately detect or prevent fraudulent transactions could harm our reputation or brand, result in litigation or regulatory action and lead to expenses that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 6
We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses.
As discussed above, we are a foreign private issuer, and therefore, we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. The determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuer's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to us on June 30, 2021. In the future, we would lose our foreign private issuer status if (1) more than 50% of our outstanding voting securities are owned by U.S. residents and (2) a majority of our directors or executive officers are U.S. citizens or residents, or we fail to meet additional requirements necessary to avoid loss of foreign private issuer status. If we lose our foreign private issuer status, we will be required to file with the SEC periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We will also have to mandatorily comply with U.S. federal proxy requirements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders will become subject to the short-swing profit disclosure and recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements under the Nasdaq rules. As a U.S.-listed public company that is not a foreign private issuer, we will incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we will not incur as a foreign private issuer.
Brand / Reputation1 | 1.6%
Brand / Reputation - Risk 1
We are subject to risks related to corporate social responsibility, responsible lottery and gaming, reputation and ethical conduct.
Many factors affect our reputation and the value of our brand, including the perception held by our customers, business partners, investors, other key stakeholders and the communities in which we operate, such as our social responsibility, corporate governance and responsible lottery practices. We have faced, and will likely continue to face, increased scrutiny related to social, governance and responsible lottery and gaming activities, and our reputation and the value of our brands can be materially adversely harmed if we fail to act responsibly in a number of areas, such as diversity and inclusion, workplace conduct, responsible gaming, human rights, philanthropy and support for local communities. Any harm to our reputation could impact employee engagement and retention and the willingness of customers and partners to do business with us, which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operations and cash flows. We believe that our reputation is critical to our role as a leader in the iLottery and gaming industries and as a publicly traded company. Our management is heavily focused on the integrity of our directors, officers, senior management, employees, other personnel and third-party suppliers and partners. Illegal, unethical or fraudulent activities perpetrated by any of such individuals, suppliers or partners for personal gain could expose us to potential reputational damage and financial loss.
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 7/62 (11%)Above Sector Average
Trade Secrets3 | 4.8%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
The gaming industry is historically litigious with respect to intellectual property and there can be no assurance that our platforms will not infringe on the rights of others.
There is a risk that our operations, platforms and services may infringe, or be alleged to infringe, the intellectual property rights of third parties. We may incur substantial expenses in defending against third-party infringement claims, regardless of their merit. Additionally, due to diversion of management time, expenses required to defend against any claim and the potential liability associated with any lawsuit, any litigation could significantly harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we were found to have infringed the intellectual property rights of a third party, we could be liable for license fees, royalty payments, lost profits or other damages, and may be subject to injunctive relief to prevent us from using such intellectual property rights in the future. Such liability (if significant) or injunctive relief could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Trade Secrets - Risk 2
We rely on third-party intellectual property. We cannot guarantee that such intellectual property will continue to be available.
We rely on third-party technologies, trademarks and other intellectual property. There can be no assurance that these licenses, or support for such licensed products and technology, will continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, the future success of our business may depend, in part, on our ability to obtain or expand licenses for lottery or gaming technologies we do not currently possess. In the event that we cannot retain, renew or expand existing licenses, we may be required to modify, limit or discontinue certain of our products or services, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the regulatory review process and licensing requirements of our government customers may preclude us from using technologies owned or developed by third parties if those parties are unwilling to subject themselves to regulatory review or do not meet regulatory requirements. While we own most of the software in our platform, we license certain core legacy software from Aspire, as further described in Item 7.B. "Related Party Transactions." The Aspire Software License Agreement does not prohibit Aspire from depositing the source code of the software licensed to us with an escrow agent. While Aspire has not yet done this, if Aspire were to do so and a release event were to occur, Aspire's third-party designees would gain rights and access to source code that is material to our business which could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. The Aspire Software License Agreement also allows both Aspire and the Company to develop modifications to the Mixed-Use Software, and any modifications developed by the Company or Aspire are owned by the developing party and licensed to the other party for certain purposes. This results in a risk to the confidentiality and exclusivity of any modifications and improvements we may create to such software. As part of our effort to migrate off of using any Mixed-Use Software in our product and service offerings, we are currently adopting a "microservice" approach pursuant to which we have different software modules for each product and service. We may encounter technological challenges that render such transition impossible, or may determine that such transition is too costly or time intensive to complete. The result might be that we need to continue to rely on the Mixed-Use Software. Although our license from Aspire for the Mixed-Use Software is exclusive, perpetual and irrevocable, Aspire could argue that certain uses we are making of the Mixed-Use Software are outside of the scope of the license. In addition, if our license from Aspire were found to be invalid or not perpetual for any reason, this could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
If we fail to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, our business could be materially affected.
We rely on a combination of trademark, copyright, trade secret, and domain-name-protection laws as well as contractual restrictions to protect our technology and intellectual property rights. While it is our policy to protect and defend our rights to our intellectual property, we cannot predict whether steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property will be adequate to prevent infringement, misappropriation, dilution or other violation of our intellectual property rights. Effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country in which we operate or intend to operate our business. Third parties may infringe our proprietary rights (knowingly or unknowingly) and challenge proprietary rights held by us, and any potential future trademark and patent applications may not be approved. In any of these cases, we may be required to expend significant time and expense to prevent infringement or to enforce our rights. We also cannot guarantee that others will not independently develop technology with the same or similar functions to any proprietary technology we rely on to conduct our business and differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to copy or obtain and use our technology to develop offerings with the same functionality as our solutions, and policing unauthorized use of our technology and intellectual property rights is difficult and may not be effective. Any unauthorized use of our brand, technology or intellectual property could result in revenue loss as well as have an adverse impact on our reputation. We may be required to incur significant expenses in registering, monitoring and protecting our intellectual property rights. Any litigation could result in significant expense to us, including the diversion of management time and may not ultimately be resolved in our favor. Changes in the law or adverse court rulings may also negatively affect our ability to prevent others from using our technology. We attempt to protect our intellectual property, technology and confidential information by requiring certain of our employees and consultants to enter into confidentiality and assignment of inventions agreements and certain third parties to enter into nondisclosure agreements. These agreements may not effectively grant all necessary rights to any inventions or works that may have been developed or created by the employees or consultants party thereto. In addition, these agreements may not effectively prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information, intellectual property or technology and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information, intellectual property, or technology. We currently hold rights to the neogames.com internet domain name and various other related domain names. The regulation of domain names is subject to change. Regulatory bodies could establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars, or modify the requirements for holding domain names. In addition, third parties may already have registered, or may register in the future, domain names similar or identical to our registered and unregistered trademarks. As a result, we may not be able to acquire or maintain all domain names that use the name neogames or are otherwise important for our business. We also have certain registered and unregistered trademarks that are important to our business, such as the NEOGAMES trademark. If we fail to adequately protect or enforce our rights under this trademark, we may lose the ability to use this trademark or to prevent others from using it, which could adversely harm our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition. Our software, games and marketing materials are protected in these works with copyright law, and some also benefit from trade secret protection. We have chosen not to register any copyrights under the Library of Congress. In order to bring a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States, the copyright must be registered. Accordingly, the remedies and damages available to us for unauthorized use of our software, games and materials may be limited.
Cyber Security1 | 1.6%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
Our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions.
The secure maintenance and transmission of player information is a critical element of our operations. Our information technology and other systems that maintain and transmit player information, or those of service providers, business partners or employee information may be compromised by a malicious third-party penetration of our network security, or that of a third-party service provider or business partner, or impacted by intentional or unintentional actions or inactions by our employees, or those of a third-party service provider or business partner. As a result, our players' information may be lost, disclosed, accessed or taken without their consent. We have experienced in the past, and expect to continue to experience in the future, attempts to breach our systems and other similar incidents. To date these attempts have not had a material impact on our operations or financial results, but we cannot provide assurance that they will not have a material impact in the future. We rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties in an effort to securely transmit confidential and sensitive information, including credit card numbers. Advances in computer capabilities, new technological discoveries or other developments may result in the whole or partial failure of this technology to protect transaction data or other confidential and sensitive information from being breached or compromised. In addition, websites are often attacked through compromised credentials, including those obtained through phishing and credential stuffing. Our security measures, and those of our third-party service providers, may not detect or prevent all attempts to breach our systems, denial-of-service attacks, viruses, malicious software, break-ins, phishing attacks, social engineering, security breaches or other attacks and similar disruptions that may jeopardize the security of information stored in or transmitted by our websites, networks and systems or that we or such third parties otherwise maintain, including payment card systems, which may subject us to fines or higher transaction fees or limit or terminate our access to certain payment methods. Threats to information security are constantly evolving, including in diversity and sophistication. We and such third parties may not anticipate or prevent all types of attacks until after they have already been launched. Further, techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or sabotage systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against us or our third-party service providers. In addition, security breaches can also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including intentional or inadvertent breaches by our employees or by third parties. These risks may increase over time as the number of our employees and the complexity and number of technical systems and applications we use also increase. Breaches of our security measures or those of our third-party service providers or cybersecurity incidents could result in unauthorized access to our sites, networks and systems; unauthorized access to and misappropriation of player information, including players' personally identifiable information, or other confidential or proprietary information of ourselves or third parties; viruses, worms, spyware or other malware being served from our sites, networks or systems; deletion or modification of content or the display of unauthorized content on our sites; interruption, disruption or malfunction of operations; costs relating to breach remediation, deployment of additional personnel and protection technologies, response to governmental investigations and media inquiries and coverage; engagement of third-party experts and consultants; litigation, regulatory action and other potential liabilities. In the past, we have experienced social engineering, phishing, malware and similar attacks and threats of denial-of-service attacks, none of which to date has been material to our business; however, such attacks could in the future have a material adverse effect on our operations. Pursuant to a software license agreement with Pollard in respect of the offering to the MSL (the "Pollard Software License Agreement"), our iLottery software is installed on Pollard's servers, through which it is made available to the MSL. Pollard is responsible for the security measures on its servers, and the Pollard Software License Agreement contains no representations or undertakings with regard to such security measures. A breach of Pollard's server security could expose our software to the risks noted above. If any of these breaches of security should occur, our reputation and brand could be damaged, customers may terminate their contracts with us, our business may suffer, we could be required to expend significant capital and other resources to alleviate problems caused by such breaches, and we could be exposed to a risk of loss, litigation or regulatory action and possible liability. We cannot guarantee that recovery protocols and backup systems will be sufficient to prevent data loss. Actual or anticipated attacks may cause us to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees and engage third-party experts and consultants. In addition, any party who is able to illicitly obtain a player's password may be able access such player's transaction data or personal data (including payment information), resulting in the perception that our systems are insecure. Any compromise or breach of our security measures, or those of our third-party service providers, could violate applicable privacy, data protection, data security, network and information systems security and other laws, potentially trigger private rights of action under certain laws and cause significant legal and financial exposure, negative publicity and a loss of confidence in our security measures, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. We continue to devote significant resources to protect against security breaches and we may in the future need to address problems caused by breaches, including notifying affected players and responding to any resulting litigation, which in turn, would divert resources from the growth and expansion of our business. We maintain liability insurance policies covering certain security and privacy damages. However, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all.
Technology3 | 4.8%
Technology - Risk 1
We operate in an industry that is affected by technological improvements and evolving player preferences.
The iLottery industry continues to experience rapid development of technological advances and player preferences. In some instances, advancements in technology trigger a change in player preferences. For example, as digital graphics improve, players may demand games with higher definition and a superior user interface. Our success depends on our ability to accurately anticipate and quickly respond to evolving industry standards and player preferences. We cannot assure you that we will be able to respond to such changes with innovative, high-quality, reliable and popular products and services or make the required adjustments to our existing products and services on a timely basis. In addition, the introduction of new products or updated versions of existing products has inherent risks, including, but not limited to: - the timing with which we may realize the benefits of the commonly-required significant, upfront capital investments;- the accuracy of our estimates of player preferences, and the fit of the new products and features to such preferences;- the ability to adequately maintain our main technology systems, such as the NeoDraw platform;- the quality of our products and services, including the possibility of software defects, which could result in claims against us or the inability to sell our products and services;- the need to educate our sales, marketing and services personnel to work with the enhanced or new products and features, which may strain our resources and lengthen sales cycles;- market acceptance of new product releases; and - competitor product introductions or regulatory changes that render our products obsolete. In light of the costs required to create and introduce new or enhanced products and services, if our new or enhanced products fail to achieve commercial success, we will struggle to remain commercially viable, especially in the face of heightened competition.
Technology - Risk 2
We rely on information technology and other systems and platforms, and any failures, errors, defects or disruptions in our systems or platforms could diminish our brand and reputation, subject us to liability, disrupt our business, affect our ability to scale our technical infrastructure and adversely affect our business.
Our technology infrastructure is critical to the performance of our platform and offerings and to customer and player satisfaction. We devote significant resources to network and data security to protect our systems and data. However, our systems and the systems of any third-party service providers on which we rely may not be adequately designed with the necessary reliability and redundancy to avoid performance delays or outages that could be harmful to our business. We cannot assure you that the measures we take to prevent or hinder cyber-attacks and protect our systems, data and player information and to prevent outages, data or information loss, fraud and to prevent or detect security breaches, including a disaster recovery strategy for server and equipment failure and back-office systems and the use of third parties for certain cybersecurity services, will provide absolute security. We have experienced, and we may in the future experience, website disruptions, outages and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors and capacity constraints. Such disruptions have not had a material impact on us; however, future disruptions from unauthorized access to, fraudulent manipulation of, or tampering with our computer systems and technological infrastructure, or those of third parties, could result in a wide range of negative outcomes, each of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Additionally, our software may contain errors, bugs, flaws or corrupted data. If a particular product offering is unavailable when players attempt to access it or navigation through our platforms is slower than they expect, players may be less likely to return to our customers' platforms as often, if at all. Furthermore, programming errors, defects and data corruption could disrupt our operations, adversely affect the experience of players, harm our reputation and cause players to stop utilizing our customers' offerings. Our current systems may be unable to support a significant increase in online traffic or increased player numbers, especially during peak times or events (such as for significant jackpot runs). If there is a system disruption, customers may be able to make a contractual claim for damages against us. We may at any time be required to expend significant capital or other resources, including staff and management time, to reduce the risk of network or IT failure or disruption, including replacing or upgrading existing business continuity systems, procedures and security measures. If such protective measures are implemented unsuccessfully or inefficiently, the quality of our products and services may be materially and adversely affected.
Technology - Risk 3
Our platform contains third-party open source software components, which may pose particular risks to our proprietary software, technologies, products and services in a manner that could negatively affect our business.
Our platform contains software modules licensed to us by third-party authors under "open source" licenses and we expect to use open source software in the future. Use and distribution of open source software may entail greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide support, warranties, indemnification or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. To the extent that our platform depends upon the successful operation of open source software, any undetected errors or defects in this open source software could prevent the deployment or impair the functionality of our platform, delay new introduction of new solutions, result in a failure of our platform and injure our reputation. For example, undetected errors or defects in open source software could render it vulnerable to breaches or security attacks, and, subsequently, make our systems more vulnerable to data breaches. In addition, the public availability of such software may make it easier for others to compromise our platform. Some open source licenses require that source code for modifications or derivative works we created based on such open source software be made publicly available as open source software. If we combine our proprietary software with open source software in a certain manner, we could, under certain open source licenses, be required to release the source code of our proprietary software to the public. This would allow our competitors to create similar offerings with less investment of development effort and time and ultimately could result in a loss of our competitive advantages. Alternatively, to avoid the public release of the affected portions of our source code, we could be required to expend substantial time and resources to re-engineer some or all of our software. Although we monitor our use of open source software to avoid subjecting our platform to conditions we do not intend, the terms of many open source licenses have not been interpreted by United States or foreign courts, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to provide or distribute our platform. From time to time, there have been claims challenging the ownership of open source software against companies that incorporate open source software into their solutions. As a result, we could be subject to lawsuits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software. Moreover, we cannot assure you that our processes for controlling our use of open source software in our platform will be effective. If we are held to have breached or failed to fully comply with all the terms and conditions of an open source software license, we could face infringement or other liability, or be required to seek costly licenses from third parties, to continue providing our offerings on terms that are not economically feasible, to re-engineer our platform, to discontinue or delay the provision of our offerings if re-engineering could not be accomplished on a timely basis or to make generally available, in source code form, our proprietary code, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Production
Total Risks: 3/62 (5%)Above Sector Average
Employment / Personnel1 | 1.6%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
We are highly dependent on our key personnel. If we are not successful in attracting, motivating and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.
We rely on the expertise, industry experience, customer relationships and leadership of our senior management, and the departure, death or disability of any one of our executive officers or other extended or permanent loss of any of their services, or any negative market or industry perception with respect to any of them or their loss, could have a material adverse effect on our business. We depend on our technical and operational employees for the design and development of our innovative products and services. The competition for these types of personnel is intense and we compete with other potential employers, including certain of our strategic partners, for the services of our employees. As a result, we may not succeed in retaining the key employees that we need in order to maintain and grow our business. If we do not succeed in attracting, hiring, and integrating qualified personnel, or retaining and motivating existing personnel, we may be unable to grow effectively and our business could be adversely affected. We deploy our employees to certain of our customers' worksites to assist in the development of their IT systems and platforms. The loss of employees who have been involved in the development of intellectual property and know-how and the development and maintenance of key strategic relationships with customers may result in the subsequent loss of key customers. If key employees were to leave, we may be unable to deliver our existing services or develop new products until such employees have been replaced. As our employees have very specific skillsets and are highly qualified, we may face difficulties in replacing them with new employees, and even if we succeed in recruiting new employees, we may incur substantial costs in the recruiting, training and integration of such new employees.
Supply Chain1 | 1.6%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
We rely on third-party service providers for key functions in our operations.
We rely upon various third-party service providers to maintain continuous operation of our platform, servers, hosting services, payment processing and various other key functions of our business. Know-your-customer and geolocation programs and technologies supplied by third parties are an important aspect of certain of our products and services. These services are costly and their failure or inadequacy could materially affect our operations. Additionally, we rely on third-party service providers for payment processing services, including the processing of credit and debit cards. Our business could be materially disrupted if these third-party service providers become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us. Certain of these services discussed above are only provided by a limited number of third-party providers and in the event that any of these providers cease to provide us with their services (due to the termination of their agreement, a dispute between us and any such providers or for any other reason), we may struggle to locate a suitable replacement on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, which could lead to harmful disruptions to our operations.
Costs1 | 1.6%
Costs - Risk 1
Our insurance may not provide adequate levels of coverage against claims.
We maintain insurance that we believe is customary for businesses of our size and type. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not economically reasonable to insure. Moreover, any loss incurred could exceed policy limits and policy payments made to us may not be made on a timely basis. Such losses could adversely affect our business prospects, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 2/62 (3%)Above Sector Average
Natural and Human Disruptions1 | 1.6%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
While we have not experienced a material impact to date, the ongoing COVID-19 and similar health epidemics and contagious disease outbreaks could significantly disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus ("COVID-19") was identified, and on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Numerous state and local jurisdictions have imposed, and others in the future may impose, "shelter-in-place" orders, quarantines, executive orders and similar government orders and restrictions for their residents to control the spread of COVID-19. In particular, the governments in jurisdictions where our employees are located have imposed limitations on gatherings, social distancing measures and restrictions on movement, only allowing essential businesses to remain open. Such restrictions have resulted in temporary store closures, work stoppages, slowdowns and delays, travel restrictions and cancellation of events, among other restrictions, any of which may negatively impact workforces, customers, consumer sentiment and economies in many markets and, along with decreased consumer spending, have led to an economic downturn throughout much of the world. Our business is largely tied to the disposable income of lottery players. While we have not experienced a material impact to date, the global economic and financial uncertainty may result in significant declines to the number of players using our customers' offerings and the amount of money that players are able and willing to wager. See "- A reduction in discretionary consumer spending could have an adverse impact on our business." In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have transitioned many of our employees to remote working arrangements and temporarily closed our offices in Israel, Ukraine and Michigan. While we have not experienced a material impact to date, it is possible that this could have a negative impact on the execution of our business plans and operations. If a natural disaster, power outage, connectivity issue, or other event occurred that impacted our employees' ability to work remotely, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible, for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time. The increase in remote working may also result in player privacy, IT security and fraud concerns as well as increase our exposure to potential wage and hour issues. The degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic affects our financial results and operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the outbreak, its severity, the governmental actions and regulations imposed to contain the virus or treat its impact, how quickly and to what extent pre-pandemic economic and operating conditions can resume and overall changes in players' behavior.
Capital Markets1 | 1.6%
Capital Markets - Risk 1
Our results of operations may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency values.
The Company's consolidated financial results are affected by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Foreign currency exchange rate exposures arise from current transactions and anticipated transactions denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars and from the translation of foreign currency denominated balance sheet accounts into U.S. dollar-denominated balance sheet accounts. The Company is exposed to currency exchange rate fluctuations because portions of its expenses are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Approximately 84.9% of the Company's revenues in the year ended December 31, 2020 were denominated in U.S. dollars, 4.7% in euros and 10.4% in other currencies. However, 12.8% of the Company's liabilities were denominated in New Israeli Shekels. For example, almost all of the Company's current employees are domiciled in Israel and paid in New Israeli Shekels. In 2020, the U.S. dollar / New Israeli Shekel exchange rate decreased from NIS 3.456 per $1 on December 31, 2019, to NIS 3.215 per $1 on December 31, 2020. This decrease adversely affected our costs and liabilities that are denominated in Shekels compared to our dollar-denominated income. Any further devaluation of the U.S. dollar compared to the New Israeli Shekel may result in further increases in employee liabilities and other expenses, which may adversely affect the Company's profit and financial performance. Exchange rate fluctuations have in the past adversely affected the Company's operating results and cash flows and may adversely affect the Company's results of operations and cash flows and the value of its assets outside the United States in the future. A devaluation of local currency in a jurisdiction in which the Company is paid in such currency may require the Company's customers located in such jurisdiction to adjust the amounts paid in local currency for the Company's products and services, which they may be unable or unwilling to make. We do not currently employ any foreign exchange hedging, although we may do so in the future.
See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.

FAQ

What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky.
    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment.
      They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result.
        It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
          How do companies disclose their risk factors?
          Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process.
            Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”.
              Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report.
                According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
                  How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
                  Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing.
                    You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector.
                      Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements.
                        A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
                          What are all the risk factor categories?
                          TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below.
                          1. Financial & Corporate
                          • Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results.
                          • Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing.
                          • Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments.
                          • Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances.
                          2. Legal & Regulatory
                          • Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company.
                          • Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation.
                          • Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy.
                          • Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives.
                          3. Production
                          • Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory.
                          • Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers.
                          • Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls.
                          • Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation.
                          4. Technology & Innovation
                          • Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development.
                          • Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology.
                          • Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks.
                          • Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying.
                          5. Ability to Sell
                          • Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers.
                          • Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes.
                          • Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration.
                          • Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation.
                          6. Macro & Political
                          • Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions.
                          • Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19.
                          • International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company.
                          • Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.
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