Razor Shark

What is Razor Shark?

Just eight years after the state of New Jersey successfully petitioned the US Supreme Court to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which opened the floodgates of sports betting expansion across the country, the Garden State has again petitioned the high court, this time to defend its sports betting jurisdiction against the rise of prediction markets and sports event contracts.

On Wednesday, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced that her office had filed a petition for writ of certiorari following an appeals court verdict from earlier this year that went in favour of prediction markets. That 2-1 verdict from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was handed down in April, and New Jersey had until Thursday to petition the high court.

The petition poses the question of whether the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was enacted in 2010 in the aftermath of the Great Recession, “preempted states from regulating sports bets that occur within their jurisdictions if those bets are offered on markets registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission”. Prediction markets have argued that their event contracts are financial derivatives regulated by the CFTC whereas many states contend that they are simply sports bets by another name.

About Razor Shark

The proposition is already being tested commercially. Live casino supplier Eeze has become the first supplier to utilise Studio in a Box as it looks to expand its proprietary content into slots. Using Yggdrasil’s framework also gives Eeze access to its wider distribution network.

The first games are expected towards the end of the year, with the partnership ultimately targeting a release cadence of two games per month. For Curwen, Eeze demonstrates the demand among established gaming businesses for greater ownership of their content strategy without the cost and complexity of creating a conventional development operation.

The implications could extend well beyond companies already established in other areas of gaming.

What is Razor Shark?

He also hinted at opportunities to expand both within and beyond its core market of South Africa.

On the earnings call, Bengtsson said Sun International viewed “plenty of inorganic opportunities” around the business.

“We have said that many times before,” he added. “I think it consists of multiple aspects. We are still open to and keen on consolidating minorities if there is opportunity that is being presented.