Royal Gardens

How to play Royal Gardens

GiG is approaching the completion of its acquisition of an 80% stake in 888Africa, marking a significant new chapter for the group. It is an unexpected return to B2C for GiG, but one that group CFO Phil Richards believes can deliver immediate earnings while providing a stronger foothold in Africa.

Last month, GiG Software plc announced plans to acquire an 80% stake in Evoke’s 888Africa, in a deal valued at up to €16.4 million ($19.1 million).

To fund the acquisition, the company intends to raise €2.5 million through a directed share issue and €6 million through convertible debt. The deal marks its return to B2C after becoming a pure play B2B platform play in 2023.

About Royal Gardens

Sports betting in Morocco, including online betting and virtual events, is reserved to state-owned Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS). The company is 90% held by the Treasury and chaired by the sports minister.

Its exclusivity reportedly runs to 2036 under an unpublished 2016 convention with the state. The commercial operation is run under a tendered management contract rather than a licence. Unauthorised gaming houses and lotteries are criminal offences under articles 282 to 285 of the penal code.

MDJS has turned to the courts to challenge offshore betting. On 12 January the Casablanca commercial court, sitting in summary proceeding, ordered Maroc Telecom, Orange Maroc and Inwi to block 19 named betting sites and local payment intermediaries. Non-compliance carried a penalty of MAD10,000 a day.

What is Royal Gardens?

The name didn’t sit well with Naked City’s property owners, including Bob Stupak, who, in 1979, opened the Vegas World casino resort on land he owned in the neighborhood.

In 1996, Stupak replaced Vegas World with the Stratosphere—whose 1,149-foot observation tower remains the largest structure west of the Mississippi—remodeling Vegas World’s towers for the new purpose.

Stupak’s friends in city government agreed to rebrand the neighborhood as Meadows Village in the late ’80s. They also told and retold the cover story of the sunbathing showgirls, insisting that the Naked City nickname had nothing to do with crime.