EXCLUSIVE: Super Group President Richard Hasson On Joining The NYSE

On Jan. 28, Super Group Ltd. (SGHC) became the newest company to be listed on the NYSE, following its successful merger with the special purpose acquisition company Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corporation.

Headquartered in Guernsey in the U.K.’s Channel Islands, Super Group is the parent company of Betway, a leading online sports betting and gaming business, and Spin, the multi-brand online casino.

Benzinga spoke with Super Group President Richard Hasson shortly after his company’s transition to a publicly-traded entity.

Q: First, congratulations on the NYSE listing. Why was this important for you to become a publicly-traded company?

Richard Hasson: Thanks! And, of course, congratulations to the team of 4,000 people around the world that have helped us get to this point. We've been privately owned for over two decades as we built the business, brick by brick. And this felt like the right time for the business.

As part of the process, we met Eric Grubman and John Collins [of Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corporation] who, from day one, have been a great part of the team and have the experience. They'll be joining the business, Eric as chairman and John as the director.

We now have this platform in the public equity markets to continue on our strategy for the global growth of the business.

Richard Hasson

Q: How did this development come about?

Richard Hasson: We were introduced to Eric and John by Oakvale Capital’s Daniel Burns, an advisor to the business. From the minute that we met Eric and John, we felt like there was a real partnership from the get-go.

It was not something that we were actively pursuing. But when the time is right, the time is right. And, as I say, we have found really great partners in them, and we look forward to having them as part of the team going forward.

Q: How do you stand out from the competition in this industry?

Richard Hasson: We operate in many, many markets across the world, providing leading entertainment across both sports betting with our Betway offering and our multi-brand casino offering Spin. We do it in a safe, secure, responsible way, and we're continuing to grow across the world.

At Super Group, we are a digital-only global business. We are high growth, we're profitable, we're in control of our tech stack, and we have a unique team of around 4,000 people across the world who are highly experienced with great expertise.

All of this is within a business that's been built brick-by-brick based on data. And, it's about understanding our customers and all the markets around the world that we're operating in.

Q: You mentioned that you're in markets around the world. Are there some markets where you're not currently in, and you're hoping to get into this year?

Richard Hasson: Yes. If you look back to last year, we launched our brands in nine markets – and we have a very healthy pipeline that is likely to be more than 10 markets.

As we continue to expand our footprint, we continue to look for new opportunities. We have this incredible team that are able to expand the expertise into new markets around the world, and we're always looking for the next opportunity in markets that make commercial sense for us.

Q: What else do you have in your agenda for 2022? After all, you've started the year with quite a bang – what can you do for an encore?

Richard Hasson: I think it's continuing with our strategy. And with this new platform, we'll continue doing that and continuing to execute on the growth and the strategy and providing this entertainment to our customers around the world.

Q: Are you considering any possible acquisitions going forward?

Richard Hasson: We are always looking at potential opportunities. I wouldn't want to commit today about what happens on that front.

Historically, there's been a lot of organic growth in the business. We're always looking at new opportunities – but now with the access to the capital markets, perhaps on the acquisition side too.

Photo: A moment of challenge for Tomas Tatar of the NHL's New Jersey Devils, one of the teams that has a multi-year partnership with Super Group. Photo via New Jersey Devils.