EPSTEIN SEX SCANDAL: The world of iGaming and the wider gambling industry is set to be put under the sleaze spotlight this Friday when gaming Master of the Universe Leon Black, multi-billionaire Co-founder of Apollo Global Management–a major investor and player in a slew of top international betting companies –appears before the U.S. Congress to explain his close ties to notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Black retired as Apollo’s Chief Executive in 2021 amid the growing Epstein sex scandal, which exploded after the controversial financier–one-time friend of present U.S. President Donald Trump, the former British prince Andrew and a cabal of the so-called Great and the Good–was found hanged dead in his jail cell in 2019 at the high-security Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, where he was awaiting federal sex trafficking charges.
Clintons and Gates
Following former U.S. president Bill Clinton, and his wife, ex-secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and more recently Microsoft Founder Bill Gates, Black will be the latest in a series of prominent individuals to face in-camera interrogation by Congress’s powerful House Oversight Committee, which has been investigating an alleged federal cover-up of the Epstein scandal.
Black–who founded Apollo Global Management (formerly Apollo Management) in 1990 with his former Drexel Burnham Lambert colleagues Josh Harris, Marc Rowan, John Hannan, and Craig Cogut–was forced to quit the Wall Street investment firm after it was revealed that he had paid Epstein some US$150 million (£113.23m) for “personal financial advice and fees” over decades.
Largest Shareholder
Apollo currently manages an estimated US$938 billion (£708bn) of assets and has a market capitalisation of US$73 billion (£55.10bn).
Although he no longer runs the company, Black remains Apollo’s largest individual shareholder, controlling between seven to 14 percent of its shares, according to divergent sources.
Apollo Global Management holds major investments across the gambling, iGaming, and casino sectors through its affiliated funds.
Key gambling firms backed by Apollo include:
IGT & Everi (via IGTech):
Apollo Funds successfully acquired and combined International Game Technology’s (IGT) Gaming & Digital Business and Everi Holdings in an all-cash US$6.3 billion deal (£4.75bn).
This combined entity is a leading global developer of slot machines, iGaming, and digital betting solutions.
Lottomatica:
Apollo has driven transformative growth for Lottomatica, a leading Italian gaming and betting company, helping it expand into digital gaming and iGaming platforms.
Great Canadian Gaming Corporation:
Apollo Funds fully acquired Great Canadian Gaming Corporation in 2021 . The company operates 25 gaming, casino, and entertainment facilities across Canada. .
Allwyn Entertainment:
Apollo made a €500 million (£429.67m/US$569.39m) strategic investment in SAZKA Group (now part of Allwyn Entertainment), operator of the UK National Lottery and one of Europe’s largest national lottery and digital gaming operators.
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas:
Apollo Funds acquired and operate the resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, serving as a major hub for leisure and casino gambling.
Caesars Entertainment:
Apollo has historically maintained a deep financial involvement in the sector, including partnering for a massive leveraged buy-out of Harrah’s Entertainment (which became Caesars Entertainment), though Apollo later reduced its direct equity holdings in the firm.
Since Black’s departure, Marc Rowan, (one of the original Co-founders) has taken over as the CEO of Apollo Global Management.
Former Securities Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton has also been brought on as non-Executive Chair of the Apollo Board.
