La Royale’s Dee Maher, Bringing A Touch of Class To iGaming Investments

After 15-years as a Legal and Compliance leader at a gamut of top iGaming firms, among them Genesis Global, Betclic, Vera&John and Evolution Gaming, Dee Maher, the new CEO of La Royale Gaming Investments, a holding company that brings together a unique ecosystem of innovative online and offline gaming companies through strategic mergers and acquisitions, offers not just experience but a touch of class to the rarefied financial world of the gambling industry.

Appointed Chief Executive Officer last November, Maher has been tasked with supervising the expansion of La Royale’s Gaming Investment portfolio, building out from parent company La Royale Investment’s interests in fintech, connected estate, digital marketing and entertainment.

Described as “the Perfect One” by Joan Beaufort, Entrepreneur and Founder at La Royale Investments, Dee was happy to sit down with iGamingFuture Editor-in-Chief André Dubronski to offer an exclusive take of what she’s looking for before she commits to that key, company-changing, investment that powers transformation and success.

We began by asking her the essential question: What makes a solid investment?

How does La Royale Gaming Investments differentiate itself as a preferred partner for sportsbooks and casinos seeking investment; with a particular focus on industry expertise and customer service excellence?

“I think the first reason that we are the preferred partner for sportsbooks and casinos seeking investments is because we have a very knowledgeable team of founders, who have been around the industry for a long time.

“Between them, they have amassed a wealth of knowledge; so that has been a considerable influencing factor.

“When we invest in a company, we can take one of two approaches. The first is as a silent partner. This is when a sportsbook or casino is just looking for additional funding, they don’t require our assistance in strategy creation or product development.

“But sometimes, we might have companies approach us at a time when they are facing some kind of hurdle.

“Let’s say they’re having trouble trying to scale their business; they have reached a static point. They might have all the technology in-house, but the challenge might lie in offering that to their end-user. So, what they need is guidance and advice on how to achieve those business goals. This is where our second approach comes in.

“The second strategy that we might use is: We not only offer a cash injection, but also take a managerial position where we may take full ownership of a project, whether that be from a Legal and Compliance perspective and/or marketing and product development.

“Our involvement wholly depends on what the individual company is looking for, and how that fits into La Royale Gaming Investments’ strategy.”

What key criteria does La Royale Gaming Investments prioritise when looking to invest in a company? Do certain criteria take priority over others?

“To be honest, we take an overall view of the company, asking who built it, what their background is, the business strategy they have in place, future aspirations and whether those goals are realistic in the long run.

“At La Royale Gaming Investments, we’re totally focused on services that complement our suite of products. We want to work with companies that fit into our portfolio of gaming-centric products, that are fully regulated, or are capable of being fully regulated.

“We are also interested in diversification, both in terms of product and jurisdiction. So, it’s hard to pinpoint just one criterion that we look at. We take it all into consideration.

“As for jurisdictions that we’re currently looking at, I believe that there is going to be a flux of regulatory changes across a number of emerging markets. And where you find regulatory changes is often where you also find companies that have been operating in that market but don’t have the in-house expertise to meet the legislative demands.

“We are keeping a close eye on South America and the different markets opening up there, for example. But that isn’t to say that we’re not also keeping watch of other, more regulated markets where B2B and B2C companies are performing well.”

How does La Royale Gaming Investments foster a culture of innovation within the companies it invests in, particularly given how quickly sports betting and casino gaming continue to evolve?

“Firstly, we need to know that the technology they have is on-point and that it is fully scalable. It needs to be agile, and not dependent on applications that might not be of use in the market in a few years’ time. Fortunately, we have an extremely knowledgeable team who is very great at assessing that.

“We also need to consider whether the technology can be easily integrated into our technology stack too. If it’s not updated regularly or managed properly, technology can become obsolete and, as a result, extremely expensive to replace.

“It’s obviously difficult to assess the long-term impact of anything, and especially with technological developments, things are changing so quickly.
“We have technologies and applications that might have been hip and trendy a few years ago but are being written off now.

“Our technology and development team will do a full audit of the technology stack that we’re looking to invest in. They are the experts, and they will give us a full overview of whether the investment is worth it.”

In conclusion we asked Dee:
Looking ahead, what trends or developments do you anticipate will shape La Royale Gaming Investments’ strategy in the iGaming sector in the near future?

“As for trends and developments in 2024, I think that blockchain technology is going to become increasingly relevant.

“Blockchain is fully traceable, so this brings added benefits for things such as AML and KYC. That is developing very quickly, and as more companies adopt blockchain, the push is only going to continue.

“We’re seeing an increased use of cloud-based technologies nowadays too.

“Everything has to be connectable and downloadable, so I would fully expect there to be more people looking into this space. And then of course you have NFTs and cryptocurrencies, both of which have become acceptable means of online trading.

“Then I also think artificial intelligence is going to come under the spotlight in 2024.

“This can have so many use cases, but the thing that companies have to get right is ensuring that they are using AI in the ‘right’ way: You need to focus on using this as a complementary tool that can help streamline your operations.”

“I think people originally thought that AI might be the holy grail of technology that would do everything for us. But that just won’t work. Its usage needs to be managed, controlled and monitored so that it is both accurate and trustworthy.”