Who is Anaxi?
Aristocrat has significant heritage in the land-based sector, but don’t underestimate the extent to which the Group has also
invested into social gaming over the last 12 years. Beginning with the acquisition of social casino operator Product Madness back in
2012, Aristocrat has since purchased Plarium in 2017 and Big Fish Games in 2018, followed by the rebranding and formation of Pixel United from Aristocrat Digital in 2021.
During the COVID-19 pandemic with casino doors shuttered, Aristocrat became more reliant on the social side of the business for revenue and sought to further future-proof itself further in its aftermath. In February 2022, Aristocrat announced that it would be establishing a “Combined Online Real Money Gaming and Customer Experience Solutions Business”. An online arm, effectively.
“Tese things don't just happen overnight though,” explains Joshua Morris, SVP Product & Technology, iGaming at Anaxi. “Another factor on top of COVID was the regulatory environment in the US - a very significant market for Aristocrat. As a business the Group was keen to ensure that any steps towards growing within iGaming were powered by a regulated platform and business proposition. Te regulatory changes beginning to unfold across North America were a real driver for the business to look specifically at the opportunity around iGaming and how Aristocrat as a Group can enter the space.”
With Aristocrat seeking to grow and scale in online RMG, its online vision began to materialise with the acquisition of Roxor Gaming, a subsidiary of Anzo Group. As well as integrating the company’s technology, studios, and development talent, it also marked the moment that Josh got a seat at the Aristocrat table having served as General Manager at Roxor at the time of completion.
“Roxor Gaming came out of the Gamesys Group business. It was the in-house platform and content studio arm. When the game system was sold to Ballys, there were two parts that didn't move across with the sale - essentially removed - and they became the foundation of Anzo Group. Tese comprised LiveScore and Roxor Gaming.”
As a business with aspirations for growth within the iGaming sector, what appealed to Aristocrat was that Roxor’s team had significant experience, know-how, knowledge, and passion for the industry. Tey had matured as a game development and product proposition, giving the team levels of insight into player data and how to engage iGaming players – something that Aristocrat lacked.
“A significant amount of the technology that underpinned Roxor had been built up over many years, initially to support the Bally’s’ B2B business. From an Aristocrat perspective, one that wanted to accelerate into iGaming, Roxor provided a key component to deliver that acceleration into the sector, bringing team, technology, content and brands, and something that was highly complementary to the group's aspirations.”
“Aristocrat has been candid publicly about the principle of “build and buy” and the Roxor acquisition fitted perfectly into that model. Aristocrat is in a fantastic position in terms of the sheer breadth of IP and relationships that exist across the Group. We have wonderful customers and I think the ability to build solutions as the industry evolves presents a significant opportunity.
“Yes - you can find and purchase components of what that future looks like, but on the other hand you also need to have the right people in place to both build additional gaps and fill those additional opportunities. Pretty much everyone who was at Roxor when we moved across to Aristocrat remains in post, which is testament to Aristocrat’s ‘people-first’ philosophy.
“I think is a really powerful concept in a market where, with the world evolving underneath us, we have, and that's for the greater good, right?” Whilst iGaming regulation in the US has now been around several years post-PASPA, it is still in relatively early days. As we see changes between land-based businesses and the establishment of a “Top Five” in the online
sphere, the line between what's historically a land-based casino and an iGaming proposition is increasingly blurred. Josh believes that you need to work between customers, suppliers, and partners to build that future proposition, which is where a new name and brand announced at G2E 2022 comes in, Anaxi.
“It is a powerful concept and the approach that Aristocrat has adopted as a Group. Anaxi represents the birth of a third vertical, if you like, which sits alongside Aristocrat Gaming and Pixel United. It really speaks volumes of the focus that the Group wants to put on iGaming and how important it is within the overall portfolio moving forward.”
As the third business unit within Aristocrat Group sitting alongside Aristocrat Gaming and the Pixel United mobile-first publishing business, the approach from board-level down is to drive teams closer together in terms of development strategy, sharing insights and understanding opportunities, whilst simultaneously being mindful of having autonomy to execute across specific business units.
“Tat gets to the crux of why we're in such an exciting position now in the market and I think it's because there's a multitude of opportunities that exist to entertain players across the different channels in the market from a player perspective. But on the other hand, there's just a truckload of talent that exists within Aristocrat as a Group. Tere are a few initiatives and mechanisms that are used across the company to ensure that teams share insights, and we are consistently working together.
Aristocrat has been candid publicly about the principle of “build and buy” and the Roxor acquisition fitted perfectly into that model. Aristocrat is in a fantastic position in terms of the sheer breadth of IP and relationships. We have wonderful customers and I think the ability to build solutions as the industry evolves presents a significant opportunity. “Yes - you can find and purchase components of what that future looks like, but on the
other hand you also need to have the right people in place to both build additional gaps and fill those additional opportunities.
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P195
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