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How to play Spectrum
Richards tells iGB the deal is expected to be completed around the end of September and provides GiG with a “profitable, cash-generative B2C operator” and a footprint in some of Africa’s fastest-growing regulated markets.
Additionally, it gives GiG a “strategic bridgehead” for its core B2B business, the CFO says.
“That dual value is really the point of the deal,” he explains. “Owning a leading local operator gives us direct, ground-level insight into regulatory developments, player behaviour and payment infrastructure across several African markets, insight that is very difficult to build from the outside.
How to play Spectrum
Federal prosecutors, however, do not mention the mafia in court documents. They allege the gambling ring generated millions of dollars through illegal sports betting, video gambling, and loansharking operations, with members using intimidation and violence—or the threat of it—to collect debts.
Rovito’s past criminal record includes convictions for aggravated criminal sexual assault and possession of a controlled substance.
He is currently out on a $1 million bond.
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“Operators do pay, yes, but they pay whatever suits them,” they said. “In other words, we effectively pay what benefits us. All the while, the state has no means of monitoring its regulatory policies.”
In response to these issues, earlier this year the DRC Ministry of Finance outlined plans for a new gambling monitoring platform to enhance its supervision of the sector.
The DRC government is also developing a new legal framework for the gambling industry, designed to modernise existing rules and strengthen oversight of tax collection.
