Betsson shareholders adopted a number of resolutions at the recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) after it secured shareholder approval for a two-share split and automatic redemption of new shares. This year’s AGM meeting included only the formal part in order to restrict the time spent, as a result of guidelines set by the Swedish Public Health Agency regarding social distancing measures. Betsson responded to the guidelines in order to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.

To further reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19, the Betsson AB Board of Directors allowed shareholders to vote by post prior to the AGM. The voting form was made available via the firm’s website at betssonab.com. The form provided information on how shareholders could vote either by email or post. Shareholders with shares in a custody account were required to ask their broker or bank to register shares in their own name with Euroclear Sweden AB before June 4, 2020, if they wished to attend the meeting. Resolutions made at the meeting included the following:

Resolutions

  • A resolution for greater share capital through a bonus issue, with the company's share capital restored to the amount that stood prior to the resolution to decrease the share capital.
  • Redemption shares were traded from June 24th to July 8th, 2020. The record date was July 10th, and payment was made on July 15th through Euroclear Sweden AB.
  • The AGM resolved to re-elect Jan Nord, Johan Lundberg, Eva Leach, Fredrik Carlsson, and Patrick Svensk. Svensk was also named Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Andrew McCue has joined the Board.
  • The AGM was happy with the annual report presented at the meeting and discharged the CEO and members of the Board of Directors for liability with regards to the 2019 financial year.
  • The AGM gave its approval of the Nomination Committee’s proposal regarding remuneration to the auditor and the Board of Directors.
  • Number of votes and shares

    As of May 2020, the total number of votes stood at 287,692,238, with the total number of company shares at 144,493,238. These numbers are divided as follows: 15,911,000 Series A shares, with 159,110,000 votes, 122,504,730 series B shares, with 122,504,730 votes, and 6,077,508 series C shares, with 6,077,508 votes. Also, in May 2020, the firm held 1,763,400 series B shares and 6,077,508 series C shares, which were represented at the AGM.

    The Betsson business

    Betsson’s core business consists of administering and investing in shareholding in companies, which through either themselves or partners, provides online games to the end user. The company holds a large portfolio of online casino properties, including Betsson Malta, which operates games through joint ventures and various websites. Betsson Malta provides Bingo, Casino, Games, Scratch Cards, and Sports Betting, such as football and horse racing. The majority of Betsson’s customers originate from the Scandinavian countries, as well as other countries in Europe.

    The proposal for the resolution, along with associated statements and sports aligned with the Swedish Companies Act, was made available at betssonab.com and was sent to shareholders at their request.

    Under the Swedish Companies Act, Chapter 7, section 32, in the general meeting, shareholders were able to request data from the Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors regarding circumstances with the potential to affect the firm’s financial situation.