Ixia Capital, a new venture capital fund (VC), is hoping to take advantage of the “very promising” future that igaming has in the United Arab Emirates. The fund’s $20m fund (PS15.8m/EUR18.7m).
Fund, run by gaming and finance veterans, will concentrate on gambling startups at seed-to-Series A stages. Over the next five-year period, it expects to have launched over 25 startups within the areas of online gaming and web3, crypto and blockchain.
The fund’s focus is on the UAE, which will soon be regulated. While it’s unclear how the new regulations will be implemented, the region is very promising and the operators have already started to prepare. Mona Motwani, CEO of Ixia Capital and venture partner at iGB said that the future for gambling in UAE was indeed bright.
The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority was created in September in the UAE in order to create a framework of regulation for the national lottery in the UAE and the commercial gaming industry in the UAE.
Motwani stated that the legal casino market will be huge in the UAE.
Even though Ixia has a global focus, we are focusing on UAE, India, and Africa in the first phase because this is where we have our expertise.
The team is made up of gaming, funding and investment backgrounds
Motwani has a vast amount of experience, having worked for seven years as the head of government relations in India at Sportradar. Tyler Dean, Imran Bukhari, and Biren Gala are also fund partners.
Dean has a solid background in VC funds, and has advised and managed VC and Growth Equity Funds spanning diverse industries across the US.
Bukhari is a tech developer with seven years of experience as a consultant at Bet365. His igaming provider firm NE Group developed various solutions for igaming operator in Africa including 888’s African joint venture 888bets.
Gala is a private equity funder with Mayfair Equity Advisory, based in the UK.
Fund’s target
Ixia Studio, the fund’s US venture studio, has invested in various projects and plans to launch them, including a games studio called FasFas Games. It also works on a Sports NFT Trading Exchange as well as platforms for gaming rewards, thought leadership and sports investments, and an app that engages users with sports and games.
Ixia has declined to give more details about the projects that are in progress.
Motwani stated that Ixia Studio had been a recipient of investments and the launch is expected to take place in the next few months.
Motwani stated that he was interested in B2B as well as B2C (startups).
She said, “We’re excited to investigate the unique projects that combine esports with gaming, crypto and blockchain.”
UAE gaming regulation likely to be implemented in the near future
CBRE, a real estate and investment company that specializes in investing, published a report on June 1st predicting the arrival of regulated gambling to the UAE within the next few years.
The decriminalisation will most likely be in the form a federal order or legislative amendments to the penal and criminal code. We expect these changes in legislation to come in the coming months, given the increased activity in the area and the public commentary of companies.
CBRE stated that a well-regulated gaming environment online could be set up quickly due to the ease with which illegal or grey market gaming providers can now be accessed in UAE via VPNs or proxy.
The GCGRA added, “We believe that cleaning up this mess will be one of the top priorities for them.”
Wynn Resorts currently is building an integrated resort within the Emirate Ras Al Khaimah. This project will be finished by 2027.
