By M. Marin
NASDAQ:MRDN
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We recently met virtually with the management of Meridian Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MRDN) and present our takeaways in this report. Meridian Holdings is an iGaming group providing a broad array of gaming products and software solutions on a B2B and B2C basis. It recently completed a corporate rebranding, changing the name of the company from Golden Matrix, ticker GMGI, to Meridian Holdings, ticker MRDN. The rebranding is strategically designed to align the public company brand with the Meridian name, which management has indicated has significant brand awareness among operators, as the company continues to advance its B2B and B2C expansion strategy.
Meridian Holdings is optimistic about the company outlook, with the addition of new gaming licenses, expansion of its geographic footprint, and expansion of its gaming content library, among other growth initiatives. The company is also optimistic about the benefits of its AI-driven technology as a key factor contributing to lowering its acquisition costs and extending customer lifetime value. MRDN has completely transitioned to its newest technology platform, Atlas, which represents the company’s fifth-generation sports betting and iGaming platform, strengthened its balance sheet, and enacted a leadership transition expected to support the execution of its growth strategy.
Meridianbet Group is an online sports betting and gaming group, licensed and operating in a growing number of jurisdictions across Europe, Africa, and South America. It was founded in 2001. Meridianbet leverages its proprietary technology and scalable systems to operate in multiple countries and currencies with an omnichannel approach to markets. The Meridianbet Group segment includes revenues from retail sports betting, retail casinos, online sports betting, online casinos, and bars that MeridianBet operates.
Facilitating growth by leveraging industry awareness of the Meridianbet brand
Many of the company’s operations have been added through leveraging industry awareness of the Meridianbet brand. The company acquired Meridianbet, in part, to strengthen its technology offering and enable the company to lower its CAC (customer acquisition costs) and improve the LTV (long-term value) of a player, in part reflecting the ability of the AI technology to learn about players and their preferences and thereby boost customer retention. With Meridianbet, the company’s system leverages AI to ‘learn’ player behavior and preferences in order to deliver targeted game recommendations in the iGaming segment, as well as personalized bet suggestions.
Meridianbet has been an engine for growth for the company. For example, Meridianbet segment revenue increased 26% year-over-year to $32.5 million in 3Q25, reflecting robust online and retail performance. Online casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) grew 30% to $14.6 million. A key driver behind this growth reflects an increase in the library of online casino games offered from different providers to more than 2.5k titles and the debut of a new game, Gates of Olympia, from the company’s proprietary game arm, Expanse studio, which became a top 5 most popular game in 3Q25. New player registrations were up 70% year-over-year, as the company continues to scale its Brazil operations.
Prioritizing expansion into new regulated markets
A core objective is to diversify its revenue base across geographic markets by operating segment and channel. MRDN views the diversification of its operations across both B2B and B2C channels and geographic markets as a competitive advantage that also protects the company from contractions in any single market or channel. The company continues to advance its strategy to expand its global footprint, which is a core objective, as noted. As it implements expected growth measures, MRDN intends to prioritize expansion into new regulated markets, including Latin America and Europe, enhance AI-driven gaming innovation, and boost operational efficiencies.
Meridianbet recently acquired Fairbet Ltd., a licensed retail gaming operator in Malta. As a result of the transaction, Meridianbet holds 100% ownership of Fairbet’s operations across Malta and Gozo, adding nine new retail locations and bringing its footprint in the market to 20 total storefronts integrated under the Meridianbet brand.
The company’s strategy regarding M&A has been to prioritize acquisitions in high-barrier markets where limited licensing can create structural competitive advantages. According to the company, Malta’s retail gaming sector operates under one of Europe’s most stringent regulatory frameworks. Only three licenses have been granted, and with the Fairbet acquisition, Meridianbet now holds two of the market’s three retail licenses. The other license is held by Izibet, the National Lottery operator.
Meridianbet secured an online betting license in Brazil on January 2, 2025. Among the most significant new markets in which MRDN operates is Brazil, which represents an estimated $5.6 billion gross gaming revenue market. As noted, the upcoming FIFA World Cup games could also be a potential catalyst for growth in Brazil and other markets. The 2026 World Cup will be the first to have 48 teams playing, up from 32. Moreover, tournament hosting by three countries - Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. and featuring a new format with 104 matches, might also boost reach and interest in sports betting across various markets, we believe.
The company continues to expand its B2B gaming content provider Expanse Studios, a subsidiary of Meridian Holdings. For example, Expanse Studios recently secured a Romanian gaming license, signed a distribution deal with MerkurXtip and one with Admiral Bet, completed multiple U.S. integrations, secured Brazilian iGaming certification, and a U.S. and EU distribution deal with Bragg Gaming, among other measures.
Expanse Studios develops proprietary gaming content for 1,300+ operators across North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia with a 67-title portfolio. Expanse recently launched Bonus Bet, a proprietary promotional feature addressing operator retention challenges and promotional spend efficiency. Bonus Bet is designed to improve operator ROI on retention spend and lower player friction points. According to the company, early deployments show improvements in engagement patterns compared to standard bonus mechanics. The company believes the Bonus Bet feature strengthens Expanse’s market position and creates a competitive advantage.
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