Linux Foundation to Form New Open 3D Foundation

The Linux Foundation the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced an intent to form the Open 3D Foundation to accelerate developer collaboration on 3D game and simulation technology. The Open 3D Foundation will support open source projects that advance capabilities related to 3D graphics, rendering, authoring, and development. As the first project governed by the new foundation, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is contributing an updated version of the Amazon Lumberyard game engine as the Open 3D Engine (O3DE) under the permissive Apache 2.0 license. The Open 3D Engine enables developers and content creators to build 3D experiences unencumbered by commercial terms and will provide the support and infrastructure of an open source community through forums, code repositories, and developer events. A developer preview of O3DE is available on GitHub today. For more information andor to contribute, please visit: https:o3de.org

3D engines are used to create a range of virtual experiences, including games and simulations, by providing capabilities such as 3D rendering, content authoring tools, animation, physics systems, and asset processing. Many developers are seeking ways to build their intellectual property on top of an open source engine where the roadmap is highly visible, openly governed, and collaborative to the community as a whole. More developers look to be able to create or augment their current technological foundations with highly collaborative solutions that can be used in any development environment. O3DE introduces a new ecosystem for developers and content creators to innovate, build, share, and distribute immersive 3D worlds that will inspire their users with rich experiences that bring the imaginations of their creators to life.

Major features of the Open 3D Engine include a new multi-threaded photorealistic renderer, an extensible 3D content editor, a data-driven character animation system, and a node-based visual scripting tool. Developers can build games and new engine features on top of O3DE's component-based architecture, which enables components of the engine to be used together or independently. Developers will have the flexibility of authoring code with C++, LUA, and python, while animators, technical artists, level designers, and other content creators can work directly with O3DE's built-in authoring tools to create 3D experiences.

The Open 3D Foundation and Open 3D Engine Project will enable developers to collaborate on building games and simulations as well as the underlying engine. It includes a Governing Board focused on business and budget decisions and a Technical Steering Committee dedicated to technical strategy and community management. The Project is organized into Special Interest Groups (SIGs) that include: Build/Dev Pipeline; Simulation Engine; Content Creation; Network & Cloud; Presentation; Documentation/Demo; Release; Security; and Testing. The O3DE community welcomes contributions from all cloud providers, gaming companies, and industries to advance the project.

"We're proud to offer the 3D development community an unencumbered, AAA-capable, real-time 3D engine with one of the broadest arrays of integrated 3D authoring tools in the industry including a new photorealistic renderer, built for both modern gaming hardware and distributed cloud rendering," said Bill Vass , VP of Engineering at AWS. "We believe that creating a first-class, community-driven, open-source option will revolutionize real-time 3D development, as Linux did for operating systems and Apache did for the web."

"The new Open 3D Foundation finally gives gaming and engine developers an opportunity to influence the direction of a major AAA class 3D engine that is sustained for the long term by a worldwide open source community," said Chris Aniszczyk , CTO, Linux Foundation. "Furthermore, other industries such as automotive and healthcare can take advantage of embedding the engine and supporting the advancement of the engine to benefit all."

Founding members of the Open 3D Foundation include AccelByte, Adobe, Apocalypse Studios, Audiokinetic, AWS, Backtrace.io, Carbonated, Futurewei, GAMEPOCH, Genvid Technologies, Hadean, HERE Technologies, Huawei, Intel, International Game Developers Association, KitBash3D, Kythera AI, Niantic, Open Robotics, PopcornFX, Red Hat, Rochester Institute of Technology , SideFX, Tafi, TLM Partners and Wargaming. These members are contributing funding and resources to the foundation as the initial governing members.

The O3DE community is hosting O3DECon on October 12th and invites the wider open source engine community to attend, contribute and learn more about the future of the foundation. Additionally, there will be an O3DE panel at GDC on July 22 , 2021.

Member Comments
AccelByte
"As a Founding member we are incredibly excited to be part of that push towards a more open, and frankly, industry rejuvenating breakthrough. Open source 3D game engine gives total control, and puts creators back in the driving seat. It will accelerate innovation and foster amazing content and experience creation. At AccelByte we are committed to the deep integration of our tools and backend platform tech to support content creators using O3DE.  We are looking forward to working with the Linux Foundation to make this a reality." - - Nik Palmer , Product Manager of AccelByte Blackbox.

Adobe
"Adobe is proud to champion the Open 3D Foundation as a founding member. Open source technologies are critical to advance sustainability across 3D industries and beyond. We believe collaborative and agnostic toolsets are the key to not only more healthy and innovative ecosystems but also to furthering the democratization of 3D on a global scale." - - said Sebastien Deguy, VP of 3D & Immersive at Adobe.

Apocalypse Studios
"The new Open 3D Foundation ushers in a profound change in the video game industry," said Denis Dyack , CEO of Apocalypse Studios Inc. "O3DE will lead the way for cloud-first development, freeing developers to collaborate without traditional restrictions allowing them to concentrate on creativity, achieving what was once previously impossible. The video game industry will never be the same again."

Audiokinetic
"We're very excited about offering an integration of Wwise to O3DE users. We believe it is our duty as the global leader in interactive audio solutions to make our cross-platform technology as accessible as possible," said Martin Dufour , Audiokinetic CTO. "While we think this is essential for continuing our contributions towards advancements within the gaming and interactive media industry, we also believe that strengthening and empowering the creators community with open source solutions will allow other industries to leverage interactivity as it expands beyond games."

Backtrace
"The formation of the Open 3D Foundation is a transformative step in accelerating the real-time 3D market through open-source. It feeds into the market trends of game technology democratization, cloud-first game development, and the evolution of multi-faced game development platforms to the benefit of both creators and the ecosystem as a whole. Backtrace is honored to join as a founding member of the Open 3D Foundation and eager to empower O3DE creators with our cross-platform observability solution for real-time 3D," said Abel Mathew , CEO and co-founder of Backtrace I/O.

Carbonated
"As a mobile-first studio, we're honored and excited to be a founding member of the Open 3D Foundation," said Travis Boatman , CEO of Carbonated Inc. "Our titles must perform on a myriad of devices, and tap into cloud-enabled services in order to drive forever games for our players.  We chose O3DE as foundational tech because it delivers on all of our needs while being completely free and open source."

Futurewei
"The open sourcing, with the Linux Foundation of this important platform for game development is a big step for spatial computing and I'm very excited to see where it leads!" said Tish Shute (Leichliter), Futurewei Technologies, Inc.

GAMEPOCH
"Successful implementation of cloud-native games requires not only a fundamental shift in design paradigm but equally important is the availability of enabling technologies. The O3DE initiative is an important catalyst for empowering creators in the new era of cloud-native gaming," said Stephanie Chen , Founder & CEO, GAMEPOCH.

Genvid Technologies
"Creators and businesses both benefit when there are open source tools available to them. We are big believers that game engines and interactive streaming will change not just video games but entertainment in general, and think that the mission of the Open 3D Foundation is important not just to our industry (gaming) but our metaverse future. We are honored to join as a founding member of the Open 3D Foundation and are eager to bring our cross-platform interactive streaming services to its developers," said Jacob Navok, co-founder and CEO of Genvid Technologies, Inc.

Hadean
"The release of a fully open source AAA-quality game engine has the potential to significantly reshape the games industry and Hadean is thrilled to be able to support it. We are particularly excited by the modularity goals of O3DE and the potential for integration with our highly scalable distributed simulation engine, in pursuit of a more open ecosystem for gaming and simulation," said Aidan Hobson-Sayers , technical director, Hadean.

HERE Technologies
"As a location platform at the forefront of mapping the world's road networks and urban centers in 3D, we are excited to join the Open 3D Foundation as a founding member," said Giovanni Lanfranchi , Senior Vice President Development and Chief Technology Officer at HERE Technologies. "We intend to contribute to the 3D engine code as well as provide expertise that can help developers create 3D-rich location-based experiences for gaming and a broad array of enterprise and mobility use cases."

Huawei
"We are thrilled to support and participate in the formation of the Open 3D Foundation as a Premier Member," said Bryan Che , Chief Strategy Officer, Huawei Technologies . "3D graphics are vital to how we connect billions of people around the world, including in our mobile devices, laptops, AR/VR systems, and smart screens; cloud-based gaming and media services; and more. Bringing the power of open source across all these areas and beyond will greatly enhance the innovation and value of 3D visuals.

IGDA
"We are proud to be supporting the O3DE project and the democratization of game development technology through open source. It is our mission to support and empower game developers in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers, and access to cutting-edge development tools and their source code will enable more studios and developers to thrive. We are sure to see the O3DE project and Open 3D Foundation lead to new innovation within our industry and improve video games and other 3D experiences for everyone," said Renee Gittins , executive director, International Game Developers Association.

Intel
"Intel is excited and honored to join with AWS, the Linux Foundation and other industry partners to form the Open 3D Engine Foundation. We know well through the variety of Linux Foundation projects we already support that open software is a major driver of innovation. Such projects as O3DE enable the collective energy and mind-power of the best developers in the world to deliver robust, stable and next generation technology to everyone sooner. We are delighted to contribute a wide array of Intel's advanced photorealistic and high-performance visual technology, including Intel® OSPRay and other components in the Intel® oneAPI Rendering Toolkit, for the best 3D visual impact to a wide array of applications," said Jim Jeffers , senior principal engineer and senior director of Intel Advanced Rendering and Visualization Architecture.

KitBash3D
"As creators begin to check out the O3DE, it's important that they can quickly build a world and get excited about using the engine. To help them reach this magic moment, we're providing a sampling of the KitBash3D premium asset library to come FREE within the O3DE – giving users the tools they need to create worlds and save countless hours of work in the process. We are very happy to be a part of this project's launch and can't wait to see all the amazing things creators make with it!" -- Banks Boutté, Co-founder, KitBash3D

Kythera AI
"The O3DE Project is a game changer," said Matthew Jack , CEO of Kythera AI, an established supplier of the industry's most comprehensive AI middleware. "It's a big step in the democratization and accessibility of game development, with users gaining access to cutting-edge tools previously affordable only to AAA studios. As a founding member of O3DE we have chosen to make the power of Kythera AI available to all as an Open3D Gem. Developers will save thousands of hours and achieve sophisticated, dynamic behaviors for any genre, out of the box, and at scale.  As a result, users of O3DE can deliver an unrivalled experience to players - and fill their stunning worlds with intelligent life!"

Niantic
"Niantic's mission is to encourage exploring and togetherness, which is why our Real World Platform offers cross-platform APIs and tools that simplify the development of AR applications for mobile devices," said Phil Keslin , CTO, Niantic. "Being a founding member of the exciting Open 3D Foundation follows that spirit of openness and togetherness. Open standards help democratize innovation, which is why we support arming developers with a fully open source cross-platform 3D engine, as it will remove major hurdle to creativity and will help their focus on AR world building. We're honored to be able to provide developers with this framework to deliver amazing, shared AR experiences through the conduit of our real-world AR mobile games."

Open Robotics
We are happy to support the Open 3D Foundation's goal of providing a high-quality open source 3D engine and we are honored to be a founding member. Given our history with open source software for the robotics industry, we are intimately familiar with the power of collaboration and community. We look forward to O3DE helping to grow this initiative and to one day bring these capabilities to robotics simulation," said Brian Gerkey , CEO, Open Robotics.

PopcornFX
"We believe in collaboration and sharing across industries. By gathering ambitious individuals and organizations from multiple industries, O3DE is a path to a bright future. As founder members of O3DF, we will bring PopcornFX GeM and our ability to work closely with production teams. With partners and community, our offer and capabilities will continue to improve in order to bring cutting edge solutions for realtime VFX," said Maxime Dumas , owner, PopcornFX.

Red Hat
"As a leader in open source solutions, Red Hat knows how instrumental open source communities can be in creating innovative solutions to the pressing needs and challenges of various industries. We're honored to be a founding member of the Open 3D Foundation, an initiative that will empower developers to collaborate and thereby shape the future of 3D visual experiences," said Deborah Bryant , Senior Director, Open Source Program Office.

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
"Since I teach courses in Game Design and Development and in our Minor in Free and One Source Software and Free Culture, this checks all the boxes for bringing more enterprise open source collaboration to the gaming industry," said Stephen Jacobs , Director, Rochester Institute of Technology's Open Programs Office, Open@RIT. "This will be a great opportunity for RIT students, faculty and staff to make contributions to the engine and, as we're part of the Foundation, to engage at a level that actually helps shape its direction. This is  especially important for our students to work with the professionals in the field. Students in the Open Source course I'm teaching this semester will have the option to work with the foundation for their required FOSS contributions."

SideFX
"Empowering artists with tools they need to create immersive virtual worlds is at the heart of everything we do at SideFX. So we're thrilled to be a founding member of the Open 3D Foundation. We truly believe that open, collaboraitve workflows are the future of 3D – and we're proud to be a part of this important initiative driving into that future," said Cristin Barghiel, VP of product development at SideFX.

Tafi
"At Tafi, our vision is to empower creators and democratize 3D avatar solutions across the virtual worlds. As such, the Open 3D Engine project aligns perfectly with our shared belief in open collaboration and mass innovation," said Preston Woo , Chief Strategy Officer, Tafi. "We are proud to be a founding member of the O3DF in partnership with Amazon, the Linux Foundation, and other industry leaders, and we look forward to supporting the development of this new open source 3D engine."

TLM Partners
"The O3DE project opens the door to a AAA engine for indies and underserved markets. We see room in the market for a third engine that is a transformative step towards collaboration and will drive exponential creativity and growth," said Jake Hawley , founder and CEO of TLM Partners. "As a publisher of Cross-Play games, TLM is excited to support the development of a cloud connected, cross-platform and open source engine that aligns with our belief that the future of game development is predicated on pioneering tools and technology that facilitate creative and collaborative expression without the need for a physical space."

Wargaming
"We at FragLab believe that having a game engine with quality rendering is not enough. Nowadays the more technical side of game development is quickly changing and the ability to adapt your solutions in real-time is extremely important. O3DE has a proven foundation to be not only a high-quality game engine, but also be flexible enough to quickly react to different users' demands, starting from integrating 3 rd party AI systems to new game servers' orchestration backend technologies," said Sergey Rustamov , technical director at Wargaming.

About the Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation's projects are critical to the world's infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more. The Linux Foundation's methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org .

About Amazon Web Services

For over 15 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud offering. AWS has been continually expanding its services to support virtually any cloud workload, and it now has more than 200 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 81 Availability Zones (AZs) within 25 geographic regions, with announced plans for 21 more Availability Zones and seven more AWS Regions in Australia , India , Indonesia , Israel , Spain , and Switzerland , and the United Arab Emirates . Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com .

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page:
www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage . Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact
Jennifer Cloer for Linux Foundation
503-867-2304
jennifer@storychangesculture.com

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SOURCE The Linux Foundation

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NorthStar Gaming Announces Revocation of Management Cease Trade Order

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NorthStar Gaming Reports Year-End 2024 Results

NorthStar Gaming Reports Year-End 2024 Results

Annual Revenue Growth of 57%, Gross Margin up 91%

NorthStar Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSXV: BET) (OTCQB: NSBBF) ("NorthStar" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024. The Company also announced that it will discuss the results on an investor webinar to be held Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 11:00am (please see below for details). All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.

"We delivered strong financial results in 2024, highlighted by 57% growth in revenue and a 91% increase in gross margin. At the same time, we held marketing expense to a 10% increase and reduced G&A expense, demonstrating the continually improving operating leverage built into our business model," said Michael Moskowitz, Chair and CEO of NorthStar. "Equally important, our team rolled out innovations in both our sportsbook and casino that have further differentiated NorthStar Bets as a premium offering and helped drive the retention of, and engagement with, our loyal customers."

Restatement of Results

The comparative results for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2023 have been restated in the financial statements and management's discussion & analysis ("FY2024 MD&A") for the year ended December 31, 2024 to include additional merchant fees and player bonus expenses which were not captured in the previously published financial statements (note 2 of the Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2024). The Company's payment processor deducted the additional merchant fee from the daily remittances to the Company, and the deductions were not accounted for by the Company. These additional fees were identified as part of the year-end reconciliation of the amount due from the payment processor, and the financial statements and FY2024 MD&A have been adjusted accordingly. These restatements did not impact the cash balances reported for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023, or 2024. However, they did result in adjustments to the reported current asset balances for those periods.

Financial Highlights for the Fourth Quarter Ended December 31, 2024 ("Q4 2024"):

  • Total Wagers1 at Northstarbets.ca were $303.0 million in Q4 2024, a 42% increase compared to $213.3 million in Q4 2023.
  • Gross Gaming Revenue2 at Northstarbets.ca was $10.0 million in Q4 2024, a 31.6% increase from $7.6 million in Q4 2023.
  • Revenue2 was $9.5 million in Q4 2024, a 51% increase from $6.3 million in Q4 2023. Revenue in Q4 2024 includes $1.5 million of managed services revenue, which compares to $0.2 million in Q4 2023.
  • Gross Margin was $3.6 million, a 71% increase from $2.1 million in Q4 2023, while the Gross Margin percentage increased to 38.1%, up from 33.6% in Q4 2023.
  • Profit/(loss) before marketing and other expenses1 was $0.6 million in Q4 2024 compared to a loss of $2.5 million in Q4 2023, indicating that gross margin is now sufficient to cover the Company's overhead expenses.

Financial Highlights for the Year Ended December 31, 2024 ("FY 2024"):

  • Total Wagers2 at Northstarbets.ca were $980.0 million in FY 2024, a 51% increase compared to $648.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2023.
  • Gross Gaming Revenue2 at Northstarbets.ca was $34.0 million in FY 2024, a 51% increase from $22.5 million in FY 2023.
  • Revenue2 was $29.6 million in FY 2024, a 57% increase from $18.8 million in FY 2023. Revenue in FY 2024 includes $2.3 million of managed services revenue, which compares to $0.5 million in FY 2023.3
  • Gross Margin was $10.5 million, marking a 91% increase from $5.5 million in FY 2023, with the Gross Margin increasing to 35.7%, up from 29.3% in FY 2023.
  • Profit/(loss) before marketing and other expenses1 was $0.1 million in FY 2024 compared to a loss of $6.7 million in YTD 2023, an improvement of $6.8 million.

"Early in 2025, we completed our most significant fund-raising to date, with a $43.4 million debt financing. This capital gives us a long runway on which to continue our trajectory of growth in wagering, gross margins and improving operating leverage. This was a milestone event for our business," added Mr. Moskowitz.

2024 Operating Highlights:

  • Completed the inaugural Blackjack Championship tournament, an innovative online competition that helped drive the acquisition of new high-value players and engagement for existing customers while increasing Blackjack wagering activity.
  • Implemented a series of enhancements to the NorthStar Bets platform, highlighted by streamlined navigation in both the Casino and Sportsbook sections, a doubling of Casino game selection since the start of 2024, personalized prop bets and intelligent parlay suggestions.
  • Introduced the "NorthStar Elite" program and branded tables to help secure the loyalty and satisfaction of our most active players and reinforcing the Company's positioning as a premium offering.
  • Launched "Sports Insights 2.0," a robust suite of enhancements to our content vertical that includes a redesigned home page, comprehensive team and player statistics, injury and player news feeds, added coverage of popular sports and strengthened casino content.
  • Gained significant traction outside the Ontario market with managed services revenue from Northstarbets.com site, owned by the Abenaki Council of Wolinak, increasing from $0.5 million in FY 2023 to $2.3 million in FY 2024.
  • Outpaced the industry growth rates reported by iGaming Ontario in 2024 in both Total Wagers (51% for NorthStar vs. 33% for the industry) and Gross Gaming Revenue (51% for NorthStar vs. 31.5% for the industry).

Outlook

"We expect our consistent pattern of year-over-year revenue increases to continue throughout 2025, based on our ongoing success in attracting and engaging high-value players," said Mr. Moskowitz. "We will maintain disciplined control over costs so that incremental gross margin falls primarily to the bottom line. As we continue to focus on operational excellence, we remain confident that we have the capital necessary to reach profitability based on our current business platform."

FY 2024 Corporate Update Webinar

On May 15, 2025, Michael Moskowitz will present an in-depth Corporate Update, including a discussion of the Company's FY 2024 Earnings, current operations and strategic priorities. All investors and other interested parties are invited to register for the webinar at the link below.

Date: Thursday, May 15, 2025
Time: 11:00 am EDT
Register: Webinar Registration

Management will be available to answer your questions following the presentation on the webinar platform. You may also submit your question(s) beforehand in the registration form linked above.

Extension of Strategic Marketing Agreement

The Company also announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, NorthStar Gaming (Ontario) Inc. ("NorthStar Ontario"), has extended its strategic partnership with Playtech Software Limited ("Playtech Software") through the renewal of their previously announced strategic marketing agreement. Under the agreement, Playtech Software contributes services designed to accelerate NorthStar Ontario's player acquisition strategy in the province. The agreement was first implemented in June 2023 and has since been renewed several times. Pursuant to the latest renewal, Playtech Software will reimburse marketing expenses valued at a total of up to $1.5 million over a 3-month period through to March 31, 2025. Playtech Software will be compensated through a share of revenue from the income generated in connection with the marketing initiatives to which it contributes. The Transaction between Playtech and NorthStar Ontario is exempted from Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Securityholders in Special Transactions.

"We are very pleased to renew the marketing services agreement with Playtech Software," said Michael Moskowitz, Chair and CEO of NorthStar. "The agreement serves to extend our marketing budget and has contributed to our tremendous growth in Ontario. Playtech plc continues to be a valuable strategic partner and we look forward to further collaboration."

Continuous Disclosure

Further to a review by the staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (the "OSC") of the Company's continuous disclosure, the FY2024 MD&A includes enhanced disclosures with respect to:

  • the Company's regulatory framework, licensing regimes applicable to its business operations and the legal authorizations necessary to conduct its business operations;
  • specific risk factors relating to the Company's business operations which include risks relating to operating in a heavily regulated industry, cyber security risks and risks relating to conflicts of interest with respect to directors and officers of the Company; and
  • the relationship between the Abenaki Council of Wolinak and the Company as well as its subsidiary, Slapshot Media Inc.

Such amended disclosure is being included in the FY2024 MD&A to address comments received from the OSC on its management's discussion & analysis, for the period ended September 30, 2024, and to improve the Company's disclosure.

As a result of having to include such enhanced disclosure after the OSC review, the Company will be placed on the public list of Refilings and Errors in accordance with OSC Staff Notice 51-711 (Revised) - Refilings and Corrections of Errors for a period of three (3) years.

Additional Information

For additional information, please refer to the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, and the corresponding FY2024 MD&A. These documents are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, and on the Company's corporate website at www.northstargaming.ca.

About NorthStar

NorthStar proudly owns and operates NorthStar Bets, a Canadian-born casino and sportsbook platform that delivers a premium, distinctly local gaming experience. Designed with high-stakes players in mind, NorthStar Bets Casino offers a curated selection of the most popular games, ensuring an elevated user experience. Our sportsbook stands out with its exclusive Sports Insights feature, seamlessly integrating betting guidance, stats, and scores, all tailored to meet the expectations of a premium audience.

As a Canadian company, NorthStar is uniquely positioned to cater to customers who seek a high-quality product and an exceptional level of personalized service, setting a new standard in the industry. NorthStar is committed to operating at the highest level of responsible gaming standards.

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures [/ Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures to IFRS Measures]

Throughout this document, management uses certain non-IFRS financial measures and supplementary financial measures to evaluate the performance of the Company. The terms "Gross Gaming Revenue" "Total Wagers" and "Profit/(Loss) before marketing and other expenses" are non-IFRS financial measures. These measures are not recognized measures under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are, therefore, not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of our results of operations from management's perspective and to discuss NorthStar's financial outlook. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of the Company's financial information reported under IFRS. We believe that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures, including industry metrics, in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Management also uses non-IFRS measures and industry metrics in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, the preparation of annual operating budgets and forecasts and to determine components of executive compensation.

Total Wagers

Total Wagers are calculated as the total amount of money bet by customers in respect of bets that have settled in the applicable period. Total Wagers does not include free bets or other promotional incentives, nor money bet by customers in respect of bets that are open at period end. Total Wagers is used to provide investors with supplemental measures of our operating performance and thus highlight trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures.

Gross Gaming Revenue

Gross Gaming Revenue is calculated as dollar amounts bet by customers less the dollar amounts paid out to the customers in respect of such bets which have settled in the applicable period.

Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures to IFRS Measures

In Q4 2024, the Company reported $10.0 million of Gross Gaming Revenue ($34.0 million in FY 2024) and has provided a reconciliation to the most comparable IFRS financial measure (Revenue) as follows:
$ Millions (unaudited)
Unaudited Three
months ended
Year ended
Dec 31,
2024
Dec 31,
2023
Dec 31,
2024
Dec 31,
2023
Gross gaming revenue from wagered games$10.0$ 7.6$ 34.0$22.5
Bonuses, promotional costs and free bets(2.0)(1.5)(6.7)(4.2)
Sub-total Gaming revenue8.06.127.318.3
Other revenue from managed services1.50.22.30.5
Revenue$ 9.5$ 6.3$ 29.6$ 18.8

 

Operating Results

Marketing expenses are a key driver of the business but are completely discretionary. Management considers "Profit/(Loss) before marketing and other expenses" to be a good indication of the extent to which the business' Gross Margin is in excess of its overhead costs, and therefore offsetting some portion of marketing expenses, reflecting improving economies of scale.

$ Millions (unaudited)Unaudited Three 
months ended
Year ended
Dec 31,
2024
Dec 31,
2023
Dec 31,
2024
Dec 31,
2023
Revenue$ 9,478$ 6,275$ 29,556$ 18,845
Cost of Revenues5,8684,16719,01313,317
Gross Margin3,6102,10810,5435,528
General and administrative expenses3,0334,45210,45312,277
Profit/(Loss) before marketing and other expenses (1)577(2,344)90(6,749)
Marketing5,2495,47215,45614,094
Loss before other expenses (1)(4,672)(7,816)(15,366)(20,843)
Other expenses(1,070)1493,6456,547
Net loss$ (3,602)$ (7,965)$ (19,011)$ (27,390)

 

(1) These measures are not defined by IFRS, do not have standard meanings and may not be comparable with other industries or companies.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This communication contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws in Canada ("forward-looking statements"), including without limitation, statements with respect to the following: expected performance of the Company's business, the Company's growth plans being fully funded, expansion into new markets and future growth opportunities, and expected benefits of transactions. The foregoing are provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's anticipated financial position, results of operations, and operating environment. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "continues", "forecasts", "projects", "predicts", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes", or variations of, or the negatives of, such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. This information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. This forward-looking information is based on management's opinions, estimates and assumptions that, while considered by NorthStar to be appropriate and reasonable as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the following: risks related to the Company's business and financial position; risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry risks; future legislative and regulatory developments; the ability of the Company to implement its business strategies; and those factors discussed in greater detail under the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's most recent annual information form, which is available under NorthStar's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Many of these risks are beyond the Company's control.

If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the opinions, estimates or assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results or future events might vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there may be other risk factors not presently known to the Company or that the Company presently believes are not material that could also cause actual results or future events to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future results. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only as of the date made. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents NorthStar's expectations as of the date specified herein, and are subject to change after such date. However, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws.

All of the forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements.

For further information:

Company Contact:

Corey Goodman
Chief Development Officer 647-530-2387
investorrelations@northstargaming.ca

Investor Relations:
RB Milestone Group LLC (RBMG)
Northstar@rbmilestone.com

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