About this app
What is Funky Monkey?
Veikkaus has submitted licence applications as a private entity, joining around 50 other companies that had applied to join the upcoming market by the end of June.
The company committed to a management reshuffle late last year as part of this transition, scrapping the role of deputy CEO after Velipekka Nummikoski was shuffled into a new role.
The operator has made a number of key operational and technology changes during this process, including switching its sportsbook backend from DraftKings to OpenBet. And hiring a number of industry stalwards to lead its competitive business.
About Funky Monkey
The Lalabet case, which reached a milestone in June, saw a Dutch court rule largely in favour of the lottery operator.
It found Lalabet’s operators and directors had acted unlawfully by targeting Dutch players and ordered them to cease activities and provide detailed ownership and shareholder information.
The court also explored potential liabilities for trust administrators and local representatives who facilitate illegal gambling sites.
What is Funky Monkey?
While this initially seemed terrifying, I quickly discovered that this outsider status was a gift. It has allowed me to view the industry through fresh eyes. I do not have any preconceptions about companies or products. This has become my superpower, allowing me to analyse the industry without bias and, hopefully, help shape its future.
iGaming was not the industry I set out to work in. Before 2021, I worked in finance and business – agro companies, management consultancy and investment funds, none of which were remotely linked to the industry.
In 2021, I joined an investment fund focused on startups harnessing AI and machine learning. In the process, I had a chance encounter with an iGaming investor. This sparked a conversation that would change the course of my career. He pointed out that iGaming was dramatically underutilising its data potential. There was an opportunity here, and once we began exploring it, the thread just kept unravelling.
