It is now almost six months since Golden Matrix Group officially completed its rebrand to Meridian Holdings.
The decision was taken to further align the NASDAQ-listed business with its owner and the wider MeridianBet group.
Since then, on the face of it, business has been somewhat booming, with Meridian reporting its first profitable quarter under its new business identity in early May, as the firm reported group revenue of $50.1m (£37m), up 17% year-on-year from $42.5m, while gross profit reached rose 16% to $28.1m.
But what exactly went into this business-wide revamp?
SBC News spoke with William Scott, Chair and Interim Chief Executive Officer at Meridian Holdings, to find out.
Now that the wider company is Meridian Holdings, has the market begun to understand what you are?
“A new name gives you a clearer identity, but people don’t come to understand a business because of what it’s called. They come to understand it because it keeps delivering, quarter after quarter.
“The Meridianbet acquisition changed everything for us: our scale, our geographic reach, the whole shape of the business, and the rebrand simply catches the listed name up with what we’d already become.
“If there’s one part of the business that’s still underappreciated, it’s our technology. Investors can see the consumer brands easily enough, they’re visible, they’re fun.
“What takes longer to appreciate is what sits underneath: our own platform, our in-house development, our proprietary content, and a B2B distribution network that’s already a real and growing part of our revenue mix, one I expect to get a lot harder to overlook over the next few quarters.”
Last December you described 2026 as the “synergy year” for Meridian. Has anything surprised you – either positively or negatively – since bringing the businesses together?
“The level of effort needed to turn multiple businesses into one entity did surprise me, but that’s exactly the job we’ve done. Our rebrand and our segment reporting now reflect one company, structured the way we actually operate.
“The result is that operating leverage is already starting to show. Ultimately, synergies only count if they show up as measurable revenue growth, margin improvement, and cash generation.”
You’ve repeatedly argued that owning your entire technology stack is one of Meridian’s biggest competitive advantages. As more operators adopt AI and focus on tech, where does Meridian see the biggest opportunity?
“Owning the technology stack shortens the time between an idea and its commercial deployment. Meridian controls the key elements, so improvements can be tested and deployed without waiting on a third-party platform provider’s roadmap. It also makes geographic expansion more efficient.
“A modular, multi-language, multi-currency platform lets us localise products, integrate local payment methods, and respond to regulatory requirements without rebuilding the platform for every country. And proprietary content creates a feedback loop many operators simply don’t have. We use customer data to identify product preferences, develop or adapt content through Expanse Studios, test it within our own consumer business, and then distribute the titles that work to third-party operators.
“Expanse already has almost 80 titles distributed across more than 1,500 active sites, and that’s exactly the number I’d point anyone to if they want proof this isn’t just a talking point.”
Is there still room to grow your B2B technology business, or will Meridian increasingly prioritise its own consumer brands?
“It’s not really an either/or for us. Our consumer brands are the foundation of this business today. But prioritising B2C doesn’t mean underinvesting in B2B, the two reinforce each other. We build and test products within our own consumer business, then take what works and distribute that technology and content to external operators.
“Over time, a larger B2B contribution should improve the quality of our revenue mix, and we’ll prioritise investment according to returns, but strategically, the two revenue streams are built to keep supporting one another.”
It hasn’t been a case of the company resting on its laurels both throughout and since the rebrand.
Earlier on in February – the month the rebrand was completed – Meridianbet acquired “100% control” of Fairbet Ltd to become Malta’s biggest sportsbook operator.
Malta has become a popular hub for iGaming businesses – companies including Sky Bet and Tipico are headquartered in the country, while many more of the industry’s leading companies have operations in the Mediterranean country.
However, there is a distinct lack of retail operators in the region – which was one of the reasons why Meridian capitalised.
The Fairbet acquisition strengthened your position in Malta. What attracted Meridian to this opportunity?
“Malta’s local retail regulatory regime is properly restrictive. Only three licensed retail operators exist in the whole jurisdiction, and the Fairbet acquisition gives us two of those three licences. That kind of scarcity doesn’t come along often.
“It’s also not a deal out of nowhere. We already had a technology partnership with Fairbet, and we’ve operated in Malta since 2008, so this is converting a relationship we know well into full ownership, exactly the kind of selective, high-barrier-market M&A we look for.”
We’ve seen lots of regulatory changes across Europe in particular. How has Meridian been able to adapt to these shifts, particularly as a company which has gone through such a recent overhaul?
“Regulatory change doesn’t catch us off guard, because we don’t wait for the rulebook to tell us what integrity looks like. In every market we operate, we voluntarily hold ourselves to standards above the legal minimum.
“Being NASDAQ-listed reinforces that discipline too. It shows in who we build for as well. Our focus is the player who wants to enjoy their team’s match and wager an affordable amount. That’s the model regulators want to see, so as rules tighten around the world, we’re already positioned where they’re heading.”
Where do you believe Meridian has an edge over the industry’s biggest names?
“You saw it with Fairbet. While a larger, more centralised operator would likely still be working through internal approvals, we’d already converted years of a working relationship into full ownership.
“Owning and controlling our own technology stack gives that agility practical value too. Much of the underlying investment is already made, so the real opportunity is deploying that infrastructure without rebuilding the platform every time we enter a market. And we understand how to localise products, payments, marketing, and customer experience in a way a lot of competitors don’t, which lets us go after opportunities that might be too small, too early-stage, or too operationally complex for them to bother with.”
Since it was founded in Serbia back in 2001, Meridianbet has seen continuous growth.
The product of the company is now present in 35 countries on four continents, with recent expansions seen in Africa and Latin America.
However, it has remained loyal to its home market and is a major player in Serbia, exemplified by its continued title sponsorship of the Crvena Zvezda basketball team.
For Scott, expansion isn’t just about getting your company’s name out as quickly as possible, though.
You’re very well-established in the Balkans but have made recent moves into emerging markets across Africa and LatAm. What has the company’s early experiences been like there and where will you be looking to focus on next?
“We don’t treat emerging-market expansion as a race to add countries. The objective is to build durable, profitable positions in selected regulated markets, not to maximise the number of flags on a map.
“Brazil is a long-term strategic investment, and the early experience reinforced the need for patience. We avoided spending heavily before the commercial framework was clear. In Africa, our advantage is operating experience we’ve actually built up over years, this isn’t new territory for us.
“No region is homogeneous, regulation, payments, customer behaviour, and competitive dynamics vary significantly by country. So the near-term priority is depth rather than further geographic breadth: improving customer conversion, retention, and returns in the markets where we already operate.”
To add to this, you’ve significantly reduced debt while returning to profitability. Does that strengthen the case for more acquisitions or further technology investment?
‘A stronger balance sheet widens our strategic options, but it does not change our return thresholds. Organic investment in technology and existing markets will remain important, since it can offer attractive returns with lower execution risk.
“Acquisitions remain part of the strategy too, but a target has to add something difficult or time-consuming to build organically – a regulated licence, proprietary technology, local distribution, specialist talent, or an established customer base. Disciplined optionality is the core approach.”
You’ve previously described Meridian as a “PLC in the shadows”, but how much added pressure comes with being publicly traded, particularly with what has been a tough 12 months or so for gambling PLCs?
“Every quarter, every strategic decision, and every short-term event need to be explained and examined both internally and externally. For us, the real benefit of being public is the discipline it imposes.
“SEC reporting, stronger financial controls, board oversight, and regular investor engagement all push you toward better decisions. Our diversified structure cuts both ways. It protects us, we’re not dependent on any one brand or jurisdiction, which gives real resilience.
“But it also makes it harder to classify cleanly from the outside, which is part of why we’re actively working through a sector-classification review with the market right now. The best response to all of it is simple: consistent execution, stronger cash generation, and credible delivery against what we’ve said we’d do.”
Beyond a new name and ticker – and hopefully a continued rise in share price which has been evident this year – what operational changes should investors expect to see over the next 12 months?
“The priority is extracting more value from the markets we’re already in, growing revenue and improving operating efficiency. Any further geographic expansion has to meet strict internal criteria, we’ll only enter a market where the regulatory framework, the economics, and everything in between actually make sense.
“Beyond that, the focus stays on converting customer and revenue growth into stronger margins, operating cash flow, and continued balance-sheet improvement. And we’ll keep working closely with the investor community so they understand the contribution and value of each part of Meridian Holdings.”
To round things off, what do you expect to be the main talking points around the future of the betting industry at the SBC Summit in Lisbon this year?
“Regulation will dominate – I expect the real conversation to be about compliance moving from a licensing checkbox into something built directly into product and marketing, which is exactly the direction we have already taken.
“AI, of course, will be everywhere, but the version worth listening to will not be the standard hype – it will be applied AI for fraud detection, player verification, and real-time responsible gambling monitoring.
“I also expect a lot of attention on where the real growth is: Latin America and the other emerging markets still being built rather than defended. That is precisely where our own expansion is focused right now.”
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SBC Summit is one of the world’s largest gatherings of betting and gaming professionals. Taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 29 September-1 October, the event will bring together 40,000 attendees from across the international industry.
The event encompasses three days of learning, networking, and discussion, alongside a major exhibition featuring leading brands from around the globe.
For more information and tickets, visit sbcevents.com/sbc-summit
