Toronto-based Rivalry has announced the layoffs of 29 people as part of a company restructuring to support the its growth into new product categories and audience segments.
“As Rivalry continues to prioritize areas where we are finding the most customer success and return on invested capital, we have come to realize that the roles needed for our future are different from those that brought us here today,” said Steven Salz, co-founder and CEO of Rivalry. “In light of this strategic shift, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with 29 of our talented colleagues in a company restructuring.
“Moving forward, we will continue to narrow our focus on areas where we believe our skills can create asymmetric opportunities to compete and win, including scaling back specific aspects of our strategy and reshaping our teams around that.”
Rivalry is a sportsbook and igaming operator, also expanding into B2B (there’s interest in their original casino content) and operating in 20 countries. Rivalry came out of the gate in 2022, prioritizing esports, internet culture, and building brand affinity with the next generation of bettors, pushing organic growth, with minimal marketing expense.
One of those new directions is an expansion into crypto. In May, targeting Millennials and Gen Z, the company announced the launch of a new crypto product called the Rivalry Token, anticipated to arrive in the second half of 2024. It will be built into Rivalry’s product suite (sportsbook and casino), where users can earn tokens through site activity, which can be used to take part in jackpots and boost odds.
It will also be available on several to-be-announced crypto exchange platforms, trading under $RVLRY.
In May, the company reported an 11 percent increase in betting handle and a 51 percent increase in net revenue, according to the results of the company’s first quarter 2024 (three months ended March 31).
