Boom Raises $15M From Former MGM CEO Jim Murren, Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, Others

Posted on: September 20, 2021, 09:48h. 

Last updated on: September 20, 2021, 03:39h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Boom Entertainment, the maker of predictive gaming apps, said investors are pouring $15 million into the company in its first capital raise.

Boom Entertainment
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is among the investors in Boom Entertainment. He’s joined by Jim Murren, Golden Nugget Online, and others. (Image: Boston Herald)

The funding round was led by Sand Capital Management. That investor is not related to the casino operator Las Vegas Sands. Sands Capital “is an active, long-term investor in leading innovative businesses globally.” It had $77 billion in assets under management as of June 30.

The Series A funding also includes investments from former MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) CEO Jim Murren and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Since leaving the helm of the casino giant last year, Murren remains active in gaming investing circles. He was part of a group that launched a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Acies Acquisition Corp. That entity merged with Playstudios (NASDAQ:MYPS), serving as the avenue for the social casino developer to go public in June. For his part, Kraft isn’t a stranger to gaming investing circles, as he’s an early backer of DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG).

Gaming Companies Investing in Boom

Kraft and Murren aren’t the only well-known names with ties to the gaming and sports worlds taking stakes in Boom.

Tilman Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) and Rush Street Interactive (RSI) also participated in the Series A funding. Last month, RSI took a stake in privately held Boom Entertainment, leveraging that relationship to gain access to Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico by way of Boom’s established relationships with land-based casinos in those states.

With GNOG making an investment in Boom, that stake could ultimately transfer to DraftKings, because the latter is acquiring Fertitta’s online gaming entity for $1.56 billion in stock. That deal, announced last month, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Boom is working on new online casino games with GNOG and RSI.

New York-based Boom is known for developing free-to-play sports gaming apps for clients including NBC Sports, MSG Network, and Golf. “NBC Sports Predictor” is the company’s flagship free-to-play mobile offering.

Other investors include BTIG’s Richard Jacklin, Palo Alto Venture Partners managing partner Peter Ziebelman, and ESPN NFL analyst Adam Schefter, according to Boom.

Boom Attracting Investments as Next-Gen Gaming Surges

Boom’s Series A funding round comes at a time of elevated interest in and consolidation among iGamng and sports wagering companies.

That’s being fueled by estimates those industries could swell to as much as $40 billion in revenue, assuming all 50 states join the live and legal fray. While all 50 states may not get there, it’s clear online casinos and sports wagering are fast-growing industries and that’s stoking increasing mergers and acquisitions activity and investments.

To date, Boom hasn’t been mentioned as a takeover target. Executives didn’t reveal a valuation for the company following the $15 million capital raise nor did they mention if there were plans to take the firm public at some point.