Highway Kings

What is Highway Kings?

Patent squabbles, including those pertaining to geolocation services, aren’t unheard of in the online gaming space. How things shake out in the Cantor Fitzgerald/DraftKings spat remains to be seen, but it’s possible the deck is stacked against the gaming company.

The Commerce Department has jurisdiction over the USPTO, meaning Lutnick is the boss of the USPTO Director John Squires. Squires, who became 60th director of the USPTO a year ago, has been publicly effusive in his praise of Lutnick.

More relevant to DraftKings is the fact that under his leadership, the patent office has moved to significantly limit access to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) – the very board to which the gaming company is appealing in an effort to have the Cantor patent annulled.

What is Highway Kings?

Its share price decline began after reaching an all-time high in September 2021. Over the course of five years it has slipped 73% to 530p.

It has been a challenging few years for Entain, having cycled through four CEOs in short succession. In November 2023 Entain agreed to pay a financial penalty totalling £585 million, plus a £20 million charitable donation and £10 million in Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and HMRC costs. This related to a bribery case initiated by the CPS into the company’s historic operations in Turkey.

Troubles continued as it faced declining growth within its digital business. Reports of failed integrations amid a frenzy of acquisitions further dampened Entain’s reputation and the operator subsequently committed to a major turnaround effort to cut costs and return its digital business to growth.

What is Highway Kings?

Calvinayre.com Editor-in-Chief, Bill Beatty – the Michael Kinsley of the gambling world. Bill just possesses that same rare gift of creating great writers. You won’t meet a more genuine guy that Bill, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities to learn so much about the casino business, writing and how I see the world.

Lead reporter Rebecca Liggero Fontana for taking me under her wing. You won’t meet a more generous soul than Becky. She shares this unbridled passion for the casino and tech space, that is just contagious and I’m glad I got to experience that unabashed joy for the gambling industry.

I want to thank Derek Tonin, my editor who I would speak with every day I worked at Calvinayre.com. I’m grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with Derek. He’s an editor who doesn’t shy away from the blunt criticism and its inspiring being on the other end of the call. He’s a guy you would want in the foxhole right next to you, someone who isn’t afraid to give the blunt truth and also celebrate the wins with you.