Bragg Gaming CEO Mazij Voted Off Board as Shareholders Run Out of Patience

Key Points

• During the 18 June AGM held in Toronto by Bragg, Mazij was not elected to the board because there were 55.67% voting against him and 44.33% in favour of his re-election.
• The stock price of Bragg has dropped to about 60% over the last year to $1.73 due to the fact that the company failed to meet its expectations in August 2025 and conducted a reduction in employees twice.
• Leaving the board does not automatically remove Mazij from the CEO role; a 90-day transition window runs until 16 September, and COO Morten Tonnesen has been publicly identified as a possible replacement.

Matevž Mazij is off the board of Bragg Gaming Group. It was decided by the shareholders in the annual general meeting held on 18th of June in Toronto where there were 55.67% of votes against his re-appointment while only 44.33% of people voted for him.

The voting results were 6,288,503 votes against him and 5,008,342 votes for him. It is clearly mentioned in Bragg’s majority voting policy about the steps that must be followed once a director loses the election: “If a director fails to receive a majority of votes cast in an uncontested election, the director will promptly tender his or her resignation.” Mazij did the same thing on the same day.

He doesn’t simply quit; according to the policy, he remains a director until either his resignation is accepted, replacement is appointed or 90 days pass from the date of the vote whichever comes first. That day would be 16 September. The five other directors on the ballot, Holly Gagnon, Mark Clayton, Thomas Winter, Donald Robertson, and Aaron Baryoseph, were all re-elected at the same meeting without any difficulty.

The Founder Who Returned to a Business Already in Trouble

In order to grasp the rationale behind the actions of the shareholders, it makes sense to begin by considering the identity of Mr. Mazij. This individual founded Oryx Gaming which later became part of the mergers forming Bragg Gaming Group. This individual was formerly on the board chairmanship of Bragg and in August 2023 took up the position of CEO, making him the CEO of the company he had founded. At that time, the stock price stood at $5.45. However, by June 2026, the stocks were priced at $1.73.

That fall did not go unnoticed. Just months after Mazij took the helm, investor Jeremy Raper published a letter demanding a full company sale and a management overhaul, calling Bragg a “chronic” underperformer since its Nasdaq debut in August 2021. The board formed a special committee to explore a sale or merger. Investors waited. Late 2024 brought the conclusion: none of the proposals the committee received matched what the board believed the company was worth. The review closed empty-handed. The share price, already sliding before the announcement, took another hit and never found its footing again.

One Problem After Another: How the Case Against Mazij Built Up

What followed was not one single crisis. But it was a series of disappointments, each one building on top of another, so that when it came time for the AGM vote, it no longer seemed like an unexpected occurrence.

The month of August 2025 brought a double whammy. Bragg reported missing its full-year financial forecast, while at the same time, a cybersecurity leak occurred. Bragg hired independent experts as it struggled to deal with both problems. May 2026 brought a different kind of damage. Bragg lost Entain’s BetCity, its biggest client, and the revenue that came with it. At roughly the same time, key staff from Wild Streak Gaming, Bragg’s slot studio in Las Vegas, left the business, pulling apart an internal content operation the company had counted on.

In January 2026, Bragg cut approximately 12% of its global workforce, with termination costs of around €1 million and projected annual savings of €4.5 million. Mazij explained the decision at the time: “Given the increasingly complex regulatory compliance requirements, recent tax headwinds across key regions, emerging market opportunities, consolidation in the market, and our increased focus on short-term profitability, we needed to take this step now of restructuring the company’s staffing.”

The second wave took place in June 2026 when 60 more people were let go. The Q1 2026 report confirmed this pattern: total revenue reached €25.7 million, which is only 0.6% increase from the previous year, an amount that is not very comforting. American revenue dropped by 12.1% during the same period. Loss in operations for the quarter was $1.7 million.

The Share Sale That Shareholders Could Not Ignore

The financial results were damaging enough. But one specific decision made things personal for a significant portion of shareholders.

In February 2026, with Bragg’s shares sitting near their lowest point in years, Mazij sold 1,039,000 of his own shares. His stake dropped from 17.7% to 13.55%, earning him C$2,078,000 in proceeds. He described the reason as “urgent personal financial circumstances.” SEC filings show his consulting agreement pays him €485,000 per year, with a possible 150% performance-based award on top. Those same filings confirm he collected US$703,022 in fees from that arrangement during 2025, a year in which the company was cutting jobs and missing targets.

There is a clause that complicates whatever the board decides next. If Bragg ends Mazij’s role without cause, it must pay him a full additional year’s fees, including the potential performance bonus. Walking away from him cleanly will cost the company money.

New Appointments, a New Acquisition, and an AI Target 15 Months Away

While all of this was happening, Bragg was not standing still. In March 2026, the company appointed Morten Tonnesen as chief operating officer, a man who had built his career across PokerStars, Xtremepush, and Shape Games, and had founded BetWarrior himself in Latin America. His stated mandate was to steer Bragg toward becoming an AI-first company by 2027, with specific targets: AI-enhanced products in over 90% of new game launches, and artificial intelligence woven into more than 75% of operational workflows. At the same time, Garrick Morris was promoted to executive vice president of global content for the US and Canada.

May 2026 brought the Drayton International announcement: Bragg would acquire the gaming technology and content platform through an all-share deal, issuing 4.5 million new common shares priced at $2.00 each. The deal covers equity interests in five game development studios, Boomerang Studios, Dream Streak Gaming, Rise Gaming, Hit Squad, and Neotopia, plus three fully owned platforms: Arc Gaming, Vision PlAI, and 3 Shores. Regulatory approval permitting, the transaction should close in Q3 2026.

Matt Davey, founder of gaming investment fund Tekkorp Capital, was named non-executive chair of the board as part of the Drayton arrangement. He had already bought 1 million Bragg shares before the deal was announced and will hold roughly 10% of the company once it closes. Davey said: “After discussions with Matevž, his team, and other Board members, I am excited to invest my time and energy to help accelerate growth, drive operational performance, and enhance shareholder value.”

Mazij called the Drayton deal a “highly strategic step forward” and said Bragg’s “relative speed and regulatory agility is already beginning to translate into our being leaders rather than followers in the Alternative Markets space.” Those words carry a different weight now.

What Bragg’s Board Must Settle Before September

The biggest question nobody has answered yet is whether Mazij keeps the CEO title. Being removed from the board and being removed from the company are two separate things. There have been no statements from Bragg regarding his choice to stay or leave. Tonnesen has been mentioned by public reports to take over the position, although no confirmation has yet been given. Either way, a decision must be made by 16 September. The Drayton deal still needs regulatory clearance. The AI targets Bragg has committed to publicly are tied to a 2027 deadline now just 15 months out. The clock is running whether the boardroom is settled or not.

Expert Analysis

The vote at Bragg fits a pattern seen more than once across mid-size iGaming suppliers: a founder or long-serving figure steps back into operational leadership during a rough period, lays out a multi-year plan, and then loses shareholder backing before the plan has time to show anything.

The strategy itself may not be the problem. Bragg’s AI commitments, North American expansion, and the Drayton acquisition all suggest a company with a clear sense of direction. What shareholders objected to was the combination: a share price in freefall, a CEO selling down his own stake, executive fees continuing through a period of layoffs, and a strategic review that closed without producing a single result. Any one of those things might have been overlooked. All four together made the June vote feel like an inevitability long before the day arrived.

For operators and B2B partners on the outside, the practical concern is straightforward: Does the leadership uncertainty slow down what Bragg has already committed to doing? The Drayton closing, the 2027 AI targets, and the North American content push all need internal stability behind them. The board has 90 days to deliver that. Whether it can is the only question that matters now.