Why Did Bragg Gaming Replace CEO Matevž Mazij?

Key Points

• Matevž Mazij kept the position of Bragg CEO for 141 days after being rejected by the board in the shareholders’ election.
• Morten Tonnesen, who has been the COO since March, becomes the interim CEO one week before Q3 results.
• The cash balance of Bragg went down twice to €3.3m as of 30 June due to the need for a stronger balance sheet.

Mazij Goes, But Bragg Gives No Reason for That

Matevž Mazij was not re-elected to the board on 18 June but still managed to be Bragg CEO for 141 days. No reasons for that were given in Bragg’s statement. In one week before the company is going to announce its third-quarter results, the new CEO will become the COO Morten Tonnesen, who will be an interim CEO until further notice. Matevž Mazij will stay in Bragg as a strategic advisor but will no longer have any day-to-day management responsibilities.

The chairman Matt Davey thanked Matevž Mazij for founding the Oryx Gaming company and merging it with Bragg. After that, Matt Davey gave a list of requirements the company’s new leadership team should meet. They are disciplined execution, a stronger balance sheet, and improved operating cash flow. Regarding the new CEO, Davey said: “Morten has the operational experience to deliver against those tests, and the Board has full confidence in him.”

Morten Tonnesen became Bragg COO in March. His experience includes working in both gaming operators and technology providers. He co-founded BetWarrior, worked six years at PokerStars and became the CCO of Shape Games. His priorities also include better execution and “a simpler and more focused business.” Bragg has more than 30 licensed markets, a games hub, and a player account platform.

Shareholders Give the Boot to Mazij’s Re-election in June

The trouble between Mazij and the shareholders finally came to light on 18 June when investors voted overwhelmingly against his re-election to the board. By a margin of 55.67% to 44.33%, they made it pretty clear they didn’t want him sticking around. Bragg’s board voting policy, which requires a majority to pass, meant Mazij was left with no choice but to offer his resignation. He handed in his papers in July, but interestingly, he carried on as CEO. This comes after Mazij had taken over the top job from Yaniv Sherman back in August 2023 when he promised investors “continued top line and cash flow growth” sounds like a familiar pitch.

Bragg’s management circular breaks down Mazij’s pay under a consulting agreement. He raked in €485,000 last year and could also earn up to 150% of that another €726,000 if he meets certain targets. Clearly that wasn’t enough to win over some of the investors and now one of the reasons they had a problem with him is coming to light.

A share sale that happened back in February was cited by NEXT.io as one of the things that lit a fire under some investors’ concerns. So what exactly happened? Well, Mazij’s holding company sold off 1,039,000 shares in February for a whopping C$2.00 each that’s a big sell-off. That move shaved down his stake from 17.7% to 13.55% and raised a few eyebrows. The reason for the sale according to Bragg’s filing was due to Mazij needing cash for “urgent personal financial reasons”. Typically investors are not too keen on directors cashing out when the company is struggling which wasn’t the case here though.

Jobs Cuts, Guidance Withdrawn and Half the Cash GONE

Bragg started cutting costs in January with a fairly big layoff of around 12% of the workforce. Not a bad estimate, they think it will save the company around €4.5m and that’s not counting any potential long-term benefits. Part of the reasoning behind this decision was the announcement to become an “AIFirst company by 2027” a high ambition. But fast forward to July 9th and there’s more news even more cuts to the tune of 19% of the workforce. Expected savings this time round will be €6m. The way Mazij spun it was that this was part of their plan to “accelerate our AIFirst transformation” though let’s be honest there are only so many ways to spin a job cut. These are the company’s own estimates and not actual savings yet.

The cause of these big decisions started coming to light in the company’s Q2 results. And boy did they make for some grim reading. Revenue came in at €22.9m a 12% drop from €26.1m in the same quarter last year. And the problems weren’t spread evenly; revenue was down 14% in the Netherlands due to some existing platform contracts ending and Brazil didn’t budge. But at least there was some good news revenue from proprietary content in Canada and the US went up a very welcome 44%. Adjusted EBITDA was steady at €3.5m but the net loss exploded to €2.9m from a €1.8m loss in the same period in 2025.

And if that wasn’t enough to raise some red flags Bragg also withdrew its full-year revenue guidance for the year. The numbers were a pretty wide spread of €97m to €104.5m but the reasons given were a bit at odds. On the one hand the company said it was because they had a hard time predicting the combined business following their big merger. But the release also said that revenue excluding Drayton the company they merged with was tracking below the lower end of the previous guidance. That suggests that Drayton wasn’t the only problem they had.

And to top it all off the cash situation is looking pretty dire. On 30 June Bragg had a paltry €3.3m in the bank a far cry from the €6.7m they had a year earlier. And their current liabilities are actually higher at €28.7m than their current assets at €25.4m not exactly a pretty picture. We’re looking at the first half of the year for these numbers and if things don’t pick up we don’t know what the cash situation will look like in the second half. NEXT.io reported that Bragg shares traded at US $ 0.82 on 6 November, compared with US 2.11 on 2 January. That’s a drop of around 61% in just 10 short months.

Deal With Drayton Included a Change of Chairman

Bragg completed the acquisition of Drayton International in an all-share deal, issuing 4.5m shares priced at US$ 2.00 each. This deal was valued at US 9m. The deal was announced on 14 May and finalised on 22 July. The same day Matt Davey was appointed Bragg’s new chairman. Holly Gagnon resigned from the role of chairman but remains a member of the board as a director. Davey owns approximately 10.09% of Bragg shares via Tekkorp Capital.

Upon appointment, Davey outlined the priorities, including efficient execution, a stronger balance sheet, better operating cash flow, and revenue growth. The recent priorities of Bragg sound very similar to what was said before, only now Tonnesen will be implementing those priorities.

Unexplained Moves by Bragg

There has been no explanation from Bragg about the decision to move from its CEO. Also, there has been no indication from the company whether it is going to appoint a new CEO. There has been no timeframe, terms, or conditions of advisory work set for Mazij and no end date either.

The goal of becoming an AI-first company by 2027 mentioned in two job cuts also seems to have disappeared from the announcement made on Friday. Bragg is going to publish the results of its third quarter before the markets open on Friday, 13 November. The company will conduct a results call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Expert Analysis: Was the June Vote the True Reason for the Change?

On the surface, this change of board members appears to be due to the outcome of the June shareholders’ vote. However, the timeline seems to suggest that there might be other reasons why the board chose to change at that point. Bragg waited 141 days after the shareholders voted, during which time it made further cuts in staff and also appointed another chairperson. In our opinion, the current financial situation of the company as well as Davey’s arrival might play a more important role in the process than the shareholder vote itself. It is hard to say for sure, since Bragg hasn’t given any reasons for this decision yet.

This timing makes it possible for the board to pass responsibility to someone else ahead of the next report. Tonnesen will provide information about Q3 results during which the CEO was still Mazij. Tonnesen worked as COO throughout the quarter in question, meaning that he had a direct connection to the business activities during that period. It is important to note the situation with Davey as well. There is no evidence of impropriety from the available documents, but his position requires closer examination. He purchased 1 million shares from Mazij in February, owns about 10% of Bragg and now sits on the board which fired him. Shareholders might question the independence of the board’s decision.

There is another issue regarding the change of Mazij’s status. Being the founder of Oryx Gaming, he still has some connections to Bragg despite the lack of management positions in it. The holding company in which he owns shares had 13.55% of Bragg in February. Shareholders need an explanation if Bragg initiated a termination clause after 12 months.

Moreover, our calculation shows how much the value of the Drayton deal decreased. At a US $ 0.82 share price, 4.5 m shares is sued in change for Drayton’s shares have become worth only about US $ 3.7m. This is a mark-to-market calculation, rather than any revision of purchase price or valuation of Drayton.

13 November results should give an update about the cash Bragg has and thus give us an idea of how much financial freedom Tonnesen has. Moreover, shareholders need an answer to one simple question: is the consulting agreement still in force?