Inspired Entertainment (INSE) Risk Factors

Regulatory authorities have broad powers to request detailed financial and other information, to limit, condition, suspend or revoke a registration, gaming license or related approval and to approve changes in our operations. Some jurisdictions also require extensive personal and financial disclosure and background checks from persons and entities beneficially owning a specified percentage of equity securities of licensed or regulated businesses. For example, in the UK, an entity holding a gambling license must notify the Gambling Commission of the identity of any stockholder holding, directly or indirectly, 3% or more of its equity or voting rights, and must apply for permission to continue to rely on its operating license whenever a new person acquires, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of its equity or voting rights. The failure of beneficial owners of our common stock to submit to such background checks and provide required disclosure could jeopardize our business. Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, to the extent required by the gaming authority making the determination of unsuitability or to the extent the board of directors determines, in its sole discretion, that a person is likely to jeopardize the Company's or any affiliate's application for, receipt of, approval for, right to the use of, or entitlement to, any gaming license, shares of our capital stock that are owned or controlled by an unsuitable person or its affiliates are subject to mandatory redemption by us. The redemption price may be paid in cash, by promissory note, or both, as required, and pursuant to the terms established by, the applicable gaming authority and, if not, as we elect. Such a redemption could occur on terms or at a time that a stockholder believes to be disadvantageous.

Our members, managers, directors, officers and key employees must be approved by certain government and state regulatory authorities. If such regulatory authorities were to find a person occupying any such position unsuitable, we would be required to sever our relationship with that person. We may thereby lose key personnel which would have a negative effect on our operations. Certain public and private issuances of securities and certain other transactions by us also require the approval of certain state regulatory authorities. Further, our gaming regulators can require us to disassociate ourselves from suppliers or business partners found unsuitable by the regulators. The regulatory environment in any particular jurisdiction may change in the future and any such change could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, we are subject to various gaming taxes, which are subject to increase at any time.

Legalized gaming is subject to opposition from gaming opponents, including in the UK, Italy and other sectors where we are active. There can be no assurance that this opposition will not succeed in either preventing the legalization of gaming in jurisdictions where these activities are presently prohibited or prohibiting or limiting the expansion or continuance of gaming where it is currently permitted, in either case to the detriment of our business, financial condition, results and prospects.

In certain jurisdictions, forms of wagering, betting and lottery may be expressly authorized and governed by law and in other jurisdictions forms of wagering, betting and lottery may be expressly prohibited by law. If expressly authorized, such activities are typically subject to extensive and evolving governmental regulation. Gaming regulatory requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Therefore, we are subject to a wide range of complex gaming laws, rules and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we are licensed or may seek to be licensed. Most jurisdictions require that we are licensed or authorized, that our key personnel and certain of our security holders are found to be suitable or are licensed, and that our products are reviewed, tested and certified or approved before placement. If a license, approval, certification or finding of suitability is required by a regulatory or national authority and we fail to seek or do not receive the necessary approval, license, certification or finding of suitability, or if it is revoked, then we may be prohibited from distributing our products for use in the respective jurisdiction. Additionally, such prohibition could trigger reviews of our Company by regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions and adversely affect our ability to obtain or retain the required licenses and approvals in those jurisdictions. The regulatory environment in any particular jurisdiction may change in the future, and any such change could have an adverse effect on our results of operations or business in general. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the operation of Server Based Gaming terminals, Video Lottery Terminals or other Terminals, Virtual Sports betting, betting online, lottery or other forms of wagering systems will be approved, certified or found suitable by additional jurisdictions or that those jurisdictions in which these activities are currently permitted will continue to permit such activities in their existing forms (stricter regulations, including regulation relating to age verification, could come into force which could have adverse impacts on the Company) or at all. While we believe that we have the means to continue to develop procedures and policies designed to comply with and monitor the requirements of evolving laws, there can be no assurance that law enforcement agencies, governmental agencies or gaming regulatory authorities, whether in existing or new jurisdictions, will not seek to restrict our business or otherwise institute enforcement proceedings or other legal claims against the Company. Moreover, in addition to the risk of such enforcement actions or claims, we are also at risk from loss of business reputation in the event of any potential legal or regulatory investigation whether or not we are ultimately accused of or found to have committed any violations. We supply our products to operators of gaming venues, platforms and websites who typically must themselves be licensed by gaming regulators. If any one of these operators fails to maintain its gaming licenses, or violates gaming laws or regulations, our business may suffer, due to our loss of a viable customer and, in instances where we have a revenue-sharing arrangement with the operator, due to our loss of our shares of the revenue generated by that operator's business. We supply certain of our products to operators who operate gaming websites. Some of those operators may take bets from customers in sectors where no gaming laws or regulations exist and where the provision of online gaming is effectively unregulated. Although the Company seeks to ensure that its customers only take bets in sectors where online gaming is legal, if any of those operators is subjected to investigatory or enforcement action for acting otherwise, this could result in the operator suffering interventions ranging from special conditions being applied to its licenses, license suspension or license loss, or the operator otherwise withdrawing from or curtailing its activities in its sector. Any such developments could adversely affect such operator's revenues and in turn adversely affect our earnings from such operator. The Company may itself be subject to investigatory or enforcement action (if and to the extent that local laws or the laws of other jurisdictions in which the Company operates impose liability on suppliers for the activities of the customers that they supply or for receiving funds that are deemed to be illegal because of such activities). We seek to protect ourselves against any such liability for the activities of the operators that we supply, including by contractually requiring those operators not to operate in certain territories and only supplying operators who we have reviewed to determine whether they uphold the requisite standards of regulatory and legal compliance. Nonetheless, there is a risk that we may fail to undertake sufficient due diligence, fail to receive accurate information on which to conduct due diligence, or become subject to investigatory or enforcement action should we or any of our customers be accused of breaching any regulations or laws. Any such action may adversely affect our standing with gaming regulators and our ability to obtain and retain required licenses and other approvals in other jurisdictions. We may be required to obtain and maintain licenses and certifications from various state and local jurisdictions in order to operate certain aspects of our business and we and our key personnel and certain security holders may be subject to extensive background investigations and suitability standards. We may also become subject to regulation in any other jurisdiction where our customers are permitted to operate in the future. Licenses and ongoing regulatory compliance can be costly. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain new licenses or renew any of our existing licenses, and the loss, denial or non-renewal of any of our licenses could have an adverse effect on our business. Generally, regulatory authorities have broad discretion when granting, renewing or revoking approvals and licenses. Our failure, or the failure of any of our key personnel, systems or machines, in obtaining or retaining a required license or approval in one jurisdiction could have a negative impact on our ability (or the ability of any of our key personnel, systems or gaming machines) to obtain or retain required licenses and approvals in other jurisdictions. The failure to obtain or retain a required license or approval in any jurisdiction would decrease the geographic area where we may operate and generate revenues, decrease our share in the gaming marketplace and put us at a disadvantage compared with our competitors. In addition, the levy of substantial fines or forfeiture of assets could significantly harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Some jurisdictions also require extensive personal and financial disclosure and background checks from persons and entities beneficially owning a specified percentage of equity securities of licensed or regulated businesses. The failure of beneficial owners of our common stock to submit to such background checks and provide required disclosure could jeopardize our business. In light of these regulations and the potential impact on our business, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for the prohibition of stock ownership by persons or entities who fail to comply with informational or other regulatory requirements under applicable gaming law, who are found unsuitable to hold our stock by gaming authorities or whose stock ownership adversely affects our ability to obtain, maintain, renew or qualify for a license, contract, franchise or other regulatory approval from a gaming authority. The licensing procedures and background investigations of the authorities that regulate our businesses and the proposed amendment may inhibit potential investors from becoming significant stockholders or inhibit existing stockholders from retaining or increasing their ownership. Our businesses are subject to a number of federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations governing data privacy and security, including with respect to the collection, storage, use, transmission and protection of personal information and other consumer data. In particular, the EU has adopted strict data privacy regulations. Following recent developments such as the European Court of Justice's 2015 ruling that the transfer of personal data from the EU to the U.S. under the EU/U.S. Safe Harbor was an invalid mechanism of personal data transfer, the adoption of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield as a replacement for the Safe Harbor (which has since been declared invalid by Schrems II), and coming into effect of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, data privacy and security compliance in the EU are increasingly complex and challenging. The scope of data privacy and security regulations continues to evolve, and we believe that the adoption of increasingly restrictive regulations in this area is likely within the U.S. and other jurisdictions. Compliance with data privacy and security restrictions could increase the cost of our operations and failure to comply with such restrictions could subject us to criminal and civil sanctions as well as other penalties. We are subject to the provisions of the UK Bribery Act 2010, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption laws. The UK Bribery Act generally prohibits giving a financial or other advantage to another person with the intention of inducing that person to improperly perform a relevant function or activity. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act generally prohibits U.S. persons and companies and their agents from offering, promising, authorizing or making improper payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Certain of these anti-corruption laws also contain provisions that require accurate record keeping and further require companies to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls. Because a significant percentage of our revenue derives from foreign sources, and our business activities involve continuing relationships with governmental regulators, there exists a risk that certain provisions of these anti-corruption laws may be breached. We are also subject to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws and regulations, and to economic and trade sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in the United States relating to our ability to engage in transactions with entities that are domiciled in countries or territories subject to comprehensive OFAC trade sanctions (currently, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Crimea), or that are included on OFAC's list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. Although we have policies and controls in place that are designed to ensure compliance with these laws, if those controls are ineffective or an employee or intermediary fails to comply with the applicable regulations, we may be subject to criminal and civil sanctions as well as other penalties. Any such violation could disrupt our business and adversely affect our reputation, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. We review and develop our internal compliance programs in an effort to ensure that we comply with legal requirements imposed in connection with our business activities. The compliance program is run on a day-to-day basis by our in-house legal department with compliance and technical advice provided by our compliance manager and outside professionals. There can be no assurance that such steps will prevent the violation of one or more laws or regulations, or that a violation by us or an employee will not result in the imposition of administrative, civil and even criminal sanctions, monetary fines or suspension or revocation of one or more of our licenses.

In December 2020, DCMS announced that it is reviewing the Gambling Act, the consultation period for which closed on March 31, 2021 with the objective of (i) examining whether changes are needed to the system of gambling regulation in Great Britain to reflect changes to the gambling landscape since 2005, particularly due to technological advances (ii) ensuring there is an appropriate balance between consumer freedoms and choice on the one hand, and prevention of harm to vulnerable groups and wider communities on the other and (iii) making sure customers are suitably protected whenever and wherever they are gambling, and that there is an equitable approach to the regulation of the online and the land based industries. There have a been a number of similar consultations launched, including a DCMS consultation in relation to fees which closed on March 25, 2021 and a Gambling Commission consultation in relation to Remote Customer Interaction which closed on February 9, 2021. The potential outcomes of such reviews are not currently known but new legislation or regulations could adversely affect our business. A recent example of legislative change implemented by the UK Government which adversely affected our business was the reduction of maximum permitted bets from £100 to £2 on B2 Gaming Machines which became effective as of April 1, 2019. As a result of this change, a number of land-based operators commenced a rationalization of their retail operations, which among other measures led to the closure of certain land-based operator shops.

We participate in new and evolving aspects of the interactive gaming and lottery industries. Part of our strategy is to take advantage of the liberalization of regulations covering these industries on a global basis. These industries involve significant risks and uncertainties, including legal, business and financial risks. The fast-changing environment in these industries can make it difficult to plan strategically and can provide opportunities for competitors to grow their businesses at our expense. Consequently, our future results of operations, cash flows and financial condition are difficult to predict and may not grow at the rates we expect. Laws relating to interactive gaming are evolving. To varying degrees, governments have taken steps to change the regulation of interactive wagering through the implementation of new or revised licensing and taxation regimes, including the possible imposition of sanctions on unlicensed providers. We cannot predict the timing, scope or terms of the implementation or revision of any such state, federal or foreign laws or regulations, or the extent to which any such laws and regulations may facilitate or hinder our strategy. In jurisdictions that authorize interactive gaming, we cannot assure that we will be successful in offering our technology, content and services to interactive gaming operators, because we expect to face intense competition from our traditional competitors in the gaming and lottery industries as well as a number of other domestic and foreign competitors (and, in some cases, the operators themselves), many of which have substantially greater financial resources or experience in this area than we do. Know-your-customer and geo-location programs and technologies supplied by third parties are an important aspect of certain interactive gaming products and services, because they can confirm certain information with respect to players and prospective players, such as age, identity and location. Payment processing programs and technologies, typically provided by third parties, are also a necessary feature of interactive wagering products and services. These programs and technologies are costly, and our use of them may have an adverse impact on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Additionally, we cannot assure that products or services containing these programs and technologies will be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, or that they will perform accurately or otherwise in accordance with required specifications.

Because a substantial part of our revenue is recurring in nature, our medium to long term results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be negatively affected if any of our customers were sold to or merged with other customers, or if consolidation in the gaming industry were otherwise effected. Consolidation among gaming operators could result in our customers using more products and services of our competitors or reducing their spending on our products, or could otherwise cause downward pricing pressures, any of which outcomes could negatively affect our business.

The uncertain state of the global economy continues to affect businesses around the world, most acutely in emerging markets and developing economies. If global economic and financial market conditions do not improve or deteriorate, the following factors could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition: - Slower consumer spending may result in reduced demand for our products, reduced orders from retailers for our products, order cancellations, lower revenues, higher discounts, increased inventories and lower gross margins;         - In the future, we may be unable to access financing in the credit and capital markets at reasonable rates in the event we find it desirable to do so;         - We conduct transactions in various currencies, which increases our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the USD. Continued volatility in the markets and exchange rates for foreign currencies and contracts in foreign currencies could have a significant impact on our reported operating results and financial condition;         - Continued volatility in the availability and prices for commodities and raw materials we use in our products and in our supply chain could have an adverse effect on our costs, gross margins and profitability;         - If operators or distributors of our products experience declining revenues or experience difficulty obtaining financing in the capital and credit markets to purchase our products, this could result in reduced orders for our products, order cancellations, late retailer payments, extended payment terms, higher accounts receivable, reduced cash flows, greater expense associated with collection efforts and increased bad debt expense;         - If operators or distributors of our products experience severe financial difficulty, some may become insolvent and cease business operations, which could negatively affect the sale of our products to consumers; and         - If contract manufacturers of our products or other participants in our supply chain experience difficulty obtaining financing in the capital and credit markets to purchase raw materials or to finance capital equipment and other general working capital needs, it may result in delays or non-delivery of shipments of our products.

To be successful, we must attract, develop and retain highly qualified and talented personnel who have the experience, knowledge and expertise to successfully implement our key business strategies. We also must attract, develop and retain our labor force while maintaining labor costs. We compete for employees, including sales people, regional management, executive officers and others, with a broad range of employers in many different industries, including large multinational firms, and we invest significant resources in recruiting, developing, motivating and retaining them. The failure to attract and retain key employees, or to develop effective succession planning to assure smooth transitions of those employees and the knowledge, customer relationships and expertise they possess, could negatively affect our competitive position and our operating results. Further, if we are unable to cost-effectively recruit, train and retain sufficient skilled personnel, we may not be able to adequately satisfy increased demand for our products and services, which could adversely affect our operating results.