Starlight Riches

What is Starlight Riches?

The submission form will close on 1 October, at which time nominations will be put to our esteemed panel of judges for final review.

More information on judges, submissions and deadlines can be found here. You can also access interviews with last year’s winners and the final list for 2025, as well as for every year prior.

We look forward to working with our judges, and once again shining a light on some of the gaming industry’s best talents!

How to play Starlight Riches

According to Multiples.VC, the average enterprise multiple (EV/EBITDA) of top US-listed gaming companies is currently 10x. Data from New York University last updated in January pegged the overall market average at 23.9x and 19.7x among EBITDA-positive firms, suggesting the sector is undervalued relative to other industries. In a report released Monday, Fitch Ratings said most North American gaming companies hold “Stable” outlooks with “adequate rating headroom” despite consumer headwinds.

Macquarie’s Beynon agrees with that sentiment, pointing to the relative stability of gaming companies through tough economic stretches such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Bankruptcies in the sector have been low relative to the broader market, he notes, and both land-based and digital companies have reason for optimism moving forward.

“It’s certainly not lost on us that this sector has underperformed for several years in a row just because it doesn’t have either the growth of say, tech companies, or the perceived free cash flow-insulated businesses, which we believe it does…We’ve thought there’s been value in the sector for a few years, particularly this year,” he told iGB.

What is Starlight Riches?

One day before a primetime showdown between the University of Mississippi and Louisiana State University, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana announced the launch of a tribal prediction market app. The new app, powered by Kalshi, will be launched through SaltTrade Derivatives, a newly established subdivision of a tribal-owned enterprise.

Through the collaboration, the tribe will draw upon Kalshi’s established infrastructure and market expertise to develop a distinct tribal-owned trading application, said Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Marshall Pierite in a statement.

“This partnership represents exactly the type of opportunity Indian Country should be pursuing, where Tribes are owners, innovators and leaders, not just participants,” he said. “For generations, the Tunica-Biloxi people have adapted, traded and built relationships that allowed our Nation to prosper. This initiative carries that tradition into the modern economy.”