Lottery.com Says it’s Regained Nasdaq Listing Compliance
The once-controversial online lottery provider Lottery.com (NASDAQ: LTRY) announced on Thursday that it had resumed listing compliance with Nasdaq.
This was made possible after the gaming company spent the previous ten days keeping its minimum market value of publicly held shares (MVPHS) at least $5 million. According to data from Seeking Alpha, Texas-based Lottery.com's market value was $9.97 million as of Thursday's end of US markets. Regaining listing compliance with the exchange, according to the gaming company, may be a catalyst for future expansion.
"Our status as a Nasdaq-listed entity is essential to our business framework. It fosters a democratic approach to decision-making, empowering a broad spectrum of stakeholders to actively shape the trajectory of innovative ventures and opportunities at both Lottery.com and Sports.com,” said CEO Matthew McGahan in a statement.
Lottery.com's stock has dropped 19.2% so far this year and 76.6% in the last 12 months. After merging with Trident Acquisitions Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the operator became public in October 2021.
A Prolonged Return for Lottery.com
Regaining Nasdaq compliance is a step in a lengthy process for Lottery.com that has been fraught with controversy, including a wave of leadership resignation in 2022 and worries about the company's viability as a going concern. Dennis Ruggeri, the former chief compliance officer, was the focus of an FBI inquiry that year.
The stock was suspended from trading on the Nasdaq for a while due to the turmoil and regulatory disputes, but it was allowed to resume trading in June 2023.
Lottery.com reported in December of last year that it had secured $18 million in funding from Prosperity Investment Management in addition to a number of new executive hires.
An unhappy investor filed a class action lawsuit against Lottery.com, which was dismissed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in February.
McGahan continued, "We won't be swayed by a small minority represented by discredited individuals with vested self-interests. We are here to serve the interests of all our shareholders."
Lottery.com Still Needs Improvement
Lottery.com still has a lot of work to do to increase investor base and market participant confidence, even in addition to regaining listing compliance with Nasdaq.
Notably, the gaming company's tiny market capitalization suggests that it is not likely to be included in widely watched equities indexes in the foreseeable future. Active and passive funds that track such gauges are required to purchase the newly added stocks when they are added to those benchmarks, so Lottery.com's buying power is probably gone for the foreseeable future.
Furthermore, the fact that many professional fund managers are prohibited from purchasing equities priced below $5 or $10 makes Thursday's closing price of $2.19 for the company an additional obstacle.
