Matthew D’Emanuele Biography

Matthew D’Emanuele took the reins as CEO of Yolo Entertainment in January 2024, bringing a wealth of leadership experience from multiple industries. Yolo Entertainment is part of Yolo Group, an Estonia-based company, disrupting the fintech, crypto and venture capital spaces.

A Diverse Career 

For such an influential role in such a dynamic space, it seems odd that Matthew D’Emanuele didn’t actually start in the iGaming world. In fact, he started in contact centre outsourcing before entering the world of online car sales. He said, ‘When I joined, we were selling around 13 or 14 cars a month. When I left five years later, we were selling around 600 a month.’

He then moved to Oman, working with a major conglomerate that operated in the automative, hydrocarbon, hotel and luxury sectors. Talking about his experience in Oman, he said ‘It was a really, really big learning curve. It was really exciting, interesting working with those brands in a very new market’. Later, he worked in finance as COO for Oxford International Financial Holdings, before coming across the iGaming sector.

After his transition to iGaming, he worked at Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) and then moved to Eastrock Group as CEO.

Transforming Yolo Entertainment 

When Matthew D’Emanuele entered the iGaming industry, he saw a sector brimming with potential yet lacking operational discipline.  He explained ‘every industry likes to think it’s different, but at the core, they all operate on the same fundamentals — product, service, and talent.’ ‘Gaming is no exception. Success comes down to optimising processes, having clear policies, and building a team that believes in the vision’ he added.

On moving to Yolo Entertainment, he said ‘it’s been a lot of work understanding where we are, what we’re trying to achieve, and what our DNA is now’.  Throwing himself fully into the challenge, he has driven improvement of the company’s existing operations. He said ‘as a company, we have everything we need — our own game studios, content aggregators, odds compilers. We need to recognise our strengths and believe in our potential.’

He explained ‘At the same time, we must be sharper in our objectives. At the end of each day, we should know whether we’ve had a good day or a bad one.’

D’Emanuele is also a proud father of four children between the ages of nine and 17, which he has said gives him an insight into changing consumer behaviours.  ‘The way my kids consume content is totally different from how we used to,’ he said. ‘They’ll watch hours of short-form videos, absorbing information in bite-sized bursts.’  He added ‘It’s something we need to understand better because their expectations will shape the future of our industry.’

Matthew D’Emanuele has been transformative for Yolo Entertainment. He has helped to drive innovation, ensuring that growth is sustainable. Under his leadership, Yolo Entertainment has grown into a powerhouse with employees in Estonia, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Australia, Spain and the UK, positioning it as a market leader.

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