Andrew Rivkin is a Canadian investor and businessman. Rivkin is best known as a co-founder of CryptoLogic

Cryptologic

Cryptologic can refer to:*CryptoLogic Inc, a provider of online gambling software*Cryptography, the study of message secrecy....

, a pioneering online casino

Online casino

Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet....

 software company, and FUN Technologies

FUN Technologies

FUN Technologies was a listed company providing online games.Founded in 2002 by Canadian businessmen Lorne Abony and Andrew Rivkin, FUN grew to become the world's largest provider of online casual games and fantasy sports, with over 35 million registered customers. FUN was publicly traded with a...

, the world's largest provider of online casual games and fantasy sports.

Rivkin was born and raised in Toronto. He graduated from University College, University of Toronto

University College, University of Toronto

University College is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, created in 1853 specifically as an institution of higher learning free of religious affiliation. It was the founding member of the university's modern collegiate system, and its secularism contrasted with contemporary...

 in 1992 with a bachelor of commerce

Bachelor of Commerce

A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects. The degree is also known as the Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, or BCA...

 degree in finance and economics.

CryptoLogic

After founding a network business systems company while still in his teens, Rivkin moved on to co-found CryptoLogic in Toronto in February 1995 with his brother, Mark. Although originally founded as a general Internet security software company, CryptoLogic soon focused on online gambling, which had become a growth industry since Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...

 became the first country to legalize the practice in 1994.

In 1996 InterCasino

InterCasino

InterCasino is an online gambling casino which was founded in 1996 and is registered in Malta. InterCasino is owned and operated by Online Interactive Gaming Entertainment and uses the Cryptologic online gambling software. InterCasino operates under licenses issued and regulated by the Lotteries &...

, the world's first real wager Internet casino, went online using CryptoLogic software. By 1998 CryptoLogic was considered a major player in the emerging online casino industry, with its software used by online casinos in Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 and Dominica

Dominica

Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

 as well as Antigua and Barbuda. By mid-2000 CryptoLogic software was used by over 500,000 online casino end users worldwide and processed over $4 billion in online transactions.

CryptoLogic was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange

Toronto Stock Exchange

Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...

 in September 1998 and on the NASDAQ

NASDAQ

The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...

 stock exchange in March 2000, both during Rivkin's tenure as CEO. Citing a desire to allow new leadership to take the company to the next level, Rivkin stepped down as CEO of CryptoLogic in January 2001 but remained on the company's board of directors.

In 2002, after Rivkin stepped down as CEO, the Canadian business magazine Profit

Profit (magazine)

Profit is a Canadian business magazine aimed at entrepreneurs. It is published six times per year and, according to its website, focusses on "how to find opportunity and seize it", management practices, case studies and "access to peer groups"....

estimated CryptoLogic experienced a 26,181 percent growth rate over the previous five years, which made it the fastest-growing business in Canada during that period. Also in 2002 CryptoLogic was named the top company in the Profit 200.

FUN Technologies

In 2002, Rivkin co-founded Columbia Exchange Systems Software PLC with Lorne Abony

Lorne Abony

Lorne Abony is a Canadian businessman. He is Chairman and CEO of Mood Media Corporation a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Mr. Abony has been instrumental in the founding of a number of media ventures...

, another collaborator from CryptoLogic with whom Rivkin has worked with on several business ventures. After the two raised C$

Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

1.8 million from initial investors. Renamed FUN Technologies the company issued two initial public offerings in short order, on the London Alternative Investment Market

Alternative Investment Market

AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....

 in 2003 and the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2004. In particular, Rivkin's past association with CryptoLogic was considered key to the success of the London IPO.

The Meridian

Meridian, Colorado

Meridian is a census-designated place in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 184 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Meridian is located at ....

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

-based Liberty Media

Liberty Media

Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....

 acquired a majority interest in FUN Technologies stock in 2005. Liberty Media purchased the rest of FUN Technologies in late 2007. The company was valued at nearly C$500 million at the time of its final sale to Liberty Media.

Recent activity

Since leaving FUN Technologies, Rivkin has served as a consultant for Mood Media, a Toronto-based in-store media distribution company headed by Abony. In 2009 Rivkin founded Rivkin Asset Management, an asset management firm dealing in hedge funds.

In March 2011 Rivkin was involved with Mood Media's acquisition of Muzak Holdings for US$345 million.

Rivkin is an avid polo

Polo

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...

player and participates in several charity polo tournaments in Canada.