Tag Archives: Finance

Pennsylvania betting operators record negative GGR in February

Pennsylvania betting operators record negative GGR in February

Gambling revenue in Pennsylvania increased 24.4% year-on-year to $375.7m in February, despite the state reporting a loss for its regulated sports betting market.

The overall figure for February was up from $302.0m in the same month last year but was 4.4% lower than $393.1m posted in January of this year.

Figures published by the Pennsylvania Gambling Control Board (PGCB) showed year-on-year growth in almost all areas of the market, with the exception of sports betting where revenue plummeted from $16.4m in February 2021 to a loss of $442,847.

This was the first month in the history of the regulated Pennsylvania market in which operators made a loss.

Retail revenue reached $1.0m but online revenue came in at a loss of $1.5m. Players staked a total of $597.1m on sports during the month, an increase of 17.2% on last year.

Valley Forge, with its partner FanDuel, was the most successful sports betting operation in February, posting $1.6m in revenue. Hollywood Casino at Penn National’s ..

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Inspired revenue grows in Q4 but business swings to loss

Inspired revenue grows in Q4 but business swings to loss

Inspired brought in $67.0m (£51.2m/€61.0m) in revenue in Q4 of 2021 as all business segments experienced growth of more than 25%, but the supplier swung to a loss after a VAT rebate helped its 2020 bottom line.

This revenue figure was up 70.9% from 2020’s ordinary revenue from operations, but was down by 6.6% if the VAT rebate during the comparable period is included.

The gaming segment – made up of land-based slot machines – was the largest contributor to revenue, bringing in $26.8m, up 49.3%.

However, its leisure segment experienced the most rapid growth, with revenue up 183.4% to $23.5m.

Virtual sports revenue, meanwhile, was up 26.1% to $11.0m, while interactive gaming revenue grew by 35.8% to $5.7m.

During Q4 of 2020, the gaming division of the business also received a one-off $32.5m value-added tax (VAT) rebate after a court ruling determined that operators did not have to pay VAT on top of gaming taxes for machines, though this was not counted as revenue for that quarter. I..

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Scout CEO orders cost review after “unsatisfactory” Q4

Scout CEO orders cost review after “unsatisfactory” Q4

Andreas Ternström, chief executive of fantasy gaming provider Scout Gaming Group, said the business would initiate a cost review after he was “not at all satisfied” with the supplier’s slow growth and rising expenses in Q4.

Revenue ticked slightly upward to SEK17.1m, after revenue of SEK16.9m in Q4 of 2020.

Expenses, meanwhile, more than doubled to SEK51.0m.

Personnel expenses grew to SEK13.7m, but most of the growth was in other external expenses, which were up 148.5% to SEK34.3m. Ternström said the increase in other costs was mostly related to marketing, plus a one-off SEK18m cost after expenses for tournament participation tickets had been “wrongly accounted for” in prior periods.

If the errors had been attributed to these previous quarters instead, expenses would have come to SEK33.1m.

Depreciation and amortisation also grew, by 50.2% to SEK3.1m.

As a result, the business made an operating loss of SEK33.9m, which was more than five times its operating loss in 2020.

After a ..

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Bet365 revenue steady in 2020-21 despite in-play betting decline

Bet365 revenue steady in 2020-21 despite in-play betting decline

Bet365 has reported revenue of £2.81bn (€3.39bn/$3.76bn) in the full year ended March 2021, largely even with its 2020 revenue, as growth in gaming helped offset a pandemic-related drop in in-play betting volume.

This was a slight rise of 0.2% from Bet365’s full year 2019-20 results, due to the pandemic effectively ceasing live sports for at least half of the year.

Sports and gaming accounted for a grand majority of the revenue, totaling at £2.77bn.

While the operator did not mention how much revenue came from each aspect of that vertical, it said that gaming rose 8%, offsetting lower sports revenue. In-play share made up 68% of the sports revenue, falling from 75% in 2020.

Total wagers on sports were down by 13%, the second consecutive year of declining stakes.

Football club and facilities revenue, from Bet365 Group-owned Stoke City FC, came to £29.3m.

Sports and gaming also incurred all direct costs, at £489.8m. This left the total gross profit at £2.32bn, down 3% year-on-year..

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Flutter aims to use its scale to overcome short-term challenges

Flutter aims to use its scale to overcome short-term challenges

Online gaming behemoth Flutter remains confident that its unmatched scale will help it make long-term decisions in the UK, US and mainland Europe, as chief executive Peter Jackson and chief financial officer Jonathan Hill revealed on the operator's 2021 earnings call.

The operator revealed in its 2021 results that it struggled in some of its international markets, where Pokerstars leads its offering. In Germany, terms of the country’s Fourth State Treaty on Gambling allowed online casino nationwide for the first time but with strict conditions and high taxes, while in the Netherlands, operators that did not receive a licence were required to block all Dutch customers. Last year, the business agreed to acquire Tombola, which does hold a Dutch licence.

While these struggles impacted business in 2021, Hill said that the scale of the Flutter business meant that it could afford to work in difficult conditions.

“One of the benefits of having a portfolio is, just because international..

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BlueBet slips to loss despite revenue growth in H1

BlueBet slips to loss despite revenue growth in H1

Australian mobile betting operator BlueBet Holdings reported a net loss of AU$761,000 (£412,752/€493,510/US$553,968) for the first half of its 2022 financial year, despite experiencing a 72.4% year-on-year increase in gross revenue.

Gross revenue for the six months to 31 December 2021 reached $33.1m, up from $19.2m in the previous year, while wagering revenue – net win from players who placed losing bets, minus winnings and promotional costs – jumped 68.8% to $26.0m.

Turnover was up 20.8% to $264.5m, with growth across all product offerings. Thoroughbred turnover hiked 59.5% to $136.9m, greyhound turnover 61.9% to $72.7m, harness racing turnover 61.1% to $24.3m and other sports turnover 63.0% to $30.6m.

BlueBet noted that 66% of all turnover came from its mobile platforms, including iPhone and Android offerings, while the remaining 44% was attributed to website and call centre activity.

The operator was also helped by a 46.5% year-on-year increase in the number of active customers,..

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STS Holdings reports record stakes and active users in 2021

STS Holdings reports record stakes and active users in 2021

Polish operator STS Holdings has reported record highs in a number of operating stats, including stakes, in 2021.

The value of bets placed with STS was PLN4.50bn (£830.0m/€1.00bn) during the year, representing a 25.0% increase year on year.

The company recorded 693,000 active users in 2021, up from 557,000 the year before. There was also an 18.0% increase in new registrations, as 370,000 new customers signed up comapred to 314,000 in 2020.

249,000 players placed their first deposits with the company last year, which was a 21.0% increase on 2020’s figure.

CEO Mateusz Juroszek said: “As expected with previous predictions, 2021 was a record year for the group.

“We achieved high increases in key operational data, such as the amounts staked and the number of active users. This shows the dynamics of the growth phase the STS Group is currently in.

“We expect to continue to achieve our previously established medium and long-term goals in the coming reporting periods. What’s more, as w..

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Strong lottery showing helps Tabcorp revenue grow 2.2% in H1

Strong lottery showing helps Tabcorp revenue grow 2.2% in H1

Australia’s Tabcorp Holdings reported an increase in revenue for the six months ended 31 December 2021, with its lottery division the standout performer ahead of its demerger from the group.

For the first half of the operator’s financial year, revenue was up 2.2% year-on-year to AU$2.93bn (£1.55bn/€1.86bn/$2.11bn).

The largest contributor to the group total was the Lotteries and Keno division, comprising The Lott and Keno brands. It saw revenue increase 10.9% to AU$1.78bn in spite of keno venues being impacted by Covid-19 trading restrictions. While keno revenue was down 9.8% to AU$119.0m, lottery was up 12.7% to AU$1.67bn across retail and digital channels.

A highly visible retail network – comprising newsagents, petrol stations, kiosks and pharmacies – helped turnover grow 5%, while digital’s share of lottery turnover was up from 32.1% in the prior year to 36.7%.

Game development helped keep jackpot games and Saturday Lotto turnover growing. However, other titles, such as scra..

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GiG revenue grows 28% as business prepares to acquire Sportnco

GiG revenue grows 28% as business prepares to acquire Sportnco

Media services continued to power revenue growth at Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) in 2021, ahead of the business’s acquisition of betting supplier Sportnco.

Overall, revenue was up 28.0% year-on-year to €66.8m (£55.9m/$75.8m).

Media services continued to make up the vast majority of GiG’s overall revenue, bringing in €45.0m, up 31.2% from 2020.

The media services division continued to expand in the US, now having approval to do business in 19 states.

“GiG will continue to invest in the US market to carry out our long-term strategy to claim the US market through our premium assets, Wsn.com and Casinotopsonline.com,” the business said.

GiG CEO Richard Brown added that he was especially impressed by the continued growth of this segment.

“Media Services continues to go from strength to strength, expanding rapidly in new markets and taking further share of wallet in existing markets,” he said. “The team and strategy has delivered exceptionally well during 2021.”

Platform services mad..

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Indiana breaks sports betting handle record in January

Indiana breaks sports betting handle record in January

The Indiana Gaming Commission has reported sports betting handle of $498.4m (£368.9m/€440.5m) across the state in January 2022, setting a new record.

January’s total eclipses the previous record of $463.7m set in November 2021, in addition to representing a 43.5% increase on the same month in 2021. January’s handle was also a 7.6% increase compared to the previous month.

Basketball proved to be the most popular sport to bet on, with customers wagering $192.4m. Parlay bets followed with $122.6m, while American football attracted $118.3m in wagers.

In terms of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), Indiana’s total came to $35.6m for January – up 21.5% from 2021, but below the record high set in November.

Blue Chip Casino and its FanDuel-operated sportsbook continued to have the highest AGR of $12.2m from a handle of $127.2m. The DraftKings-partnered Ameristar Casino came next with $11.2m despite bringing in a higher handle of $168.9m.

Belterra Casino, another user of FanDuel’s sportsbook, ..

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