Month: May 2022

Jackson spoke after Flutter announced an earnings update for Q1 of 2022, in which revenue came to £1.57bn (€1.86bn/$1.96bn), up 5.5%. The growth was mainly due to the FanDuel-led US segment, where revenue was up 45%, while UK and Ireland and international revenue both declined.

The announcement of Flutter’s results came the morning after Caesars reported heavy losses from its digital segment, due to high marketing spend that it said had already been pared back.

In contrast, Jackson said that Flutter was seeing no reason to change the marketing strategy that had helped FanDuel become the leading brand in the US sportsbook market.

“We’re very pleased with what we’re seeing in America at the moment,” Jackson said. “There are two market dynamics we’re seeing. There’s New York and the rest of the US. 

“Looking at the rest of the US, we’re driving very hard on customer acquisition and we’re very happy with both the acquisition costs and lifetime value dynamics. So we’re continuing to push really hard on acquisition. Other people seem to be stepping back but we’re seeing big opportunities and we’re really leaning into it.”

Jackson added that while other businesses had spent more on promotional offers, FanDuel had been able to hold onto customers as these offers dry up due to its product.

“I think first and foremost it’s about the quality of our product,” he said. “We know that we are ranked as one of the best products and that is really really important. But more than that we get the benefits of a lot of our proprietary risk and trading products and tech. That makes a big difference in the lifetime values we see.

“Customers might have taken money from some of our competitors but now they’re migrating to the best product which is FanDuel.”

Flutter’s international business, however, was negatively impacted by the effects of regulations and tax in Germany and the Netherlands. Here, Jackson said that the business will see positive comparatives in the second half of the year, as the impact of changes are captured in the comparable period.

In the Netherlands, Flutter is active through the Tombola brand that it acquired at the start of this year, but its other brands had to withdraw from the market when it opened in October. Jackson said the business previously expected to receive a licence in the first half of this year, but now is anticipating approval may take more time.

“We’re in the process of going through our licence application and we now think it’ll be somewhat later than expected. Back-end of this year, maybe early 2023,” Jackson said.

The business also reported a delay in its planned acquisition of Italian lottery and gaming operator Sisal. Initially, the deal was set to close this quarter, but Flutter now expects the deal to be complete in Q3. Jackson said that while the deal moved from one quarter to another, the expected delay is only a short one as the business waits for approval from competition authorities.

“It’s always very tough to set a point where an antitrust authority may approve a transaction,” Jackson said. “We hope that it’ll be approved in early Q3, really not far from Q3, just the way things move around, switching things a few weeks, can move things between quarters.”

In the UK and Ireland, Flutter’s revenue declined year-on-year, mostly due a £30m revenue impact from a number of safer gambling measures. While these included a £500 loss limit for players aged under 25, Jackson and Flutter UK and Ireland chief executive Conor Grant both said the impact came mostly from other measures.

“You’ve got to remember that the number of under-25s that we have in our base is quite small,” Jackson said. “While we’ve done the right thing and it’s having an impact, but it’s immaterial in terms of its year-on-year impact on our revenue.”

All four businesses were handed penalty fees, alongside warnings, from Spelinspektionen in February 2021. Casinostugan was given a SEK25m (£2.16m/€2.49m/$3.00m) fee, ComeOn Sweden received a SEK35m penalty fee, while Hajper Ltd was issued with a fee of SEK50m. Snabbare Ltd paid the largest fee of SEK65m.

Operators licensed in Sweden may only offer players bonuses upon sign-up. However, all four were found to have provided bonus funds to existing players.

Reviews of a sample customer’s account found that Casinstugan had issued a player with a total SEK21,000 in bonus funds, in addition to free spins for online slots.

ComeOn was also found to have deposited a total of SEK40,000 to a sample player in bonus funds.

A review of one of Hajper’s customer accounts found the player had been given SEK7,400 in bonus funds by the operator, as well as free bets. A second customer received SEK13,500 from Hajper in addition to free spins.

Snabbare Ltd was found to have deposited SEK6,950 to a customer’s account in bonus funds, and to have offered free spins to another player.

All four brands appealed the rulings, taking them to the Administrative Court in Linköping.

However, the court rejected the appeals of Casinostugan, ComeOn and Snabbare.

For Hajper, it determined that the business did issue a bonus in breach of the Gambling Act, and thus that a penalty should be in place. However, it determined that the penalty should be lowered from SEK50m to SEK40m.

The Administrative Court considers that the companies have provided illicit bonuses by making cash deposits and in three of the cases also giving free games. The court also considers that the companies have breached their duty of care by providing bonuses at the same time as there have been indications of risky gambling.

In the US, sports betting is everywhere. Morning commute billboards, YouTube interstitials, TV commercials, influencer posts…marketing channels are saturated with imagery and copy encouraging new bettors to join the fray.

It should be no surprise, considering the ongoing mass expansion of sportsbooks and online betting sites in the US. With every newly regulated market comes new advertising and marketing campaigns.

Ad channels are brimming with attempts to bring sports fans, curious bettors, or other newcomers into the fold. It takes a careful, well-researched touch to succeed in marketing a sports betting site, especially in the piecemeal and sometimes chaotic US geographies with varying regulatory and legal requirements.

By this point, many big-name operators have staked their claim and continue to market to potential long-term customers. There’s still an element of “see what sticks,” though that’s fading and making way for honed and carefully curated marketing campaigns.

Surveying the landscape

The industry is still in the era of expansion for US sports betting, though larger, game-changing markets such as Texas and California have yet to fall. Even without those populous juggernauts on board, US sports betting is reaching the everyday sports fan, and the growth doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

“It’s very much moving towards the mass population,” says Alex Kornilov, CEO of data visualisation specialist Betegy. “In the US, there is a greater emphasis on targeting the average sports fan more efficiently.”

Kornilov contrasts the US to the more mature European markets, where sports betting is still relatively niche. Stateside, sports betting operators are chasing the average sports fan, converting already-engaged fans into sports bettors. Avid sports fans, fantasy football players, and statistic enthusiasts are prime candidates for conversion to sports betting platforms.

Raymond Doyle, BetMGM’s vice president of marketing, also compares the US to markets across the pond: “Coming from the mature UK market, the marketing landscape is very different here in the US.

“While the core functions are very much the same in terms of marketing channels […] the sheer volume and scale are at a different level,” he explains. “When you consider the promotional offering in place from major operators in our space, the landscape for customers is incredibly appealing.”

The US also has fewer guardrails concerning its ad policies.

Kornilov points out that with fewer regulations and reduced restrictions compared to Europe, it is possible for operators to get more creative in how they develop campaigns that convert sports fans.

Betegy, for example, offers an automated content generation and production system that turns complex sports data and odds into engaging graphics, animations, banners, widgets, and texts.

“The future of marketing for sports betting is all about creating a story and an incentive to become a part of the community,” Kornilov continues. “Rather than racing to the bottom with bonuses. Creating content that fans respond to is where it’s at.”

The US may be a massive, still-growing market, but marketers must bear in mind the personal nature of sports fandom in the country. Market to the masses while making individual users feel understood and heard.

No golden ticket

Both Doyle and Kornilov resoundingly agree: there are no shortcuts. There isn’t a single, catch-all solution that solves a marketer’s problems and creates a one-stop ad shop to build an audience. In other words, there’s no golden ticket that’ll get an operator’s foot in the door. It takes hard work and a multi-faceted approach.

From my years of experience,” says Doyle, “I’ve found there’s not one single channel or tactic that will instantly unlock a new audience.

“In the example of TV buy, we need to be mindful of the knock-on effect that will have on all our customer touchpoints, be it impact on PPC branded terms, reactivating a lapsed customer, or retaining our current customer base. We’re continually looking at econometric models to elevate the best use of our budget.”

Kornilov identifies one channel operators seem to favour, though he’s quick to temper it by emphasising the need for a measured approach.

“Celebrities are a good example of an easy win,” he says, “Although I don’t think effective marketing can be centred around one major investment without paying attention to other channels.”

“Big TV spend is a short-term win, but it’s not effective long term. What you need here are contextual ads. It’s all about ensuring you can cover every way of engagement. You want to create long-term players that connect with your brand and resonate with your values.”

A holistic, multi-faceted marketing strategy is a winning one, they agree.

The elephant-sized TV in the room

The success of a TV advertising campaign is notoriously hard to quantify, but still offers huge reach. Sportsbook brands across the US have used TV as part of larger marketing strategies. But how effective is it, and what channels can best support a polished TV campaign?

For Doyle and BetMGM, marketing is more about allowing data to drive decisions and spend.

“We pride ourselves at BetMGM on our ability to punch above our weight when it comes to marketing budgets and driving ROI from these dollars. It simply isn’t the case in the US that the operator with the biggest marketing budget will come out on top.”

Just because operators can afford massive TV spending doesn’t mean they’ll automatically succeed. TV can and should be part of a larger strategy driven by hard data.

Doyle continues: “Over the past three years, we have continued to invest more time and resources into robust attributions models to help cut through the noise and educate the team on where best to invest”

Kornilov highlights how close to the chest operators hold their engagement data: “It’s very secretive and operators won’t publish this publicly. This is a long road requiring plenty of trial and error following an initial campaign. After that, it’s possible to begin segmenting and analysing the return on each segment.

In short, TV ad numbers and data remain elusive, as they’re part of vast marketing strategies that stay well-protected within sports betting operators and marketing organisations. The consensus seems to show that TV spend should be a part of the strategy rather than an audience-building hail Mary.

The unexpected

But just as there are no shortcuts, there is still scope for the unexpected. Both BetMGM and Betegy have witnessed their fair share of surprises in sportsbook marketing.

“Targeted ads are a big one,” says Kornilov. “We see clear data when altering generic and specific event banners. There is a noticeable increase in engagement when using generic events across all channels versus personalised live banners suited to local preferences.”

“This really works, especially in the case of the US given the diversity of the fabric and support of local teams. Looking at specific states, this means promoting local events via personalised delivery.”

This makes sense, considering the US has widely varied fanbases spread across the country. Meeting fans on their turf, with imagery and design that reflects their fandom, can be incredibly effective.

Doyle says from the operator side, there have been different surprises.

“Generally speaking, I think the most surprising developments we have seen in recent months pertain to how major suppliers have responded to privacy changes and the various means by which they are working closely with advertisers such as ourselves to mitigate data loss. It’s a very interesting time, especially in the digital media space.”

Flipping the script, there’s one aspect of US sports betting that remains distinctly unsurprising: piecemeal regulation and legalisation.

Putting the pieces together

Colorado has different regulations than New jersey. New Jersey has different regulations than Michigan. Michigan has – you get it.

The US allows states to legalise and regulate online gambling on their terms. The result? An amalgam of similar by slightly different markets with hyper-specific regulations that operators must navigate.

Does marketing vary from one state to the next? According to Doyle, it absolutely does.

“We are very proud that a customer in Denver will have a different experience on the BetMGM app than a customer in Philadelphia might,” he explains. “We do an excellent job of tailoring our marketing and offers to customers in different states on a daily basis.

“Leveraging out partnerships with the likes of the 76ers, Steelers, and Broncos (to name a few) helps BetMGM talk to our customers in the right way, giving them a much more personalised feel.”

Doyle adds that the power of the MGM brand cannot be underestimated: “Another unique selling point is our ability to leverage 20-plus MGM properties around the country, so our focus on omnichannel marketing is a lot more pronounced in states like Nevada, Michigan, New Jersey, Mississippi, and the DMV area.”

Working closely with BetMGM’s compliance team ensures the company can keep up to speed with regulations, Doyle concludes.

Kornilov emphasises the need for specific, fan-centred marketing, saying that the US as a country is hugely diverse, meaning it is vital to connect with the local audiences.

“This is particularly the case in certain states, where different sports reign supreme. For example, ice hockey in desert states like Arizona won’t perform quite as well as it would in Michigan or Minnesota.”

Navigating piecemeal regulation and geography-based tastes requires a careful touch, he continues.

“It’s all about hard-coding regulations and restrictions into campaigns, as this gives you full control,” Kornilov says. “One of the key questions we get from clients is whether we’re able to navigate each state’s requirements. Through hard coding, it’s immediately solved. In my view, you can only scale if you integrate such rules at the beginning, enabling rapid growth without having to adjust your strategy mid-campaign.”

What’s next?

Speedy growth is the name of the game, and marketers are here to play. What’s on the docket for BetMGM, Betegy, and sportsbook marketing? Turns out, a whole lot.

“New channels are effectively a new method of consumption,” says Kornilov. “Although in many ways the original strategy of segmentation and personalisation will stay the same. Multiple channels will be used to specifically target through a hybrid model that is adapting and working in conjunction with different segments.”

Doyle, on the other hand, argues that data will play a pivotal role in BetMGM’s marketing strategy, allowing it to evaluate performance of each channel in isolation, and as part of its overall contribution.

“We are always trialling and testing new platforms with new channel-specific creative to optimise performance at both the upper funnel and direct response levels.”

It’s sports betting; you have to be ready for anything and everything. BetMGM, Betegy, and other major players are preparing for the continuous growth of the sector, ready to adjust and meet the needs of an ever-changing industry.

This comes alongside the launch of PokerKamers.nl’s new website. The affiliate first launched in 2006.

The policy matches the conditions of the regulated market, which launched on 1 October 2021 after a number of delays.

Joris Koningsberg, founder of PokerKramers.nl, explained that this compliance would mean PokerKamers.nl would only advertise sites that operate legally in the Netherlands’ regulated online market.

Ten operators were announced to have received a licence before the market officially opened.

“Being fully compliant meant saying farewell to online poker sites that did not receive a licence to legally operate in the Netherlands,” said Koningsberg. “This includes renowned sites like PartyPoker and Bwin, as parent company Entain’s initial application got rejected.”

Entain is expected to receive a licence to operate in the Netherlands in 2022. The company blocked all Dutch customers one day before the market opened, complying with a “cooling off” period instated by the KSA.

Koningsberg continued, “It was an easy decision, because the only other option was working with illegal poker sites. And besides, one of our favorite partners- Bet365 – did receive their licence.”

The total raised, as reported by the Gambling Commission, was slightly more than the £1.83bn that was raised in 2020-21.

For the fourth quarter of the financial year, £491.3m was raised for good causes, down 3.4% from the previous quarter and 10.9% from the same quarter of the previous year.

The Gambling Commission said the decline in funds raised during the quarter could primarily be put down to lower sales. National Lottery sales declined by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter to £2.15bn. The Commission said that this was due to a lower number of EuroMillions rollovers, leading to sales from that brand dropping by 22.8% to £425m.

In addition, total unclaimed prizes returned to good causes declined by about £10m quarter-on-quarter.

The news comes soon after the Gambling Commission announced that a business other than Camelot would operate the National Lottery for the first time.
The regulator selected Allwyn – formerly the Sazka Group – to win the fourth National Lottery licence tender, meaning that business is set to take over the lottery from February 2024.

However, Camelot has issued a legal challenge against this decision.

“We are launching a legal challenge in our capacity as an applicant for the fourth licence because we firmly believe that the Gambling Commission has got this decision badly wrong,” Camelot chief executive Nigel Railton said at the time.

The business led by Keith Arlyn Meister issued a statement last week disclosing that it now owns more than 10% of Kindred’s shares and voting rights, in accordance with Swedish regulations.

Now the New York-based hedge fund has outlined what it sees as the best goals for Kindred’s future.

“We are excited to be large shareholders of Kindred. To date, we have had constructive conversations with both the chairman of the board and senior management of Kindred,” Corvex said. “We believe Kindred has built a strategic position in the rapidly growing global online gaming space.

Corvex outlined that the business should retain an advisor to look at possible sale opportunities.

“Given recent developments, we believe the Kindred Board should immediately retain a leading, global financial advisor to evaluate strategic alternatives, including the potential value that could be achieved through a sale or business combination,” it said. 

“A fully informed board will be in the best position to weigh any strategic alternatives, compared with Kindred’s stand-alone business plan. While we have not pre-judged any path for Kindred, we believe the board should possess all relevant market information and let the data drive the decision-making process. We look forward to continuing to work with the Kindred team.”

In response, Evert Carlsson, chairman of Kindred, said the business remained confident in its current strategy.

“We are confident about the long-term opportunities for the company and value creation potential for all our shareholders. We welcome and look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue with all our shareholders going forward”, Carlsson said.

Last week, Kindred reported a 30.2% decline in revenue for the first quarter of 2022, mostly due to its withdrawal from the Netherlands. However, the business narrowly remained in profit.

The three complaints were made across a webpage, a blog post and a TV ad which were launched in September 2021. In all three ads, there was a focus on a new “Hot or Cold” feature, which identified which games had paid out recently and which had not done so.

“How great would it be to see which games are currently paying out and which ones aren’t, just like you could at an actual Casino? Well now you can. You’ll see the most and least profitable games of the moment and when their last big win was, based on real game-play activity, and updated every 5 minutes. You can switch between hot or cold to see which games are the most and least profitable,” the website ad said.

However, two complainants raised issues over the phrasing of the text.

The ASA branded the ads “misleading and implying that the Hot or Cold feature could predict or influence future success; and could irresponsibly lead to financial, social or emotional harm”

One complainant also challenged whether the ads “irresponsibly exploited cultural beliefs or traditions about gambling or luck” in the use of a tarot card reader in the TV advert, which had been approved by clearing service Clearcast.

SkillOnNet responded saying that the “Hot and Cold” feature on their website simply informed players about how much money had been recently paid out on various online slots and casino games and which games had not paid out for a while.

They said that “information was based on algorithms updated every five minutes using real-time and accurate gameplay data” and added that the function was designed to replicate a physical casino at the roulette table, where the house would show the recent history of play, “to help players so inclined, to make a decision on what to bet on next.”

Clearcast also commented, saying that “the average viewer would clearly understand the use of Tarot in the ads in the context of the fortune teller cheating by using the PlayOJO app to check the Hot or Cold feature”.

It added that the ad also made it clear that having received the fortune teller’s ‘wisdom’, the player in the ad had to decide for himself how he wished to proceed.

In an assessment, the ASA deemed the complaints about the feature being irresponsible “the feature gave an indication of recent performance of the games, but did not have any bearing on what the games were likely to pay out in future.”

“The ads gave erroneous perceptions of the extent of a player’s control over a bet by using that feature, they could encourage gambling that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm and therefore also breached the [CAP] code on that basis,” the ASA said.

However, the third complaint over the TV ad was not upheld, with the ASA deeming that the use of the tarot reader did not exploit cultural tradition.

The focus on regulation is led by Birgitte Sand, former Danish gambling regulator, with some advice based on experience and hindsight. Then we have a whistle-stop tour of the globe with regulatory updates from Ireland, Singapore, the Philippines and ending with a special report from the IMGL-sponsored World Regulatory Briefing.

Along the way we point the way to the likely impact of the UK’s Gambling Act Review which Regulus Partners’ Dan Waugh calls A Drama in Five Acts. He reports that each act is getting progressively darker before pointing the way to changing the narrative.

Editor Phil Savage’s first analysis of the war in Europe looks at the impact of western sanctions and the reaction of non-NATO countries to conclude that Russia’s “special military operation” is going to affect us all. The gaming industry in this important region has been decimated but Ukraine and Russia will not be the only ones to suffer. Confidence in an established European order has been shaken and restrictions on cross-border transactions are likely to hit those businesses which rely on trading remotely.

The biggest impact, though, is likely to be on inflation and a combination of rising costs and a stagnant economic outlook is a challenge that the gaming industry has not faced before.

Lightening the mood, somewhat, we look at the role of NFTs and other virtual digital assets in gaming with contributions from Mexico and India. Perhaps not the first places we might think of when it comes to the latest technology, there is evidence that Mexico is leap frogging into the digital age and that the explosion of igaming in India is fuelling increased confidence in the value of digital assets (as long as users stay the right side of the law).

Plenty for everyone so enjoy the issue!

IMGL Magazine April 2022

The BetMGM Canada arm of BetMGM was served a notice of monetary penalties totalling CA$48,000 (£29,974/€35,565/US$37,401) for alleged failure to comply with Standards 2.04 and 2.05 of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming.

The PointsBet Canada division of PointsBet was also served a Notice of Monetary Penalties amounting to $30,000 for alleged breaches of Standard 2.05.

Standard 2.05 prohibits advertising and marketing materials that communicate gambling inducements, bonuses and credits, except on an licensed operator’s gaming site and via direct advertising and marketing, after receiving active player consent.

Meanwhile, Standard 2.04 states all operator marketing, advertising and promotions to be truthful, not mislead players or misrepresent products, including requiring materials do not imply the chances of winning increase the more a player spends.

The Standards were finalised and announced in September 2021 ahead on Ontario opening its legal online gambling market on 4 April this year.

Detailing the specific violations of these Standards, the AGCO alleged how BetMGM Canada ran a ‘$250K Launch Party’ advert, including a contest offer where the winner would receive a $100K casino bonus. The post was initially tweeted on 4 April and again on 11 April.

BetMGM Canada also ran a ‘Bellagio’ ad, including an offer of a $10 casino bonus in return for a $25 bet, with the post initially tweeted on 4 April, and again on 6 April and 8 April. In addition, the operator posted a ‘Jimi Hendrix Free Spin Friday’ for the chance to win 100 free spins on Twitter several times on 8 April. 

According to the AGCO, these three cases were regarded as breaches of Standard 2.05.

BetMGM Canada was also found in violation of Standard 2.04, when it posted a tweet stating that “the more money you put in per bet, the higher your chance is of winning” on 10 April.

Meanwhile, PointsBet Canada was flagged for two alleged breaches of Standard 2.05, the first of which was that during the period from 4-21 April, posters were place on GO trains and in multiple products with an inducement to play for free.

In addition, the AGCO said that between 4 and 17 April, PointsBet Canada placed posters at two GO train stations with an inducement to play for free.

“The AGCO holds all registered operators to high standards of responsible gambling, player protection and game integrity, and monitors their activities to ensure they are meeting their obligations under Ontario’s Gaming Control Act and the Standards,” AGCO chief executive and registrar Tom Mungham said.

Both BetMGM Canada and PointsBet Canada will have the option to appeal the decisions to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario.

At a group level, sports betting revenue was up by 5%, while gaming revenue grew by 9%, as the number of average monthly players increased by 15% to 8.9 million.

The UK and Ireland remained the largest contributor, but revenue from the region was down by 8% to £519m.

While UK and Ireland gaming revenue grew by 15%, sports betting revenue in the region dropped by 21%. This decline would have been sharper, at 26%, if not for the acquisition of bingo operator Tombola, announced iN January.

Breaking revenue from this region down by channel, retail bounced back with £65m after Flutter’s Paddy Power retail betting shops were closed for all of Q1 2021. On the other hand, UK and Ireland online revenue dropped by 20% to £453m.

Flutter said that a large amount of its decline in the UK and Ireland – £30m – could be put down to increased safer gambling measures. The operator’s steps included implementing a £500 loss limit for under-25s, though UK and Ireland chief executive Conor Grant noted that this limit had much less of an effect on revenue than some other measures.

The decline in UK and Ireland online revenue came despite a 15% increase in average monthly players to 6.6 million.

Flutter’s international division – led by PokerStars – also experienced a decline in revenue, by 5% to £327m. The operator put this down to the impact of its “temporary market exit” in the Netherlands, high taxes in Germany and the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on business in both Russia and Ukraine.

“Excluding these headwinds, revenue grew 6% with strong growth in focus markets of Canada, Brazil, India, Georgia and Armenia,” Flutter said.

The international segment was the only one where the number of players declined, with an average of 2.0 million per month.

In the US, however, Flutter continued to experience rapid growth with revenue up 45% to £429m as stakes in the country more than doubled to £5.7bn. The business noted that “customer-friendly results” meant that margins declined.

The average monthly number of players in the US grew at a similar pace to revenue, by 43% to 2.4 million.

“In the US we had another exciting quarter as FanDuel continued to deliver unparalleled scale, with the US accounting for over half of all stakes for the Flutter Group in Q1,” Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said,

“We beat a number of FanDuel records in the quarter; Super Bowl Sunday was the single biggest day ever for new customers and we had over 1.5m active customers on the day. March Madness this year also proved our most popular season yet attracting 19 million wagers across the tournament.”

The FanDuel brand, the business said, held a 37% market share in sports betting.

The business said its cost per acquisition in the US came to $290, which tends to be repaid within 12 to 18 months.

In Australia, revenue grew by 8% to £291m “despite a more challenging market environment” as Covid restrictions eased, presenting more competition for Flutter’s online brands. Margins in the country were particularly high, at 11.5%, which Flutter said was due to “in-house pricing capabilities and product mix”.

Jackson said that while revenue performance outside of the US wasn’t as strong, he felt the business did well given the regulatory environment.

“Outside of the US, our business performed well, adapting to the evolving regulatory and trading environment and reflecting the benefits of our global diversification,” he said.

Jackson added that the business expects to complete its acquisition of Italian operator Sisal in the third quarter of the year. It agreed the deal at the end of 2022, initially expecting the deal to close in Q2.

Looking ahead, Jackson added that the business is well-positioned for more growth, largely due to its leading position in the US and focus on recreational customers elsewhere.

“With our enlarged recreational customer base, winning position in the US and ongoing focus on sustainable growth, our business remains well placed for the future,” Jackson said.