Month: May 2023

Aristocrat said that the H1 results demonstrated the “resilience, competitiveness and diversification” of its portfolio, despite challenging market conditions.

Chief executive officer and managing director Trevor Croker highlighted the role of its subsidiary Anaxi in achieving its results. The organisation is Aristocrat’s real money gaming (RMG) division.

Last year, the business invested $42m in the organisation, as well as another $240m in user acquisition.  

Online segment supports North American growth

 “Our newest operating business, Anaxi, delivered on its initial market entry commitments and established sound foundations for growth,” he said.

“With content agreements signed with partners representing over 55% of the igaming market in the US, we are comfortably on course to exceed our target of penetrating at least 70% of regulated jurisdictions across North America over the next five years.

Crocker made clear that these results happened despite a difficult operating environment.

“Our teams faced into considerable economic and political uncertainty during the half, including the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine, and I am tremendously thankful for their efforts,” he added.

“Looking ahead, we will continue to navigate challenges with a focus on portfolio performance and capturing the significant strategic opportunities in front of us including delivering on our online RMG strategy with the proposed acquisition of NeoGames announced earlier this week,” Croker concluded.

Aristocrat H1 sees strong revenue growth

For the six-month period ending 31 March, revenue rose 12.2% to $3.08bn, up from $2.75bn. In addition to the company’s North American growth, it highlighted the role of its Outright Sales division in achieving this.

Aristocrat’s Americas segment represented the lion’s share of the revenue at $1.45bn – a 26.4% rise from the previous year. In comparison, its other significant segments Australia and Pixel United shrunk by 0.5% and grew 0.7% respectively.

Aristocrat recorded earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.03bn in H1, an increase of 5.7% compared to the prior period.

This resulted in a pre-tax profit of $852.8m, a 42.6% rise, and a post-tax profit of $653m. Crocker emphasised the role over investment in achieving these results.

“The benefit of our investment to grow and diversify Aristocrat’s revenue base was particularly evident in our ability to deliver solid revenue growth and stable EBITDA in constant currency at group level over the half year, with a continued strong performance from the Aristocrat Gaming Americas business more than offsetting the challenging mobile gaming market conditions for Pixel United,” he said.

Under the agreement, GiG will continue to provide Bet365 with its GiG Comply automated affiliate marketing compliance tool GiG Comply.

The tool scans web pages for content including links, igaming code red words and regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions. A built-in rules engine analyses snapshots from affiliates’ campaigns and provides operators with content that is being used in their brands’ promotions.

Users can set up their own criteria and checklist parameters that can be tailored to cover a range of market-specific requirements, helping ensure operators remain compliant.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with GiG Comply,” bet365 spokesperson said. “Their automated compliance solution is a valuable tool in helping to maintain a compliant affiliate program globally.”

GiG Media chief marketing officer Jonas Warrer added: “Extending our partnership with bet365, one of the leading names in the industry, is a worthwhile indication of the confidence it provides our partners in the affiliate market and the strength of the team we have in GiG Media.”

Beter said that the decision to appoint Robinson as CRO has “further strengthened” its management team. Robinson is to be charged with driving the company’s growth strategy and plans for market expansion.

In his new position, Robinson will oversee sales, marketing and account management teams, as well as “enhance” client services.

Robinson has over 15 years’ experience working in business development, as well spending the last eight in the gaming industry.

In his previous roles he helped build sales teams, enter new regions and implement marketing strategies for companies such as digital development business Symphony Solutions and Betsys.

Beter CRO to drive market expansion  

Beter said that, with Robinson as part of the team, the company is “well-positioned” to continue its growth trajectory.

“We are delighted to be welcoming Chuck to the team as chief revenue officer,” said Beter CEO Gal Ehrlich. “With his extensive experience in business development and igaming, we are confident that he will play a crucial role in expanding our market presence and driving our growth strategy forward.”

Robinson himself said that he was “very excited” to be joining Beter and working with the business’s brand and team of professionals.  

“I welcome the opportunity to utilize my experience to accelerate the company’s growth and achieve its ambitious goals for collaborating with marquee market players, as well as consolidating its leading position as a provider,” he said.

“I firmly believe that our prospective partners will be impressed by the outstanding quality of Beter’s products and the cutting-edge technology leveraged to provide the best betting experience for their customers.”

Moving content distribution in-house

In April, Beter announced that it would be moving its content distribution in-house as part of a new strategy to strengthen and expand its operator partnerships.

“We have made the strategic decision to take more control over the distribution of our content,” said Ehrlich at the time.

“This decision is not a reflection of the incredible work our partner has done on our behalf, but rather an opportunity to align our distribution strategies with our long-term goals.

Mateusz Juroszek, CEO of STS Holding, said that the quarter was a success, even when compared to STS Holding’s record Q1 2022 results.

“In Q1 2023, we achieved very good operating and financial results,” said Juroszek. “Key operational indicators improved compared to Q1 2022, which was then a record period in the company’s history.”

“Despite the high base from Q1 2022, we generated even better results and in terms of net profit, the last quarter was record-breaking in the history of STS S.A.”

Of the total revenue, PLN27.0m came from STS Holding’s retail segment, while PLN126.6m was generated by online betting. A total of PN79,815 was attributed to values not assigned to segments.

Full quarter results

STS Holding’s operating expenses for the quarter hit PLN83.1m, up by 4.3% compared to Q1 2022.

The operator’s online betting segment generated PLN58.3m of this, while the retail segment made up PLN23.2m of the total expenses. Values not assigned to segments of PLN1.4m made up the remaining total.

Of the expenses, personnel expenses generated the highest cost, totaling at PLN25.5m. Marketing expenses hit PLN18.4m, while the cost of organising bookmaking services was PLN13.3m.

The remaining total was made up of numerous other costs, including administrative expenses, property expenses and transport costs.

Other operating expenses totaled at PLN422.7m.

This brought the operating profit for the quarter to PLN70.3m. Following further financial revenue of PLN3.1m, and financial expenses at PLN2.1m, the pre-tax profit for the year was PLN71.3m, up by 11.5%.

Following income tax of PLN15.0m, the net profit for the quarter was PLN56.2m, a rise of 11.5%.

Players wagered PLN1.19bn with STS Holding during the quarter, a rise of 11.5%.

Total market revenue for the month amounted to $476.7m, up from $461.6m in April 2022 but 7.5% lower than the record $515.3m in March of this year.

Land-based slots, the primary source of revenue for the state, declined 2.2% year-on-year to $213.0m. Retail table games also slipped 7.8% to $84.4m.

In contrast, online casino gaming revenue jumped 21.3% to $137.2m. Internet slots revenue was up 24.7% to $95.6m and igaming tables revenue climbed 16.1% to $38.9m, though ipoker revenue slipped 7.0% to $2.7m.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National retained top spot with $58.5m in total igaming revenue. Valley Forge Casino Resort was second with $31.2m, then Rivers Casino Philadelphia on $26.1m.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The Pagcor chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco called on all of the country’s offshore licensees and service providers to operate within the bounds of their licences.

He also made clear he would “severely” deal with any operator involved in criminal activity. He warned that operators could see their licences suspended or cancelled.

“More is to follow,” said Tengco. “We will continuously subject our offshore gaming licensees and service providers to stricter monitoring.

“Pagcor will continue to work hand in hand with law enforcement agencies to ensure a safe and responsible gaming environment not only for Filipinos but also for other nationalities.

“Only through regulated and responsible gaming can we minimise, if not totally eradicate all crimes that are being linked to gaming activities.”

Police raid provider suspected of illegal activity

The comments followed a 4 May raid by a number of Filipino state agencies. The search operation took place at premises within the Sun Valley Business Hub ran by gaming service provider CGC Technologies. The business has had their licence suspended pending an investigation.

CGC – which was awarded its licence in September 2021 – is accused of number of serious offences. These include credit card fraud, serious illegal detention and human trafficking.

While Pagcor were only aware of two buildings on the site operated by CGC, the provider was in fact control of six structures.

The personnel working in the Sun Valley Hub had a number of different national origins, such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Nepal, Bhutan and China.

Human trafficking has previously been an endemic problem in in the POGO sector, which has found itself linked to organised crime, multiple murders and modern slavery.    

A number of Filipino state agencies conducted the raid including the Anti-Cybercrime Group of the Philippine National Police and the Special Action Forces. Also involved were the Intelligence Group of the Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission and the Inter-Agency Council on Anti-Trafficking.

The police confiscated over 1,000 computers and devices from the site, which they then subjected to a forensic investigation.

Pagcor said that if the authorities can prove that the establishment engaged in criminal activity, it will “immediately” cancel the company’s licence.

This was just shy of the $26.9m revenue target predicted by Gambling.com last month.

Charles Gillespie, CEO and co-founder of Gambling.com, said that the Q1 2023 results “exceeded” Gambling.com’s expectations and had proven its success in North America.

“Our record first quarter 2023 results exceeded internal forecasts and reflect industry-leading organic revenue growth as well as strong profitability and cash generation,” he said.

“Our performance in the first quarter demonstrates both Gambling.com Group’s successful execution on our North American growth initiatives and our success in generating ongoing attractive growth in more established markets.”

First quarter results

The operator’s North American revenue increased by 33% year-on-year to $14.1m.

Cost of sales for the quarter was $991,000, a fall of 19.3% compared to the cost of sales in Q1 2022. This left the gross profit for the year at $25.7m, up by 40.0%.

Sales and marketing expenses were the highest of the quarter, totaling at $8.0m. This was followed by general and administrative expenses at $5.7m, and technology expenses at $2.2m. The remaining expenses were made up from movements in credit losses allowance and fair value movement on contingent consideration.

After expenses were considered, the operating profit for the quarter was $8.1m, 90.7% higher year-on-year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was $8.2m.

Finance income totaled at $100,000, while finance expenses came to $563,000. This lowered the pre-tax profit to $7.6m.

Following an income tax charge of $1.1m, the net profit for the period was $6.5m, an increase of 47.0%.

Player spending for the month amounted to $31.8m, which was 10.4% lower than $35.5m in April 2022 and also 31.9% down from $46.7m in March of this year.

However, revenue reached $4.3m, which was up marginally from $4.2m in the same month last year but 14.0% lower than $5.0m in March.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

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The former Caesars subsidiary will purchase the operator’s entire Canadian portfolio, which includes Century Casino & Hotel Edmonton, Century Casino St. Albert, Century Mile Racetrack and Casino and Century Downs.

The casinos will be added to existing master lease agreement between Vici and Century. After the deal closes, the operator’s annual rent will increase by $17.3m or 7.8% of the cost of the acquisition.

Vici acquires Century Alberta properties

“This transaction unlocks the real estate value of our Canadian properties while continuing our Canadian operations and provides us with greater financial flexibility as we continue to grow,” Century co-chief executives Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger said.

Century will use the sale to fund improvements at its Nugget Casino Resort in Nevada and “general corporate purposes”.

They also said they were looking to potentially use some of the proceeds to pay down debt. In addition, they plan to return value to shareholders through stock repurchases or a special dividend.

“We continue to evaluate the optimal use of our capital,” they said.

[Read full story on iGB North America]