Month: February 2024

Evoplay’s Anton Gyria speaks of leading innovation in the development of new igaming titles. From new mechanics to unique features, Evoplay’s new 3D racing game, Adrenaline Rush, encompasses a trio of gaming favourites, including a slots format, 3D experience and an instant game in one package. With inspiration from Evoplay’s popular Flagman titles, Gyria outlines how to create a customer-focused gaming catalogue.

The Quarterly Survey of State and Local Tax Revenue (QTAX), carried out by the United States Census Bureau, recently added sports betting to its list of tax sources.

QTAX for Q3 of 2023 found that sports betting accumulated national tax and gross receipts of just under $506m (£403.5m/€473m). This was up 20.5% from Q3 2022 but significantly lower than the $571.5m generated in Q2 2023.

New York dominated the tax generated via sports betting in the third quarter of 2023, with its $188.5m nearly five times higher than Indiana’s $38.6m in second. No state has a higher tax on gross gambling revenues than New York’s 51%.

Ohio and Illinois ranked third and fourth with $32.9m and $32.4m respectively, while Pennsylvania rounded out the top five with $28.8m.

New York breaking record after record

Earlier this week, New York announced it had set a new online sports betting record for the second consecutive month, with January revenue reaching $211.5m.

The January total was 12.3% up on the previous record of $188.3m set in December of 2023. It was also 41.6% higher than the $149.4m reported in New York in January last year.

However, January marked the end of a three-month run of New York players spending more than $2.00bn betting on sports online. In terms of January handle, players wagered a total of $1.96bn during the month. This was 9.5% up from $1.8bn in January 2023 but 3.9% less than December’s $2.04bn.

Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel remains the front runner in the Empire State by some distance. In January, FanDuel claimed a state record of its own, posting $109.2m in online betting revenue. This was the highest figure ever posted by a single operator.

Penn to acquire Wynn’s New York sports betting licence

On Tuesday, Penn Entertainment announced it had agreed to acquire Wynn Interactive Holdings’ New York sports betting licences. This clears the way for Penn to launch ESPN Bet in the state in 2024.

As part of the deal, Penn will acquire Wynn Resorts subsidiary Wynn Interactive’s mobile sports wagering licences entity, WSI US, LLC, for $25m.

Penn partnered with Disney-owned ESPN in August 2023 in a deal that saw Penn’s Barstool Sportsbook rebranded as ESPN Bet. It then launched in 17 US states in November.

Jay Snowden, CEO and president of Penn Entertainment, said the acquisition will expose ESPN Bet to the most prominent sports betting market in the US.

New York made to wait on igaming despite sports betting success

Despite New York’s position as by far the most lucrative state for sports betting in North America, igaming continues to be absent.

In announcing her 2025 executive budget, New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, left out igaming, landing another blow to the hopes of getting online gaming in the state.

This came despite New York state senator Joseph Addabbo’s filing of a revised igaming bill. Senate Bill S8185 built on Addabbo’s previous attempt to introduce online gaming in the Empire State.

Evgen Belousov, chief executive officer of GR8 Tech, discusses how the sportsbook platform helps operators expand into new markets. From localisation in specific geographies, to the development in AI capabilities, GR8 Tech supports operators on the route to success.

The decline in revenue will be of some disappointment for DoubleDown. However, other developments in 2023, including its recent acquisition of SuprNation, place it in a good position moving forward.

DoubleDown completed its acquisition of online casino business SuprNation for $36.5m in November. The deal, announced in January 2023, marks the expansion of DoubleDown into real-money gaming.

Keuk Kim, CEO of DoubleDown, says the business is already utilising the acquisition to seek out new opportunities. Kim says work is ongoing in key European igaming markets such as the UK and Sweden.

“The acquisition marked our entrance into the European igaming market,” Kim said. “We are moving quickly on a range of initiatives to scale the business which will be our initial focus before we turn to optimising the cash flow generated by this business. 

“These initiatives include increasing marketing investment and leveraging our legacy of marketing and product expertise to grow SuprNation’s market share in its core UK and Sweden markets.”

Changing behaviour hits revenue at DoubleDown

Taking a closer look at the 2023 results, revenue fell 3.8% from $321.0m in the previous year. Full-year revenue included the 61 days SuprNation was operating as part of DoubleDown. Without this, revenue for the year amounted to $304.6m.

DoubleDown put the decline down to changes in player behaviour relating to inflation and the global economy. It also noted the impact of the normalisation of player activities after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions around the world.

This was reflected in average monthly active users (MAUs), which fell 22.1% to 2.2 million, while average daily active users (DAUs) also dropped 16.0% to 772,000. However, average monthly revenue per player was up 7.0% to $245.

Lower spending helps net profit recover

Turning to costs, operating expenses were significantly lower. Total operating spend for the year was $190.7m, down 70.0%. This was due to the fact that 2023 included $269.9m worth of impairment costs and $14.8m in loss contingency, whereas this year, no such charges were noted.

DoubleDown also benefitted from $13.0m in net additional income, primarily from interest. As such, pre-tax profit stood at $131.1m, in contrast to the $305.2m loss reported in 2022.

The business paid $30.7m in tax, while also accounting for $597,000 in costs from pension adjustments and $1.2m in foreign currency translation gain. This left a €101.1m net profit, compared to the previous year’s $237.7m loss. 

In addition, adjusted EBITDA jumped 17.0% to $118.9m, with a margin of 38.5%.

DoubleDown ends 2023 on a high with positive Q4 

As for the final quarter of 2023, Q4 results made for similar reading. Revenue was 9.1% up to $83.1m, driven by increased engagement of the existing player base.

Operating costs plummeted by 85.2% to $47.5m, due to the lack of impairment costs. An additional $1.5m financial spend was noted, leaving a pre-tax profit of $34.1m, compared to a $254.7m loss in 2022.

DoubleDown paid $8.6m and reported $441,000 in pension-related costs, although foreign currency translation gain for Q4 hit €4.4m. This resulted in a net profit of $29.4m, in contrast to a $186.8m loss in the previous year.

As for adjusted EBITDA, this jumped 46.6% to $36.2m, with a margin of 43.5%.

“We place a primary focus on being capital efficient as reflected in our strong adjusted EBITDA margins and free cash flow generation,” Kim says.

“Our strong net cash position and consistent ability to generate attractive free cash flow provides the company with significant flexibility to evaluate further opportunities to deploy capital that would continue to expand our business in gaming categories with attractive addressable markets and where our operating discipline would ultimately deliver additional free cash flow and create new value for our shareholders.”

Jussi Lindberg, chief revenue officer at Trustly, discusses how strong collaborations with the best merchants and partners is key to being a leading payments platform. From considering evolving player preferences to providing frictionless transactions, Lindberg believes his team have the platform to top the charts in the igaming industry.

November 2023 was the first month in which handle in Tennessee surpassed $500m. The state’s legal wagering market opened in November 2020.

Gross wagers in Tennessee also dropped 5.6% month-on-month to $467.4m, again falling 9.6% short of November’s total of $517.1m.

Despite the month-on-month decrease, Tennessee’s gross wagers for January were 13.8% higher than the same month in 2023.

Privilege tax assessed for January stood at $8.6m, the first time it has dipped under the $9m figure since November 2023.

The Quarterly Survey of State and Local Tax Revenue (QTAX), carried out by the United States Census Bureau, found Tennessee ranked seventh in the country in terms of the tax generated by sports betting in Q3 2023 with $16.1m. That is 3.1% of the $506m generated nationwide.

Leading operators in Tennessee boosting handle

When the legal market went live in November 2020, a number of leading operators launched in Tennessee. FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM all went live on opening day.

Since then, the market has expanded even further. Fanatics Sportsbook went live in August 2023, with the operator also launching in Ohio, Massachusetts and Maryland as part of its growth plans.

ESPN Bet’s launch across 17 states in November saw Tennessee chosen as one of the roll-outs. ESPN Bet is the product of Penn’s $1.5bn partnership with the Disney-owned ESPN, the largest sports media brand in the US.

Hard Rock launched in Tennessee in September 2022. The operator was already running three Hard Rock Cafés across the state, while the Hard Rock Bristol Casino is located over the state line in Virginia.

Caesars Sportsbook, meanwhile, also runs sports betting in Tennessee. This is possible through a multi-year partnership with Tennessee-based NBA team Memphis Grizzlies agreed in August 2022.

Catena Media has updated its long-term financial targets for 2024-2026. In reviewing their performance Catena CEO Michael Daly didn’t sugarcoat his assessment of the affiliate’s 2023 performance.

Contrasted with their optimism at the start of 2023, the year was ultimately “disappointing”, Daly said.

Looking back, Catena started the year on a high. The company began the year with a return to net profit, following a 24% year-on-year increase in revenue from its North American operations.

Indeed, its US rollout happened at breakneck speed. In 2023, it launched in multiple US states – including New York, Louisiana, Ontario, Kansas and Maryland.

With big plans afoot tied in with the group’s new strategic focus, tied in with a major emphasis on North America, 2023 looked bright.

“Fully exploiting the high-margin opportunities on offer in this market will be our core operational focus going forward,” Daly said at the start of 2023.

It seemed that the company was betting it all on red, white and blue. Hopes were certainly high for the American Dream.

Betting big on the US

Unfortunately that was then, and this is now. The company is heavily dependent on the US for revenue at this point, accounting for more than 80% of all income.

However, in announcing its end of year results, North American revenue dropped 21% to €67.1m (£57.1m/$71.9m). In total, its share price is now down more than 75% year-on-year.

Breaking that down into quarters, its Q4 results highlighted a fast-accelerating decline for North America, with revenue plummeting 43.0% to €12.3m.

This trend is now compounding further, and looking back we can see this started more gradually, with a 29% decrease in Q3 and a 16% decrease in Q2.

So, despite betting big on its 27 active North American jurisdictions, as well as being in a position where more than 80% of its revenue is on the other side of the Atlantic, Catena has now put their eggs in one basket. And that basket is straining.

Clearly, something needs to be done to stop this accelerating decline. A 75% decline in share price year-on-year certainly calls for panic stations.

Before we look at solutions however, let’s take a glance at the company’s key figures. We’ll start with Q4 and then go onto the financial year as a whole.

Q4 2023: Accelerating decline

Reflecting its poor US performance, revenue from continuing operations was €14.5m, a decrease of 41%.

This was largely attributable to new depositing customers (NDCs) from continuing operations decreasing 43%, totalling 32,032; down from 56,040 in the previous quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations also cratered by 88% to €1.5m, corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10%.

In what will probably make for grim reading for investors unfortunate enough to be holding stock, earnings per share from continuing operations totalled -€0.47 before dilution.

FY2023: Grim reading

Unsurprisingly, at the time of writing, Catena’s market price is down more than 10% on the Swedish stock exchange.

This suggests the market has not been overjoyed by this year’s news, to put it mildly. Especially when that compounds into a 75% drop year-on-year.

In short, if we look at the annual financials, we can get a bigger perspective on how big this drop is.

In total, revenue for the year is down 22%, at €76.7m, US revenue is down by 21.0% – cushioning the faster decline later in the year by a less precipitous drop in the first two quarters.

New depositing customers from continuing operations totalled 184,257, a decrease of 19% – again cushioned by (less bad) performance in Q1 and Q2.

EBITDA is where it starts to get grim, with adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations decreased by 47.0% to €25.4m – corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 33.0%.

Earnings per share from continuing operations were slightly better than the Q4 drop, with only a €0.37 loss before dilution, compared to Q4’s -€0.47 – again reflecting a curve that is quickly getting steeper.

Disappointing or disastrous?

Heading over to CEO Daly, and his choice of “disappointing” starts to seem more of an understatement. “Disastrous” might be more the word we’re looking for, again looking at the 75% drop in share price.

STS founder Matuesz Juroszek, perhaps put it more succinctly than we ever could. “I think Catena Media management should resign today and assets should be sold on the market,” he stated via a LinkedIn post. “What a story in how to destroy a business.”

That may be an extreme response, especially considering its executives are running a business that keeps changing size and shape amid a series of divestments.

But what’s the explanation for this decline? Daly’s headline comment focused on performance highlights the Q4 “market headwinds”, which he didn’t elaborate on further. The result – a revenue drop and EBITDA decline in its core North American market.

“Lower cost-per-acquisition (CPA) rates paid by operators again impacted revenue, as did stiffer competition directed against us as the established market leader,” he continued.

This was despite Catena’s high hopes for North America in 2023, which saw the company announce that it was preparing for the 2024 North Carolina sports betting launch. In January, it revealed that it saw record revenue from the launch of sports betting in Ohio.

Technology, innovation and immersive experiences

Ever the optimist, he highlights that Catena’s latest series of investments, planned as a result of the strategic review launched in 2022, will reinvent the group’s core technological focus.

This, he says, will see it offer new products that prioritise technology, innovation and immersive user experiences.

Drawing attention to its cost reduction programme of around €4.0m to “optimise group operations” following recent divestments, which included the offloading of UK and Australian online sports brands to Moneta Communications for €6.0m in August 2023, and he hopes to see greater stability.

However, divestment of brands will likely improve underlying margin than revenue. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the rebalancing will bring greater stability and sustainability will bring greater stability over time.

Daly also highlights that the short-term drawback is that foregoing CPA in favour of revenue share reduces upfront income. However, this hasn’t developed at pace.

In Catena’s analysts call this morning, Daly highlighted that we can expect a “potential” spike as they go live in North Carolina. However, the risk is that this feels like a return to the company’s manifesto at the start of 2023.

Bouncing back

The key message, as per Daly, is patience. “A strategic reboot on the scale that we have undertaken can take time and test the patience of employees and shareholders.

“Q4 was a difficult quarter, but I believe we are now turning the corner. My message today is that our goal is in sight. A leaner, nimbler, multi-channel Catena Media with the knowledge and technical infrastructure to thrive in our core regulated markets and to deliver a return to growth in the second half of this year.”

The primary initiatives include investments in artificial intelligence (AI), paid media, subaffiliation and further strategic media partners. This, it expects, will broaden its audience reach and deliver greater value to partners. In short, making it the data and tech leader in its space.

A Better Collective?

The hidden hand we also need to consider is the 6.23% Better Collective holds in Catena Media stock. Purchased at the start of 2023, and almost at the same time our tale of misfortune began.

As per today’s earnings call, Erik Edeen, interim CFO at Catena, puts much of this year’s disappointing performance down to increasing competition in the US.

So what is the competition? Let’s start with Better Collective. Curiously, the ones who also hold their stock. Aside from their losses on buying Catena at peak value, they couldn’t be in better health.

Unlike Catena, they’ve surpassed their full-year revenue expectations three times in 12 months – the most recent being in February 2024. Better Collective also increased its guidance twice previously in 2023.

In addition, its recent buying spree saw it acquire US-based sports content creator Playmaker HQ in July 2023 for $54m. 

Not to be confused between the two, at the start of February, Better Collective also closed its acquisition of Toronto-based digital sports media business Playmaker Capital. The group struck the deal to acquire the business in November 2023, valued at €176m.

So, what does that mean for Catena? In short, it’s all about shareholder approval. Anything that Catena wants to now do will need their competitor’s blessing, given their 6.23% stake.

As well as that, they’ll be giving their main competition prior warning on anything they plan to do. With that in mind – suddenly that picture becomes far bleaker – especially with such a pressing need to turn revenue around.

Refloating the Titanic

So, let’s return back to our company in peril. As per Catena’s announcement, we’ll first examine its aim to transition towards a more sustainable revenue model.

In short, they hope that the completion of the strategic review will be their knight in shining armour. The review ended in November last year.

The group expects a resumption of organic growth in the second half of 2024. It is also aiming for a full-year adjusted EBITDA in the range of €20m-€30m.

The new targets are double-digit organic growth in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA for 2025 and 2026 at group level. The shift towards a more sustainable revenue model also involves recruiting more players via revenue-share agreements with operators.

As we covered above, this replaces its previous cost-per-acquisition (CPA) contracts, but again we’re yet to see anything concrete on whether this is working.

The second, and as we’ll cover next, is how it will also implement a wide-ranging programme of investment in tech and data innovation.

Its plans are to roll-out a new look platform in Q1 and Q2 2024 – in short, betting big on AI.

Rolling out the AI buzzword

Catena hopes that by channelling its resources into AI, it will be able to change its fortunes.

“Rapid technological developments and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping the media industry,” Daly said.

“For the online sports betting and casino gaming sector, the changes will be huge. At Catena Media we are determined to be a leading force in this new landscape.”

Catena is currently implementing a wide-ranging internal investment programme – including large investments in both tech and AI, with a minimum viable product (MVP) already in motion.

So what is it and what does it do? In outlining the company’s plans, Daly says his aim is “to fast-track our ambition to be the data and technology-driven leader of online affiliate marketing.”

“These projects are significant in the context of our Q4 figures, which were disappointing and with which I am not satisfied. Planned and initiated earlier in 2023, the investments have since been accelerated. They are designed to position us for the future and also to restore the group to a sustainable long-term growth trajectory.”

It is understood that the new platform will facilitate the introduction of new tools to improve its “organic search competence”. This is set to “better enable us to leverage data and product development innovations”.

Built for scalability, the new platform will enable “fast” rollouts of coming innovations in multiple areas, including AI and sub-affiliation. Most likely, this will be similar to ChatGPT style content that we’re already seeing rolled out across media outlets. This would enable them to scale their content faster than what would be possible with any human writing the content.

As per today, we understand the new platform is expected to launch in Q1 2024. Once fully rolled out in Q2, this will be the first time Catena Media focuses affiliation activities on a single, coherent tech infrastructure.

Can it work?

While Catena is not the first company to pin its hopes on AI, it certainly has big plans to usher in big changes.

“We see AI as a positive force that will empower our teams and leverage their knowledge, leading to better and more attractive products and higher revenue over time,” Daly said.

“Thanks to the new technical platform, we will be able to integrate the AI joint venture and other large language models rapidly in the business.

“The same applies to paid media, a largely new vertical that will expand our reach and market exposure and reduce our dependence on state launches, especially in sports betting.”

Again however, patience will be key. It is not until these investments take off, that the market can expect to see the company reverse its current trajectory. So the big question is – what will the automation generate?

A leaner, “nimbler” multi-channel Catena Media could return to its winning ways. But given that we had a similar message at the start of 2023, we’re going to need to see more before we can definitively say they’ll arrest this decline.

Close to one year on, the message is that we’re going to see core, regulated markets being the focus. With the addition of AI, of course.

How that growth will come about remains to be seen. Or, using the latest industry buzzword, we will see whether the solution actually works.

The 2023 total was 92.3% ahead of the PHP30.24bn in igaming revenue generated in the Philippines in 2022. It also surpassed the previously yearly high of PHP32.24bn, set in 2019, by 80.4%.

Regulated igaming in the Philippines is provided by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and includes online games, bingo, specialty games and sports betting.

Pagcor chairman Alejandro Tengco announced the figures at last week’s ICE London 2024. He put the revenue rise down to policy reforms in the country.

Tengco also revealed the number of licensed igaming sites that are active in the Philippines reached a record high. More than 1,000 websites are now active in the country’s market, with more applications currently pending. 

“Because of the policy changes implemented by the current management, there was a considerable increase in gaming sites,” Tengco said. “We also approved reductions in (licensing) rates that contributed to the spike in approved sites.

“The egames sector’s notable performance positively impacted not only the local gaming industry but also Pagcor’s revenue generation efforts.”

Looking to 2024, Tengco says additional policy tweaks will support further revenue growth. Changes including further lowering licensing rates will help push revenue to a projected PHP61.75bn for the year.

Philippines gaming revenue hits record PHP285.00bn 

The revelation comes almost a month after Pagcor also reported record revenue for the whole Philippines market in 2023. 

For the past year, total revenue in the country was PHP285.00bn, up 11.2% from the existing record set in 2019. Based on the igaming figures revealed last week, the online gambling sector accounted for 20.4% of all revenue.

Speaking last month, Tengco said revenue will likely grow again in 2024. Forecasts for the year ahead placed 2024 revenue at PHP336.00bn, up 17.9% year-on-year, largely down to the planned opening of a number of new integrated resorts.

The confirmed revenue rise in 2023 came after Tengco in November last year spoke of his confidence that the country’s gambling industry has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels.

As for the long-term future of gambling in the Philippines, Tengco earlier this month spoke of his confidence about the country’s potential. Speaking to VOX, Tengco says the Philippines has ambitions to become Southeast Asia’s gaming hub.

The Philippines remains the only regional jurisdiction to have regulated both land-based and igaming.

Lindahl exits LeoVegas after almost six years with the business, serving in various roles since joining in April 2018.

He started out as managing director for Italy before becoming head of MGA markets and general manager for Europe and North America. He took on his most senior role of global chief marketing officer in August 2021.

Prior to joining LeoVegas, Lindahl worked as head of international development at Gruppo DigiTouch. He also served as CEO of Optimized Group as well as country manager for Italy at Just Search Italy and key account manager at NetBooster Sweden.

Announcing his exit from LeoVegas in a LinkedIn post, Lindahl paid tribute to his colleagues at the operator.

“Thank you for the most amazing five years in my career; it has been a great ride,” Lindahl said. “I will miss you all. LeoVegas is a one-of-a-kind company and having worked there has been a privilege.”

“Gustaf Hagman (LeoVegas CEO), thank you for giving me the chance to enter the industry. Thank you for showing me what leadership is all about. You are a true example to us all. I will miss you.”

LeoVegas set for busy 2024

Lindahl leaves LeoVegas at a busy time for the operator following several developments in recent months.

In August, LeoVegas partnered MGM Resorts International to roll out the BetMGM brand in the UK. The platform utilises LeoVegas technology and platform. LeoVegas was acquired by MGM Resorts in September 2022  for $604m.

Meanwhile, LeoVegas in September last year also completed its acquisition of a majority stake in games developer Push Gaming. 

Late last year, LeoVegas also announced its return to the Netherlands with the launch of its new Dutch-facing website. LeoVegas.nl offers a range of online casino games, live casino and sports betting.

The launch comes after LeoVegas secured a new licence in the country in July through its LeoVegas Gaming business.

LeoVegas previously operated in the Netherlands before the country regulated its online gambling market. The legal Dutch market launched on 1 October 2021. LeoVegas announced it would be halting activities in the country just days before the market opened. 

Indiana reported a total sports wagering handle of $480.3m for January, a 4.5% drop from the previous month’s total of $503.1m.

Of the handle, $269.9m was spent on parlays, with American football and basketball receiving $57.5m and $113.1m in bets respectively.

DraftKings and FanDuel battling it out in Indiana

Ameristar Casino and its DraftKings sportsbook was the leader for handle with $181.4m, accumulating a total AGR of $18.7m. FanDuel, meanwhile, came away with $23.3m in AGR despite taking less in bets than DraftKings with $160.1m.

Penn Entertainment-operated Hollywood Lawrenceburg took $39.4m in handle while Belterra Casino, another FanDuel partner, placed fourth with $36.6m.

Caesars, meanwhile, was fifth for handle with $32.1m at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, finishing with a total taxable AGR of $2.4m.

Igaming potentially coming soon to Indiana

An updated report in January found that Indiana could generate as much as $2.1bn in igaming revenue over the first three years following legalisation.

The report, commissioned by the Indiana Gaming Commission and conducted by Spectrum Group, estimated the first three years could bring in between $1.9bn and $2.1bn of revenue.

Additionally, the study identified a potential $929m in igaming tax revenue over the first three years following legalisation. This was also a 5% rise on the previous report’s estimations.

Igaming has long been floated in Indiana, with a long-running push for online casino in the state dying in committee in 2023. There have been fears over a potential cannibalisation of the industry, although a recent Spectrum Group report found that igaming has not had a negative effect on income for land-based gaming verticals in other states.

Bet365 launches in Indiana

As part of its North American expansion, Bet365 also launched online sports betting in Indiana at the end of January.

Indiana became the eighth US market for Bet365, launching in the state thanks to a partnership with the French Lick Resort land-based casino. French Lick Resort reported a total handle of $12.3m for January with a taxable AGR of $1.2m.