Month: February 2024

Hayk Tomasyan, head of live casino at Creedroomz discusses ICE 2024 and how the team have found the last show in London. With multiple titles launched over the past few months, including Road to El Dorado, Dice Paradise and Deluxe Roulette, it’s clear the teams live casino portfolio is growing by the minute.

As reported by Casino Nieuws, the businesses applied for instant lottery, sports betting and lottery licences, which were rejected by the KSA on 4 September 2022. The businesses were not named in the official ruling, but Dutch newspaper Brabants Dagblad has named them as Jack’s Casino and Jacks.nl, which are owned by JVH Gaming.

In its response, KSA argued the licence had been granted to a third party – Nederlandse Loterij – and could only be issued to one legal entity, as per the monopoly policy.

KSA referred to the Netherlands’ gambling policy “horizontally consistent” in its response. The claimants countered by arguing this hadn’t been the case since the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) was introduced in October 2021.

They also pointed to rulings issued 2 May 2018 and 10 March 2021. The 2018 ruling preserved the monopoly status quo on sports competitions and instant lotteries while the second, ahead of the Dutch igaming market opening, ruled it was permissible to maintain the lottery’s monopoly while granting permit to charitable lotteries.

Dutch gambling policy ‘no longer consistent’

Assessing the claimants’ argument, the court agreed that the Netherlands’ Remote Gambling Act (KOA) – on which KSA based its refusals – did not comply with Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Article 56 of the TFEU bans restrictions on offering services within EU member states.

The court ultimately determined that Dutch gambling policy is “no longer horizontally consistent” in the “current state of affairs”.

“[The] court notes the current gambling policy, after the entry into force of the KOA Act, has a single licence system for land-based games of chance with a smaller risk of addiction and a smaller chance of criminal activities,” read the ruling.

“While the current system for online gambling with a greater risk of addiction and a greater chance of criminal activities has an open licensing system.

“In the court’s opinion, this inconsistency, viewed in the light of the legal developments in connection with the entry into force of the KOA Act and in the light of the actual effects of that entry into force, makes Dutch gambling policy no longer horizontally consistent.”

The court accepted the claim a monopoly licensing system is not necessary to protect the “public interests” involved in gambling, such as customer protection, or to operate land-based gaming.

Ruling throws up questions

The court concluded that stopping operators from offering services unless it’s within a monopoly system “is not proportionate, because it does not guarantee the general objectives in a systematic and coherent manner”.

The KSA was therefore not within its rights to deny the licence applications on the basis Nederlandse Loterij was already approved to operate lotteries in the market, the court ruled.

The regulator now has 12 weeks to reassess the two applications. The court is aware of the potential impact, noting “this ruling has major consequences for the licensing for organising the three country-based games of chance”.

KSA must also pay €1,750 in court costs towards the two claimants, plus their €365 court fee.

The Dutch Lottery holds – for now – all three available monopoly licences across its three segments – Krasloten, Toto and Lotto.

The 40% increase in full-year revenue was driven by a strong fourth quarter in which net gaming revenue (revenue minus accounting adjustments, NGR) hit a record €50.1m.

The 2023 total beat the operator’s projected revenue range of €140m-€150m for 2023. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of negative €12m also beat Codere Online’s €20m-€30m loss projected at the start of the year.

Codere Online’s 2023 optimism comes after it also surpassed expectations in 2022, when NGR reached €122.9m, a 48% increase on the year prior.

Mexico the main event for Codere Online

A particularly key market for Codere Online in 2023 was Mexico, with NGR rocketing up by 54% year-on-year for Q4, reaching €25.1m. This made it the company’s largest market with revenue hitting €81.7m for FY2023.

Prior to Mexico’s impressive 2023, Codere Online’s home country of Spain was its top market, with Q4 NGR of €20.8m, a 17% increase on 2022’s figure of €17.8m. Spain is now lagging behind Mexico despite NGR growing 26% year-on-year to €75.7m.

For Codere Online chief executive Aviv Sher, the growth in Mexico and Spain shows the operator’s strategy is paying dividends.

“Our strategic focus on Mexico and Spain, where we are seeing a strong return on marketing investment, has proven successful, with significant increases in both our active customer base and spend per customer,” he explained.

“Casino continued to exceed our expectations with a second consecutive quarter contributing 58% of total net gaming revenue in the period.”

Mexico and Spain growth make up for Colombia stagnation

Colombia isn’t quite showing the same rapid growth as Mexico and Spain, with €2.3m for Q4 flat year-on-year. Despite the Q4 stagnation, Codere Online’s Colombia NGR still rose by 8% for the financial year.

The operator’s other markets, including Panama and Buenos Aires in Argentina, reported a 54% NGR increase to €6m. Despite average monthly players for that sector dropping by 14% in Q4, the number still reached €9.2m for the year, a 17% rise.

Net loss was €1m for Q4 2023, down from €17.4m in the same quarter the year prior.

Full-year net loss narrowed from €45.9m in FY2022 to €3.1m, leaving Codere Online with a total cash position of €41m to end 2023.

LatAm opportunity only just emerging for Codere Online

In 2021, Codere Online became the first LatAm-facing igaming operator to list on a US stock exchange. With an already strong presence in LatAm, it looks well-placed to capitalise on the region’s huge potential.

Peru and Chile are both nearing regulation, with the former’s low tax rate making it a particularly attractive proposition for operators such as Codere Online.

The company’s LatAm options are developing. However, in an interview with iGB last December, Sher revealed that Brazil, which is finally expected to have a regulated betting market in 2024, isn’t currently in Codere Online’s short-term plans.

“Our current structure, our current plans, and the way we operate, we are not entering Brazil,” Sher said in the interview. “It’s not a Spanish-speaking country. It’s a different culture, it’s sports-only, and we have huge players advertising for years as they build their brands in the unregulated environment.

“With the current structure that we have, we will not be able to penetrate Brazil and make good investments and give our investors a good deal there.”

Codere Online bullish about 2024 prospects

The company is setting a target of €185m-€200m in NGR for 2024, as well as positive adjusted EBITDA and cash flow.

Sher is excited for Codere Online to keep going on its upwards trajectory in Mexico and Spain, particularly when taking into account its lower marketing spend compared to previous years.

“We were able to grow our active customer base by more than 15% in both markets in the quarter, which we believe is impressive considering the similar level of marketing investment in these countries in 2023 versus the prior year,” he said about the results.

Oscar Iglesias, chief financial officer, added: “In short, we expect to deliver upon our original commitment to investors to be a profitable company in the third year after de-SPAC (special-purpose acquisition company) and are more committed than ever to creating meaningful value for our shareholders.”

The NPB revealed a list of organisations placed on its blacklist today (29 February), comprised entirely of Betsson, BML Group and 13 of the operator’s brands.

It is the first time an operator has faced blacklisting in the country. It follows Betsson losing a court case to the NPB earlier this month. Banks, payment service providers and virtual currency providers are now obliged to block all money transfers from Finland to BML.

The implications for Betsson

The case dates back to May last year when BML Group was ruled to targeted Finnish players via marketing and advertising campaigns in violation of the Finnish Lotteries Act.

The court fined BML Group €2.4m (£2.1m/$2.6m) and banned it from marketing its gambling services.

This was after the NPB ruled the company had breached the Finnish Lotteries Act by illegally targeting players in mainland Finland for an “extensive period”.

Only Veikkaus, Finland’s gambling monopoly, can operate in the country, and market its services.

Finland gets tough on unlicensed gambling

Payment blocks for gambling were introduced in Finland at the start of 2023. The aim was cut into a sizeable black market, that accounts for as much as half of all gambling in the country.

Betsson faced a similar situation in Norway, another monopoly market, in 2021.

Its entry to the regulated Netherlands igaming market was also blocked in 2021.

That year it was one of a number of high-profile brands that withdrew from the market after a last-minute policy change to the Remote Gambling Act stated operators who who do not target the Dutch market, but offer services to Dutch players, were ineligible for licences. While it initially pursued a licence after an enforced cooling-off period, this application was later withdrawn.

Finland to end gambling monopoly

The decision to blacklist Betsson comes as the Finnish government works to end the current monopoly of Veikkaus.

The government will end the monopoly “no later than 2026” in favour of an open licensing model. These reforms would prevent gambling harms, both financial and social, by increasing channelisation to legal offerings the government said.

Following the announcement of the monopoly coming to an end, Veikkaus entered into an agreement with OpenBet. The deal will see Veikkaus’ fixed-odds betting system updated so that it aligns with OpenBet’s offerings. The updates will be visible at sales points and on Veikkaus.fi by the end of 2024.

That followed Veikkaus announcing it would cut around a quarter of its workforce, dividing operations into three business units. Around 185 to 215 of Veikkaus’ employees will lose their jobs, while another 110 to 150 workers will have material changes made to their employment.

Revenue was higher across all segments at Light & Wonder in 2023: Gaming, SciPlay and iGaming. Incidentally, the group has now achieved five consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth in all three businesses.

This growth was supported by strategic investments throughout the year. The stand-out development was acquiring the remaining shares in SciPlay, the social gaming division it span off in 2019. The 17% holding was acquired for more than $420.0m.

SciPlay is now a fully integrated part of the Light & Wonder portfolio. According to president and CEO Matthew Wilson, SciPlay is executing “beyond expectations” in what he described as a “breakout” year.

“I’d like to share that the integration has gone well,” Wilson said. “We are executing on our cross-platform strategy through a more harmonised development process across all businesses.

“I think SciPlay is becoming quite metronomic about the way they just deliver outstanding results after outstanding results. Clearly, it is the fastest-growing social casino company in the industry and taking a wild amount of share. I think it all comes back to we got a best-in-class team with a really focused strategy.”

No looking back after lottery sale

New investments follow the decision to offload its lottery business in 2022. Light & Wonder completed the sale to private equity company Brookfield Business Partners in a deal worth $5.80bn. 

Aside from this, the group also sold its OpenBet sports betting platform to Endeavor. With these sales, Light & Wonder has been able to switch its focus to its now-core business areas.

Add in a successful secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in May 2023 and Wilson said the future looks bright for Light & Wonder.

“Throughout 2023, we made strategic investments in the aspects of our business that we expect to drive long-term sustainable value, something we were not able to do before the transformation,” Wilson said.

“Our improved financial position and disciplined capital allocation strategy support our ability to continue to invest in the future of Light & Wonder, with a commitment to accelerating R&D investments and enhancing our product offerings.”

Double-digit growth in all areas for Light & Wonder

Taking a closer look at the full year, services revenue at Light & Wonder jumped 10.9% to $1.99bn. Products revenue also increased by 27.1% to $991m.

In terms of segmental performance, gaming led the way with $1.85bn in revenue, a rise of 15.6%. This was driven by an increase in gaming machine sales, while gaming operations revenue was also higher on the back of an enlarged North American installed base.

The newly acquired SciPlay business posted $777m in revenue, up 15.8% year-on-year. This increase was put down to growth within the core social casino business, helped by higher player engagement.

Meanwhile, Light & Wonder also reported a 14.6% increase in igaming revenue to $275m for 2023. Growth here was helped by continued growth momentum in both the US and international markets.

Lottery sale skews net profit year-on-year comparison

In terms of costs, operating expenses increased 6.5% to $2.38bn. The main outgoing was selling, general and administrative costs, with the $808m spent here up 12.7%.

Other finance-related expenses, primarily interest costs, amounted to $313m. As such, this resulted in a $205m pre-tax profit, compared to the $163m loss posted at the same point in 2022.

Light & Wonder paid $25m in tax, leaving a $180m net profit from continuing operations, in contrast to the previous year’s $176m loss.

However, when it comes to bottom line, this is where the figures become skewed. In 2022, Light & Wonder noted $3.87bn in net income from discontinued operations, including the lottery business.

Accounting for this, as well as $17m in discounted net income from non-controlling interest, impacted bottom line. Comprehensive net profit in 2023 reached $163m whereas, in 2022, the inclusion of discontinued operations income meant net profit was $3.68bn. 

As for adjusted EBITDA, this amounted to $1.12bn, an increase of 22.5% year-on-year.

Ending 2023 on a high

Looking at the final quarter of 2023, group revenue in Q4 amounted to $770m, up 12.9%. This includes $515m in services revenue, a rise of 10.5%, and $225m in products revenue, up 18.1%.

Segment-wise, gaming led the way with $496m in revenue, an increase of 13.2%. SciPlay revenue also increased 12.1% to $204m and igaming revenue 12.9% to $70m.

Total operating costs climbed 5.5% to $615m, with selling, general and administrative the main expense at $209m. Light & Wonder also noted $90m in net other expenses for Q4.

This left a pre-tax profit of $65m, up 150.0% year-on-year. The group paid $2m in tax, resulting in a net profit of $67m, compared to $21m in Q4 of 2022.

As the asset sales were largely complete by Q4 of 2022, discontinued operations only had minimal impact on the comparative period. Discontinued operations net profit in the previous year stood at $18m. 

However, even after taking this and non-controlling interest income into account, bottom line net profit was still higher. For Q4 2023, net profit reached $66m, an increase of 120.0% from $66m in 2022.

In addition, adjusted EBITDA for the quarter climbed 14.0% to $302m.

“Banner year” for Light & Wonder

“2023 was a banner year for Light & Wonder,” Wilson said. “Our businesses delivered double-digit growth across the board throughout the year, enabled by strategic investments and strong execution. 

“We consistently leverage a differentiated product strategy and plan to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities ahead of us. 

“I am thrilled with the momentum we continue to see in the business and, with our winning mentality, experience and talent in place, we are well-positioned to continue our growth trajectory. I want to congratulate our team on a successful year and know the best is yet to come.”

Revenue for the three months to 30 September 2023 climbed to $97.5m (£77.0m/€90.1m). However, higher spending across several areas meant Inspired ended Q3 with a lower net profit.

The Q3 results are being made available several months late. Figures were due in late 2023 but Inspired delayed publication due to several issues. These included accounting errors relating to compliance with US GAAP, connected to accounting policies for capitalising software development costs.

Incidentally, this led to Nasdaq contacting Inspired in November. It warned that the late filing places it in breach of its rules. The stock exchange gave Inspired until 22 January to submit a plan to regain compliance, or risk having its shares de-listed. 

Inspired submitted its plan in January, with this then being accepted by Nasdaq earlier this month. As such, executive chairman Lorne Weil says Inspired has avoided any further action over the matter. He adds that the group is now looking to move forward.

“We have completed the financial restatement process and, as of today, all amended filings are complete,” Weil said.

Interactive performance the main positive in Q3 – gaming and virtuals down

Reflecting on the quarter, Weil was keen to highlight the ongoing success of the Interactive business at Inspired. The division posted double-digit percentage growth and helped offset some of the decline in the Gaming and Virtual Sports segments.

“Interactive results reflect another quarterly record,” Weil said. “We continue to benefit from an increased footprint through new customer launches, the consistent deployment of new content and increased promotional activity through exclusive deals with tier-one customers as well as revenue growth from existing customers.”

This is in contrast to its Gaming and Virtual segments. Despite both posting a drop in revenue, Weil is positive about the future for these segments.

“In the last two to three years, we’ve seen extraordinary growth in our Virtual Sports business, driven by new products and market expansions,” Weil said. “We believe we are heading into another strong growth phase, driven by our exciting new content partnerships with the NFL and NBA. We have two major markets with substantial growth opportunity, North America and Latin America.

“In our land-based operations, which includes our Gaming and Leisure segments, we’ve completed the deployment of our new ‘Vantage’ cabinet across two of our largest licensed betting shop customers, recording another $22.7m of low margin terminal sales in Q3. 

“We continue to see approximately 11% year-over-year revenue per machine increases with these new terminal deployments. In our pubs business, we’ve deployed ‘Vantage’ across approximately 20% of our customer estate and have experienced approximately 20% year-over-year growth in revenue per machine. 

“This gives us confidence that we are seeing a reacceleration across our land-based businesses.”

Mixed results amid net profit decline

Breaking down the Q3 results, some $70.7m of all revenue came from service, an increase of 3.1%. The remaining $26.8m was generated from product sales, up 378.6%, as a result of low-margin gaming hardware sales.

As for segmental performance, Leisure remained the primary source of revenue at $31.7m, up 3.9%. Elsewhere in the land-based segment, Gaming revenue slipped 6.7% to $22.4m.

However, Inspired also notes an additional $22.7m in low-margin gaming hardware sales. As stated by Weil, this improved overall land-based performance.

Meanwhile, virtual sports revenue fell 6.9% to $13.4m in Q3. This was offset by the 37.7% increase in Interactive revenue to a record $7.3m.

Turning to spending, expenses were higher across the board. The main outgoing was selling, general and administrative costs at $26.9m, up 6.0%. However, the largest increase was with cost of product sales, which hiked 551.2% to $26.7m.

Inspired also reported an additional $6.8m in finance costs, primarily interest expenses. As such, pre-tax profit amounted to $5.4m, down 41.9%.

Inspired paid $2.0m in tax but was helped by a $3.8m positive gain from foreign exchange and a $200,000 gain on its pension plan. However, net profit for Q3 was still down 58.6% to $7.2m. 

In addition, adjusted EBITDA slipped 2.2% to $26.7m.

Inspired posts net loss for year to date

As to how Q3 impacted Inspired in the year to date, revenue during the nine months to 30 September grew 18.0% to $241.8m. Service revenue climbed 3.7% to $195.7m and product sales 182.8% to $46.1m, on the back of Q3 low-margin gaming hardware sales.

Spending was higher in almost all areas in the nine-month period. As was the case in Q3, selling, general and administrative costs were the main outgoing at $82.7m.

Finance expenses reached $20.2m, leaving a pre-tax profit of $10.4m, down 40.6% from the same point in 2022. Inspired paid $2.8m in tax, but its $20m negative impact from foreign exchange negated this. The latter was partly offset by $1.0m net gain from its pension plan and the reclassification of loss on hedging instrument to comprehensive income.

This meant net loss for the period reached $1.0m, compared to a $20.4m profit in the previous year. However, adjusted EBITDA crept up 1.1% to $74.0m.

Inspired CEO: business remains very strong

“Fundamentally, our business remains very strong, which was reflected in our repurchase of $1.5m of our stock during Q3,” Weil said. “We are optimistic about the compelling digital growth dynamics of the business, as a wider audience engages with online betting and gaming while new jurisdictions continue to launch. 

“Combined with a resilient land-based business, our diversification and expansion ability reinforce our omnichannel strategy combining our high-margin, capital efficient digital businesses with our steady land-based businesses.”

Revenues shot up by 22% to a record €948.2m (£811.3m/$1bn) for Betsson’s 2023 financial year. EBITDA also skyrocketed 52% to €262.7m from €172.4m in 2022. The year-end results were aided by a surge in Q4, one that saw group revenue hike by 14%.

Quite the set of results then for Betsson. According to Lindwall, the positive outlook for the company looks set to continue, both short- and long-term. The CEO is delighted with the group’s performance, comparing the operator to a well-oiled machine.

“Of course, we’re very happy with the outcome of 2023,” Lindwall told iGB. “It’s a record year by far for the group. It’s nice to finish off so strongly with the record quarter as well.

“I think we have a strategy that has played us well as we are pretty diverse in terms of geography and we have our organisation in great shape. I think that transpires to good output in terms of results.”

Expansion across the globe

For Lindwall, expansion is set to be one of the key factors that will help Betsson with its global plans in 2024. Like most operators seem to be, Betsson is eyeing LatAm as a particularly attractive market for the near future.

Lindwall and co are well-placed to profit from LatAm opening up, too. Having already gone through the challenging regulatory process in Argentina, where a licence is required for each province, Betsson is also present in Colombia. Lindwall pointed to Peru as another country where Betsson is looking to make a mark once regulated.

After sports betting and igaming were finally legalised in Brazil in December, its 220 million-strong population is expected to have a legal gambling market in the latter stages of this year.

Lindwall is both thrilled and relieved that the Brazilian market is finally opening for regulated business. This is especially the case after igaming was re-included in Bill 3,626/2023 following its prior removal by the senate.

“The regulatory process has been back and forth, one step ahead, two steps backwards,” Lindwall commented. “When we heard igaming is not included, of course that’s very negative for the regulation.

“We are happy that it’s back again. Let’s hope we don’t get too many negative surprises on the regulatory process going forward. There’s a massive list with huge interest in that market from all our competitors.”

France another target

France is another market that Lindwall and Betsson are setting their sights on. The company launched online casino in neighbouring Belgium with Betfirst earlier this month. Its €27.5m acquisition of Holland Gaming Technology and Holland Power Gaming has also boosted Betsson’s presence in the Netherlands nearby.

There is growing expectation that France will have online casino legalised in the near future. If that market does indeed become available, Betsson’s partnership with French casino operator Groupe Partouche will provide a swift first-mover advantage.

Betsson also secured a licence to offer online sports betting in France in September 2023 and Lindwall is “really excited” over his belief that there are steps being taken behind the scenes towards a regulated online casino market in the country.

“I hope that it will [be legalised],” Lindwall declared. “I was at ICE a couple of weeks ago and that was the big question – “have you heard anything about France?” It’s in the air, but nobody knows anything.

“Obviously, something is going on and it’s a question of time of course. France has a large number of land-based casinos. There’s a big history of casino gaming, so I think it’s very natural that casino would get regulated in France.”

Challenges of expansion

Expansion can throw up problems, though, particularly in regards to licensing. This often drawn-out process is one that Betsson now has plenty of experience in given Argentina.

However, Lindwall believes it’s this previous experience that will allow Betsson to successfully navigate the tricky waters of regulation in new markets. “I remember from the first licence in Argentina, it was a large amount of paperwork and work to get that licence. It’s massive work.

“It’s the same for everyone in the market. We managed to handle it because we have so many licences that we have done it so many times. We know how to do it.”

Once regulated in a new market, Betsson then has the task of trying to scrap and fight for market share. In such a competitive environment as Brazil, which is rumoured to have over 150 legal operators applying, as well as vast black market interest, that can prove a tricky assignment.

Lindwall is confident however that Betsson will thrive in new markets. He cites the company’s policy of offering a localised offering. This is rather than a one-size-fits-all strategy, with that localisation proving to be a real edge.

“We have a strong organisation and we’re very local in all the countries where we act,” Lindwall continued. “I think it’s very important we don’t try to create one global experience and believe that will work on every single market.

“We’d rather look at every single market, how it behaves, what the competition looks like, what do the customers expect in this market and then we try to fulfil that. If we manage to do that, I think we’re in a great position to keep on growing and be successful in the market.”

Casino success in Q4

That localised policy is particularly evident in casino, which was a core driver in Betsson’s record Q4 2023.

Casino revenue shot up by 25.1% year-on-year to €182.8m, representing 72% of group revenue. In Q4 2022 it accounted for 66% of group revenue. Casino revenue from mobile devices was €157.8m, 86% of total casino revenue.

Lindwall again pointed to Betsson’s adaptability across markets as the reason for its casino results, stating the company has placed more importance on combining local offerings to better target each country’s demographic.

“We managed to showcase the games that people prefer in local markets and that may have helped a bit,” Lindwall stated. “Every market is different.

“We’ve got machine learning, which presents games which are the most popular, and there are certain automatic procedures in that as well. But I think there’s a portion of manual work that goes into that as well.”

Black market competition

Alongside the regulatory issues, the growing presence of the black market in some regions is a looming threat against legal operators, unable to compete in the face of overregulation in the form of marketing, product and tax restrictions.

Lindwall believes overregulation completely misses the point of what regulation is expected to achieve, highlighting Germany as one nation that fits those criteria. A November study found close to half of all online gambling in Germany takes place with unlicensed operators, with players driven to the black market by excessive stake limits and ease of access to unregulated gambling.

“Looking at Germany, it’s a large country with a comparably strong economy and yet there’s hardly any business to be done there by regulated companies any more,” Lindwall says.

“You have to ask yourself, in the regulator’s view, 90% of the population doesn’t fit into this view and uses other offerings – so, is that successful regulation? If it was regulations on speeding traffic, would it be acceptable if 90% of the drivers didn’t follow the rules? There needs to be a better balance.”

Lindwall believes Germany is an example as one of many European countries that have overregulated, decimating the competitiveness of legal operators and hurting channelisation across the continent.

Reasons to be cheerful

Despite the challenges, Betsson has plenty of causes for optimism, both looking in the past at its outstanding 2023 figures, as well as the future with a busy 2024 sporting calendar on the cards.

The 2024 European Championships, starting in June, is an event that is particularly piquing Lindwall’s interest, labelling it as the primary event of the year and one that will boost activity in more than just sports betting.

“We expect a spike across all verticals because the whole activity goes up,” Lindwall said. “We have more customers coming in and, even though it’s sports betting mainly, it spills over to other products.

“I think as well, you can say that our industry ends up in the spotlight during those tournaments. We get some great exposure in the press, which is nice.”

Betsson’s strong 2023 financial year will also allow it to further pursue its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategy that has been evident in Belgium and the Netherlands in recent months.

Lindwall will not change a winning formula, explaining: “I think we will continue to look at similar to what we’ve done so far, smaller acquisitions that fit the strategic purpose, companies we can take in that give us market entry such as Betfirst in Belgium.

“We have also done some strategic acquisitions of products like payment companies in LatAm. We have a strong balance sheet, we have a strong financial position and the ability to do M&A.”

Bright 2024 for Betsson

In summary, 2023 was a superb year from a Betsson perspective. Its strong balance sheet should tee up the company for what happens next, which will put the company ahead of much of its competition in new markets.

Lindwall concedes that following up such a successful year could be difficult, but with the company on a strong upwards trajectory and the “tailwind” of a packed sporting calendar coming up, the chief executive remains confident of more Betsson prosperity across the globe.

“It [LatAm] is going in the right direction,” Lindwall declared. “We have a strong footprint; we have done strong sponsorships over time and there is a huge interest in soccer. So that is one I’m also very excited about for the year.

“We have just started up our business with Betsson.fr, our French offering for sports betting, and we are really excited about the market. It’s a large one and it’s going to be very interesting to see how it develops.

“I think we’ll continue as we do today. We will work towards our vision which is the best experience for the end user and we are not there yet in all markets. We still have things to work on and we can always add things to make the experience even better.”

More of the same seems to be the strategy for Lindwall and, with Betsson coming off a record year and showing few signs of slowing down, it’s a tactic that is hard to argue with.

Players in Indiana can now place bets on a wide range of events and competitions via the Fanatics Sportsbook.

Fanatics replaces the PointsBet brand in the state. Existing PointsBet customers in Indiana will automatically have their username, password, account balance, rewards points and responsible gaming settings migrated to the Fanatics Sportsbook.

FBG has been phasing out the PointsBet brand in states across the US after its acquisition of PointsBet US in August 2023. Indiana is the 14th state in which the Fanatics Sportsbook has launched.

Fanatics also runs online sports betting in Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. In addition, PointsBet retail betting venues operate in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Last week, FBG also launched the Fanatics Casino in Michigan. This marked only the third roll-out of the platform, following launches in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Record January for Indiana

FBG enters Indiana on the back of the state reporting record adjusted gross revenue for January. During the month, revenue hit $53.5m (£42.3m/€49.5m), beating the existing record of $50.6m set in December.

Another key figure from January is a monthly handle of $480.3m, a 4.5% drop on 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. 

The Fanatics Sportsbook faces strong competition in Indiana. The current market leaders are Ameristar Casino and DraftKings, with a $181.4m handle and $18.7m in revenue.

Fanatics set to target North Carolina

FBG continues to phase out PointsBet in other states. The operator has not put a timescale on when it expects further acquisitions and subsequent launches to complete.

However, FBG is also considering other US markets where PointsBet is not currently active. This includes North Carolina, where it has secured a market access agreement with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

This comes ahead of the market launching on 11 March. However, FBG is yet to secure its licence in North Carolina. The state set a deadline of 26 January for hopeful operators to submit their internal controls.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission says it is working with eight operators to have them licensed before the go-live date.

The sports betting and technology provider noted that, in the six-month period, it had focused on minimising its cost base. This also saw it renew its contracts and the signing of new customers.

The restructuring also allowed BetMakers to work on “streamlining the business model” across three segments – Global Betting Services, Global Tote and Corporate. This resulted in a reduced headcount from 456 to 414 during the six months.

BetMakers announced the restructuring scheme in May 2023 as a way to reduce costs. Following its Q4 2023 results – released in July – BetMakers remained committed to continuing the strategic restructuring into 2024. This follows after seeing positive results during the quarter.

For the first half of its 2024 financial year, BetMakers’ Global Betting Services segment extended and signed contracts with operators including PointsBet Australia and 888 William Hill. Meanwhile, Global Tote delivered an embedded tote solution for Caesars Entertainment.

“The investments made in technologies and infrastructure puts BetMakers in a stronger position to deliver the next phase of revenue and earnings growth through customer acquisition and retention, the continued reduction in operating costs and the delivery of long-term projects in H2 2024,” BetMakers noted.

Operational breakdown

Revenue was generated fairly evenly between the Global Betting Services and Global Tote segments. Global Betting Services accounted for $26.7m of the revenue, a 5.6% increase yearly. Global Tote saw a much larger revenue boost, with its $24.5m signifying a 15.0% rise.

The cost of goods sold topped $18.2m, creeping up from the $16.5m recorded in H1 2023. This left a gross margin of $33.0m,

Turning to expenses, these generally decreased during the six months to 31 December. The highest expense came from employee benefits at $24.6m. However, this was a significant decrease from the $34.0m recorded in H1 2023. The second highest expense – depreciation and amortisation – ticked up by 10.7% to $5.3m.

Finance costs more than halved to $164,000, while professional fees fell 34.3% to $2.6m. Overall the expenses totalled $46.4m, bringing the pre-tax loss to $12.8m, down by half year-on-year. The expenses fell 32.3%. yearly.

Following income tax of $605,000, the total loss for the year was $13.4m. This was a 32.3% improvement yearly.

Adjusted EBITDA worked out at a $930,000 for the six months. In comparison to H1 2023, this was a 94.0% reduction.

Looking ahead to H2 2024 and FY24

Looking at its progress in the first half of the year, BetMakers said its on track to keep the cost base under $110m. For the remainder of the year, it is aiming to carry out a further 10% reduction in operating costs compared to H1.

Also in H2 2024, BetMakers has projected that it will go live with “key contracts” such as Caesars Entertainment and Norsk Rikstoto. For the full-year, BetMakers has forecast low double digit growth compared to FY23.

The company said that it would remain focused on minimising its cost base going forward, with an aim to improve profitability. BetMakers also aims to deliver positive monthly operational cash flow and positive adjusted EBITDA.

“Having made significant strides in its FY24 objectives, the company’s focus remains on further reducing the cost base and moving towards profitability,” the report noted.

“Additional cost reductions are expected to result from leveraging technology solutions such as OneWatch, right-sizing infrastructure and software usage and continuing to simplify the operating model.”

Senate Resolution 579, which seeks to approve sports betting in Georgia, passed by 41 to 12. This was easily enough to meet the two-thirds majority needed to amend the state’s constitution through a referendum.

SR579 is led by Senator Bill Cowsert, who submitted the ultimately unsuccessful Senate Bill 172 in 2023. In a largely unchanged form, though, SR579 looks more likely to end up passing.

Earlier in February, Senator Clint Dixon’s Senate Bill 386 was adopted after passing with a vote of 35-15. Enabling legislation SB386 looked to establish a framework of regulation in the state and was amended so that the support of 38 senators was needed to pass.

Cowsert’s proposals would see 80% of tax revenue attributed to the lottery’s education fund. Some 15% would go to public education on problem gambling, while 5% would be given to the Sports Promotion Fund and used for the “advancement” of sports in Georgia.

Next steps before Georgia sports betting

The bill will now go to the state house, where it will need two-thirds approval to progress to a ballot. A referendum would then be scheduled, with the likelihood being the vote would be in November of this year.

Cowsert called the decision to have a vote on whether to legalise sports betting “politically appropriate”.

The tax rate still needs to be decided and it remains to be seen whether Georgia will go down the route of New York’s 51%, or the likes of Iowa and Nevada’s 6.75%.

The bill is still facing opposition, however. Senator Marty Harbin, who has long opposed the legalisation of betting in the state, called problem gambling a “real addiction”. Harbin also pointed to the state’s strong financial position as a reason why Georgia is not in need of tax revenue from gambling.