Category: News

Full-year revenue amounted to €87.0m, down 23.4% from €113.5m in 2019, due to what Zeal said were “expected dis-synergies” related to major changes within its business and operating model.

Zeal discontinued its existing lottery betting business in October 2019, while it also completed the full consolidation of Lotto24, the online lottery brokerage business it acquired in May 2019.

Consolidation of Lotto24 meant that lottery brokerage revenue was up 169.4% to €78.4m, but the sale of the lottery betting division meant Zeal lost all revenue from secondary lottery betting and instant win games, with this having amounted to €79.3m in 2019. Other revenue also jumped 68.6% to €8.6m.

Zeal also noted that billings – the amount wagered by customers – increased by 39.9% year-on-year to €652.8m, in line with initial forecasts published in January.

Another key highlight for Zeal was that it was able to increase the customer base in its core German market by an additional 918,000 players in 2020, despite the impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

“In spite of Covid-19, 2020 was a successful year for Zeal Group in every way,” Zeal’s chief executive Helmut Becker said. “This was due to exceptionally good jackpot development, billings rose strongly and with the highest marketing investments in our company history we gained 918,000 new registered customers.

“At the same time, we implemented the targeted cost synergies in the course of the Lotto24 takeover in full in the fourth quarter of 2020, launched a successful new product – the charity lottery ‘freiheit+’ – provided €246m for good causes and thrilled 83 customers with wins of €100,000 or more.”

Turning attention to spending for the year, personnel expenses were reduced by 4.8% to €21.9m, while other operating costs were down 18.4% to €56.3, despite a record marketing spend of €32.2m.

This left Zeal with €12.7m in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), down 56.8% on the previous year. However, when taking into account €4.6m in non-recurring profit, this left €17.3m in EBITDA, only slightly down on €17.9m in 2019.

Amortisation and depreciation expenses totalled €12.0m, resulting in €5.4m in earnings before interest and tax, down 40.7% year-on-year, but when including €2.7m in financial income, this pushed pre-tax profit up to €7.9m, compared to €8.3m in 2019.

Zeal received €37,000 in tax benefits, whereas in 2019 it had to pay €6.6m in tax. As such, this meant it ended the year with €7.9m in net profit, some way ahead of €1.7m in the previous year.

“We have delivered on our promises and already fully realised the planned cost synergies in the fourth quarter 2020,” Zeal chief financial officer Jonas Mattsson said.

“At the same time we have grown our business and launched new products. We are delighted that all this is also reflected in our share price performance.”

Looking ahead to 2021, Zeal said it now expects to achieve at least €700.0m in total billings, with revenue forecast to surpass €95.0m and adjusted EBTIDA at least €20.0m.

The findings revealed that by the end of 2012, 1,500 players were on the ROFUS. In 2020, that number had increased to 25,176 players, a rise of 1,566%.

With 21,586 players having self-excluded as of the end of 2019, 2020’s figure represented a 16.6% year-on-year increase.

Around 4,000 players have joined the register each year since 2016.

The increase may be due to changes in Spillemyndigheden rules around marketing and ROFUS referral. On January 1 2020 it became mandatory for gaming operators to include ROFUS information in their marketing.

The report also revealed that 76% of those on the ROFUS register are men.

Two further reports from Spillemyndigheden confirmed that more men than women participate in online gambling overall, and that young men are asking for the most help when it comes to problem gambling.

The latter noted a link between young men suffering with problem gambling and beginning to gamble at an early age. StopSpillet, a helpline ran by the Danish Gambling Authority, found that out of a sample of 530 players with gambling problems, 450 had gambled before they turned 25.

Last week Spillemyndigheden won approval to block 55 gambling websites that had been operating in Denmark unlicenced.

Shares will now be available as F shares listed under the ticker symbol LEOVF, and will run alongside LeoVegas’ current listing on the Nasdaq Stockholm Main Market list.

LeoVegas said that to qualify for trading on the OTCQX market, a company must meet high financial standards and comply with any necessary security laws – whilst adhering to best practices of corporate governance.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Gambling establishments were shut down in the Kiev, Donetsk, Zhytomyr and Odessa regions of the country, among several others, and some of the establishments were operated by groups the SBU labels as terrorist organisations.

During the investigations, SBU officers seized over 600 units of computer equipment, 14 poker tables, 5 roulette wheels, playing chips, cards, card game accessories, the mobile phones of establishment staff, client database records, video recorders and cash.

Information on the possible involvement of law enforcement officers in the activities is currently under investigation.

The SBU said it has been established that part of the funds obtained by the operations had been used to finance self-proclaimed states within Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

Ukraine regards both the DPR and the LPR as terrorist organizations, although most international bodies and other nations, including the EU, US, and Russia, do not apply this label to the groups.

Gambling was legalised in Ukraine in 2020, after the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky signed the Gambling Act into law in August.

Under the bill, online gambling, bookmaking, slot halls and land-based casinos would all be legal, but casinos may only be located in hotels.

The first licence granted by KRAIL was awarded in February, to Cosmolot operator Spaceiks, allowing it to operate an online casino in the country.

Ukraine’s first sports betting licence was subsequently awarded to Parimatch in March.

Bill C-218, first introduced in February 2020, passed the second reading in Canadian parliament last month. It is currently under consideration by the committee.

The bill was designed to reverse a ban on betting on single sporting events, first imposed in Canada’s Criminal Code in 1985. Under current laws, bets may only be placed on multiples consisting of three or more events.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The office named Bally’s Richmond Casino Resort, Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond and One Casino + Resort as chosen by the City’s Evaluation Panel, citing their “powerful proposals” and “thorough financial and operational analyses”.

The City Council’s Evaluation Panel will now begin negotiations with the finalists, with a target of recommending an approved operator and site to Council in mid-to-late May. If this recommended operator is selected by City Council, residents will vote on its proposal in a referendum. If approved in that vote, the casino may be built.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The Government’s digital department noted an increased number of businesses have been making initial enquiries about the jurisdiction, with service providers on the island reporting a significant uptick in interest over the last 12 months.

A 30% increase in demand for gaming licences sees the number of licensees to be supervised by the Gambling Supervision Commission now at 55, with others in the pipeline.

There has been an increase of 21 licensees in the last 12 months, compared to just 8 licence approvals in 2019.

“We are exceptionally busy at the minute processing a significant rise in the number of applications for online gambling operators,” said Steve Brennan, chief executive of the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission.

“Over the last 10 months, we have received or completed a considerable number of applications. By the time we have closed those out and added recent applications, we will have 60 licences to supervise.”

Jade Zorab, director of compliance consultancy Amber Gaming, which is based on the Isle of Man, added that the efficiency of the island’s regulator was a positive during a time of uncertainty.

“The future outlook is positive and it is no surprise that the Isle of Man is experiencing an influx of eGaming ventures, which we are proud to support,” Zorab said.

Recent Isle of Man licensees include 5Dimes, which received a licence as part of a pivot towards jurisdictions where online gambling is legal.

Under the deal, which begins from the current 2020-21 season, Sportradar will distribute coverage of the CBA League’s regular-season, postseason and All-Star game to broadcasters, streaming and OTT platforms in markets outside greater China.

The arrangement will enable fans to access short-form video content, as well as full game coverage throughout the season.

“We are delighted to partner with Sportradar and believe this partnership will provide enriched possibilities and further awareness for CBA League, given their extensive experience and recent track record,” a CBA League spokesperson said.

“By building up opportunities globally in this long-term partnership, we look forward to developing the continued growth of the CBA League and reaching out to new audiences around the world.”

Sportradar’s head of global strategic partnerships Steve Byrd added: “Chinese Basketball has been a traditional powerhouse in the international arena, and we are excited to be a part of expanding the reach of the top tier CBA to markets across the globe.

“Our data-driven approach and experience are what sets us apart in delivering the goal that leagues such as the CBA want, and we are excited to be partnering with them to deliver that.”

The deal comes after Sportradar earlier this month brokered a deal to acquire marketing personalisation platform Fresh Eight, through which it aims to enhance its digital marketing services offering for betting and gaming clients.

Total revenue for the 12 months through to 31 December amounted to €46.4m (£40.0m/$54.8m), up from €26.6m in the previous year.

Bragg put this down to organic within its existing customer base, as well as the onboarding of new strategic customers in jurisdictions around the world. Some 89% of revenue was derived from games and content services.

The provider also noted the impact of new investment, which resulted in the full launch of the Oryx Hub, a new data analytics platform and customer engagement platform.

Players wagered a total of €11.8bn in 2020, up 73.5% during the previous year, while the number of unique users playing Bragg’s games and content rocketed by 113.6% to 5.9 million.

Bragg’s Malta operations accounted for €31.4m of all revenue, more than double the €14.8m generated in 2019. Revenue from its Curacao operations amounted to €8.8m, while Croatia revenue reached €1.6m. All remaining revenue was split between Germany, Romania, Serbia and other markets.

“We’re particularly pleased with the overall performance of Bragg during 2020 and believe we have built strong foundations to support future market share gains and new market entry,” said Bragg chairman Richard Carter, who was yesterday (24 March) confirmed as the provider’s new chief executive.

Carter will replace founder Adam Arviv, who had been serving as interim CEO since September last year.

“Adam and I have taken active leadership roles within Bragg to ensure the future success of the company,” Carter, “We’re aligned in our strategy to grow the group’s underling operating profit margin and to expand rapidly into new markets, particularly the burgeoning US market.”

Cost of revenue for the year amounted to €26.2m, up 79.5% year-on-year, which left a gross profit of €20.2m, an increase of 68.3% from €12.0m in 2019.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) was also up 450.0% year to €5.5m, with Bragg noting improved profitability across its business.

However, selling, general and administrative expenses were also up by 54.6% to €22.8m, while Bragg also accounted for €9.3m related to pay-out settlements for its acquisition of Oryx Gaming. Details of the final €22.0m all-share payment were published in November.

As a result, operating loss for the year widened from €8.1m to €11.9m, and after also including €1.4m in interest and other financial charges, loss before tax was €13.3m, compared to €9.8m in 2019.

Bragg paid €1.2m in tax, leaving a net loss from continuing operators of €14.5m. When also including a €90,000 loss from discontinued operations, as well as translation adjustment, net comprehensive loss for the full year was €14.5m, compared to €12.1m in the previous 12 months.

The provider also published certain results for its fourth quarter, during which it experienced a record performance, with revenue climbing by 75.7% to €13.8m. Players spent a total of €3.2bn on Bragg games and content, up 50.1% year-on-year.

Adjusted EBITDA was up 70.8% to €1.3m, while net loss for the period remained level at €5.3m.

“Our extensive experience and wide-ranging industry networks within this constantly expanding market will add significant value for Bragg shareholders,” Carter said. “We are now extremely well-positioned to capitalise on the strong growth in the online gaming sector globally.”

Interim CEO Arviv added: “We’ve made extraordinary progress in 2020 and are very pleased with the substantial revenue and EBITDA growth that we’ve delivered.

“We continue to expand globally, enhancing our content portfolio and technology offering, and securing new customers across key geographies.”

Introduced in February by Representative Tom Walters, House Bill 0133 sets out plans to authorize online sports betting in the state.

Last week, the bill cleared the House of Representatives at the second attempt by a vote of 32-28, having initially being rejected by a vote of the same margin.

The bill then progressed to the Senate and was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which approved the bill by a vote of 4-1.

The only recommended amendment flagged by the Committee was to change the start date of the legislation from July 1 this year to September 1.

Approval from the Committee means the bill will now head to the Senate floor and, if approved, it will proceed forward to Governor Mark Gordon for signing.

Read the full story on iGB North America.