Betsson posts “best ever quarter” partly fuelled by 45% surge in sportsbook revenue

Betsson has announced the group reached new highs for revenue and operating profit (EBIT) in Q3 as expansion into Latam and Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) continues to bear fruit.

Group revenue for the period came in at a record €200.3m (£174.1m), up 18% on a year ago (+35% organically), while EBITDA rose 19% year on year (YoY) to €48.6m.

EBIT hit €38.4m, an increase of 21% on Q3 2021. EBIT margin was 19.2%, up from 18.7% 12 months prior.

Group growth was partly propelled by an 8% rise in casino revenue and a 45% jump in sportsbook revenue, all-time highs for the business. Both verticals achieved new records for turnover.

Sports betting turnover leapt 29%, which was partly attributed to the earlier-than-normal commencement of the European football leagues due to the upcoming World Cup.

Sportsbook margin was 8.3%, which was roughly in line with the previous two quarters but somewhat higher than the average for the last eight quarters (7.7%).

To illustrate sportsbook’s momentum, Betsson said eight of the 10 best days ever in terms of turnover have occurred since the start of the third quarter on 1 June.

The Stockholm-listed operator also revealed net income was €32.6m and operating cashflow ended the quarter on €38.5m.

Meanwhile, active customers increased by 7% YoY to 1,056,400, while customer deposits reached an all-time high.

Betsson AB president and CEO Pontus Lindwall said: “We saw a continued positive development during the third quarter with high growth and profitability for the group as a whole. Betsson reported new records for revenue and operating profit, driven by both sports betting and casino.”

“The organic growth was 35% compared to the corresponding quarter last year, again generated mainly by the regions Latin America and CEECA.”

Lindwall said he was particularly pleased with the high growth given Betsson hasn’t had any revenue from the Netherlands since the operator exited the market at the end of Q3 2021.

Betsson applied for licences in February and March and is still waiting for its applications to be processed by the Dutch regulator.

Italy, where a new sports betting product was launched, was described as a “shining star” within the Western Europe region.

Betsson also signed sponsorship agreements with two Italian football clubs, Salernitana and Palermo, to complement its existing deals with AC Milan, Roma, Torino and Sassuolo,

Continuing its push into Latam, the firm soft-launched online casino in the regulated market of Mexico ahead of a ramp up in marketing in Q4.

Lindwall commented: “We see considerable potential for this market in the long term given the size of the economy, the population, and the low level of online gaming penetration in the country.”

It was also announced during the results that Betsson has paid €14m to acquire 80% of the shares in B2B sportsbook supplier KickerTech, based in the Lithuania capital, Vilnius.

Betsson will pay the total amount in three instalments, beginning with an initial €6m in cash, followed by a further €4m in cash in six months and the final €4m to be paid in 12 months, either in cash or shares issued by Betsson.

KickerTech boasts a team of 50 staff developing “advanced odds models, trading technology and sportsbook features”. In the 12 months to 30 September, the firm generated revenue of approximately €2.6m and EBIT of around €1.3m.

Despite the strong Q3 results, Betsson shares had slumped almost 7% at the time of writing to SEK80 (£6.23).