1: Bet365 (2017)
Welcome to the EGR Power 50 rankings of the online gambling industry’s most powerful operators
Bet365’s entry in the EGR Power 50 is usually accompanied by a familiar caveat: that its leading position is under more threat than ever before from merging rivals and that next year could be when it is finally knocked off its perch. This time, however, the online betting behemoth’s prestigious number one spot was never really in any doubt.
This is the eighth consecutive year the operator has worn the Power 50 crown – and just a cursory glance at its financial numbers will quickly show why. According to figures seen under NDA for the purposes of the Power 50, the Group recorded a very strong rise in revenues in 2016-17 – growth which will become far clearer when its annual accounts are made public via Companies House.
As a result, any rival firm which took solace from bet365’s more modest revenue growth the previous year is now up against a business which is well and truly in a league of its own. The different reporting periods make like-for-like revenue comparisons difficult, but Paddy Power Betfair’s online business, for instance, is now really quite some way behind.
Bet365’s revenue growth is an impressive enough feat, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. The size of the operator’s bottom-line numbers is just as remarkable with operating profit soaring to record levels, while the Group also has no debt and a very strong cash position.
Sports betting is clearly the company’s raison d’être. And 2017 was another year where the operator took the initiative with the launch of new innovative features, such as Quick Bet, Auto Cash Out and Edit Bet, adding a major boost to the operator’s formidable in-play business. Its product pipeline is also likely to remain busy after ramping up its investment in its Manchester-based tech hub.
Which geographic regions have provided the biggest boost to bet365’s revenues is far more difficult to gauge. What we do know though is that its Australia-facing business is slowly picking up momentum after recently posting a maiden profit, while it maintains market-leading positions in many countries such as Italy, Spain and Denmark.
The company is also believed to have grown strongly in the UK market. This all means bet365 more than deserves to retain its number one position in the Power 50 for yet another year and leaves it well-placed to build on its success even further over the next 12 months.