EGR Power Affiliates 2025 in numbers

Another year, another EGR Power Affiliates has been put to bed. Better Collective remained at the top of the rankings, albeit after a shaky 12 months, that means the gap to its nearest competitor in Gambling.com Group has shrunk. Here, we have pulled out some important figures from the latest power list.

1

The number of female CEOs in the rankings after Alina Famenok’s Already Media broke into the Power Affiliates for a debut 17^th place finish. The rankings and affiliate sector as a whole have traditionally been dominated by men, and while the Power 50 only has four female CEOs leading the industry’s top operators, Famenok’s arrival on the scene is an important moment.

Already Media, which was established around three years ago, focuses on emerging markets across Latam, Asia and Africa. The business completed two M&A deals last year, while company COO Nata Shchedrina and chief brand officer Maryna Yuschenko make up a female-dominated C-suite.

9

Game Lounge was the biggest climber, shooting up nine places to 13^th after a 22^nd place finish last year. Driven by strong financial metrics, as shared confidentially with to BDO, the Malta-based affiliate has been shaken up under the leadership of CEO Richard Dennys. A focus on locally refined products in specific markets is paying dividends, with the sale of Betting.com perhaps best symbolising the new strategy.

The affiliate snapped up Meneer Casino, a Dutch-facing site, last year as part of those plans, and remains committed to AI. A revamp of the C-suite also added fresh blood, with the upwards curve the business is seemingly on putting it in good stead for the months ahead.

199

The total transaction value of disclosed M&A among Power Affiliates in the past 12 months hit €199.1m (£172.1m), with plenty of other undisclosed deals swelling this number. The largest was Gambling.com Group’s $160m acquisition of Odds Holdings, followed by Better Collective paying €42m for UK-facing AceOdds in May last year. Better Collective also gobbled up an unnamed smaller North America-facing business for €6m in Q3. Gentoo Media parted with a combined €6.2m for Casinomeister and Titan. You can then add another $21m from Sportradar (officially on the Ones to watch list) for taking on XLMedia’s North America assets.

3(ish)

That is the number of CEOs who took on new jobs between the publication of the 2024 rankings and this year’s edition, with some asterisks in place. Raketech boss Johan Svensson was leading the firm in an interim capacity this time last year, but assumed the role on a permanent basis for the second time in May. Svensson was one of the original co-founders and is hoping to turnaround fortunes after Oskar Mühlbach stepped down in January 2024.

Former Kindred Group head Manuel Stan had been named as Catena Media’s new chief early last year, yet he only joined in July. He replaced interim chief Pierre Cadena who had filled the gap vacated by Michael Daly.

Peter Gunni, the new CEO at Traffic Lab, replaced former CEO and company founder Sebastian Agerskov in June. Gunni stepped up from chief commercial officer, having previously served as the affiliate’s head of social media and chief marketing officer.

79

Catena Media has had a tough few years, including a 79% slump in full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA to €5.4m symbolising the challenges faced by an affiliate that was previously one of the top companies in the sector. Full-year revenue fell 35% to €49.6m, while first-time depositors slipped 30% to 128,700. A drop of two places to ninth in this year’s ranking reflects the downturn in KPIs.  

Catena Media was sitting in second place as recently as 2022, and while its previous top rival Better Collective has remained at the apex of the list, its own fortunes have not played out as well. Under new CEO Manuel Stan, and a shift to a product-first mentality, it’s possible the company can return to the upper echelon of the EGR Power Affiliates.