LeoVegas CEO: New platform will return UK to growth
Gustaf Hagman says the operator will review its BetUK marketing investment in the UK as it launches new Legs11 bingo brand
LeoVegas plans to return its UK-facing operations to growth through its multi-brand strategy and improved SEO from the group’s new front-end platform, CEO Gustaf Hagman has said.
Last week the group reported a 32% decline in organic UK revenues for Q3 after imposing new source of funds regulatory checks in the UK.
“We see very promising data SEO wise that is related to the upgrade of our front-end platform and we have BetUK and Legs11 as two new brands within UK,” Hagman told EGR Intel.
“Short-term UK has [faced] some pressure from compliance but long-term we think of UK as a huge potential”
Although the BetUK and Legs11 brands sit on the Bede platform and not LeoVegas’ in-house tech stack, head of investor relations for the operator, Philip Doftvik, said Bede’s offering also performs very well SEO wise.
Hagman also highlighted the general trend of slowed growth rates in the UK. “We know from some of our unlisted peers that they are taking an even stronger decline than LeoVegas,” he added.
Newcastle-based subsidiary Rocket X’s profit margin took the hardest hit after investing significantly in marketing for the BetUK sportsbook brand.
Hagman said the firm will review its ROI from the campaign, which included TV and online ads, to see whether it has been worthwhile.
“If not we will renegotiate, tweak the deals we have or close down that specific channel,” he added.
The operator launched UK specific bingo and slots brand Legs11 earlier in the month and said it would conduct similar marketing strategy as BetUK.
In an analyst note, Regulus Partners said overall growth rates had slowed by 5-10% in the last two years, attributing the change to regulatory adjustments.