9. Betsson Group (2017)
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Few companies in the Power 50 top 10 are arguably as exposed to as much regulatory risk as the Sweden-based Betsson. Analysts estimate around 75% of revenues come from .com jurisdictions, with material exposure to Turkey and the Netherlands in particular.
And those issues have shaped much of the operator’s experience this year, with the firm engaged in a well-publicised legal battle with the Dutch regulator, whose new enforcement policy seems to specifically target Betsson brands like Oranje Casino. Group CEO Ulrik Bengtsson was particularly vocal in slamming the “monumental failure” of Dutch regulation, and calling on the EU to take legal action against the regulator, to little avail at the time of writing.
However that ongoing battle will be won or lost by a different chief executive, with Bengtsson departing in the second half of the year. Sources close to the situation suggested it was over a disagreement about the firm’s Turkey revenues, but stand-in CEO Pontus Lindwall summarily dismissed that idea, claiming it was by mutual agreement between Bengtsson and the board.
Regardless, while the long-term outlook is cloudy in some respects, the short-term numbers continue to impress. H1 2017 revenues climbed 18% to SEK 2.3bn, with better-than-market growth in the Nordics and Western Europe.
Online casino did much of the heavy lifting, growing 26% to SEK1.7bn. The firm is also investing heavily in its sportsbook portfolio, which lagged behind casino, in the form of high-profile sponsorships of Conor McGregor and Tony Bellew for Betsafe, while also launching a horseracing product to help crack the UK. Betsson also acquired NetPlay TV in March for £26.4m.
It’s part of a concerted push by the operator to increase regulated revenues and wrest back control over its own destiny, but the firm is finding it takes willing partners on both sides to make re-regulation a reality.