Kambi and regulated markets boost Unibet gross win
Sportsbook solution and entry into Australia and France, coupled with consolidation of position in Denmark, behind positive Q1 results.
Unibet CEO Henrik Tjärnström (pictured) has credited the strength of the operator’s Kambi-powered sportsbook and the operator’s entry into regulated markets as the driving force behind the company’s strong increase in gross win for the three months ending 31 March 2012.
Kambi, the company’s B2B division which supplies the Stockholm-listed operator’s sportsbook “ and has signed supplier deals with Asian Logic and Paf “ is credited by Tjärnström as contributing to a 36% year-on-year increase in gross win, which rose from £37.5m to £51.1m for the period. This was aided by strong growth in regulated markets, with 15% of gross winnings revenue coming from territories including Australia, France and Denmark.
The operator has moved to build its presence in each of these markets through a series of acquisitions, finalising the purchase of Australian operator Betchoice for £13.6m in late February. This was aided by re-entry into the French market “ following the acquisition of Eurosportbet owner Solfive in November last year “ in January, with a rebranded Unibet.fr site launched in March. This will be followed by a Belgian launch this year, after the operator was awarded a licence in February.
The company has also moved to strengthen its position in Denmark and allow it to better compete against former monopoly Danske Spil with the acquisition of rival Scandinavian operator Bet24 in April. The acquisition was finalised earlier this week, with Unibet having paid 80% of the £11.25m fee, and Bet24’s results for the period have been included in the figures released today.
This aided a 17% year-on-year rise in earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization for the quarter, up from £13.1m to £15.3m, resulting in a rise in pre-tax profits from £10.8m to £11.6m “ an increase of 7%.
Tjärnström said that Q1’s positive results had continued into April, and revealed that the company would continue to pursue its strategy of moving into regulated markets in Europe and beyond, saying: “April revenues continued the positive development from the first quarter and recorded strong organic growth compared to the prior year.”
“We continue to develop the business in line with our strategy and through the acquisitions of EurosportBet, the Betchoice and Bet24 we are significantly increasing our exposure to re-regulated markets and at the same time taking us into major new markets outside Europe. These strategic developments will change our business model over time and I am confident that we are building a position to be a market-leader in the next generation online market,” he explained.