32Red sees growth despite Italian struggles
Chief executive admits Italy progress has been "slower than expected"
32Red has seen first-half revenues rise by 15% year-on-year despite experiencing a slow start in the Italian market, the operator revealed in a trading update for the six months ended 30 June.
Chief executive Ed Ware admitted growth in Italy “ where the operator launched last November ahead of the rollout of dot.it slots the following month “ has been “slower than expected”, with just £500,000 in revenues derived from the jurisdiction. Consequently, “higher than expected start-up losses” are expected from the Italian operation.
However this is anticipated to be offset by the continued strength in 32Red’s core operations. Underlying revenues grew 12% year-on-year to £18.5m, with the firm’s flagship casino offering representing 94% of the total after revenues from other verticals fell 14% to £1.1m.
“As with a lot of other new entrants to the Italian market, we are finding progress slower than expected,” Ware said in a statement. “However, we remain confident that this will develop into an important and lucrative territory for 32Red.”
Ware also said the operator’s recognition in the etruvian casino customer service quality audit “ where it ranked first out of 16 online casino operators “ supported 32Red’s “clear focus on providing a high quality experience for our players”.
The first half of the year has also seen 32Red conclude its litigation with William Hill over the 32Vegas trademark, securing £150,000 in damages plus approximately £1.1m in legal costs. The group revealed in today’s update that £930,000 of the cumulative total has already been paid.
“This marks the final step in four years of litigation that has resulted in all of 32Red’s trade marks being validated and the removal of an infringing mark from the market,” the operator said in a statement.
The period also saw 32Red end its sponsorship deal with Welsh football club Swansea City, while it agreed new deals with two other clubs, Crawley Town and Newport County. Earlier this week it was also confirmed as the new sponsor of Nottingham Racecourse.