Betsson Group reports 14% Q2 revenue rise as sports division grows 125%
Euro 2020 boosted new customer sign-ups and sports betting margin to 8.5% as sportsbook revenue reached record high
Betsson Group has reported a 14% year-on-year increase in revenue to €171.2m for Q2 2021.
The operator’s online casino segment made up 70% of Q2 revenue despite a 5% annual drop amid a tough comparative period due to the rise of online gaming at the height of the pandemic.
Sportsbook revenue performed strongly, rising 125% to account for €49.8m of total Q2 revenue. This was primarily driven by football, with favourable results leading to high margins (8.5%) and plenty of new customers signing up throughout Euro 2020 and the Copa America, which Betsson sponsored.
Revenue from other products, including poker and bingo, reached €1.9m or 1% of total.
EBITDA for the second quarter topped out at €46.1m following an annual uptick of 55% on an EBITDA margin of 27%.
Both sportsbook revenue and profit came in at all-time highs for the Stockholm-listed business. Active customers rose by 25% during the quarter to also reach an all-time high of 1,027,635.
Breaking Q2 revenue down by region, the Nordics climbed 13.5% to €53.8m. The operator outperformed some its rivals in Sweden to record the highest revenue since re-regulation of the market back in January 2019.
This was guided by pay and play brand Jalla Casino and new sportsbook customers from Euro 2020, which also skyrocketed in Denmark following the team’s unexpected journey to the semi-finals.
The picture was not so pretty in Western Europe however, where revenue fell 27% to €39.4m.
This was due to a reduced one-brand strategy in the UK and low German revenue due to the implementation of online casino restrictions, while the country’s new turnover tax will bring further headwinds. Indeed, the operator has closed its online poker offering in Germany as a result.
Despite this, there were some gains in Germany as Betsson signed a B2B sportsbook and platform agreement with Masterpiece Gaming to power its JackOne brand.
Revenue from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) grew by 38% to €49m but the biggest gains came in the Rest of World segment, which includes Latam.
Rest of World revenue leapt 121% year-on-year to €29m. The largest customer growth occurred in Peru, where Betsson is a market leader through Betsson and Betsafe, and in Chile.
In the US, Betsson’s B2C launch in Colorado via the Betsafe brand has been delayed from H2 2021 to Q1 2022 due to its decision to launch on the Strive Gaming platform it invested $6.5m in in April.
“The advantages of being able to launch our offering on a modern platform outweigh the fact that we must postpone our launch,” said Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall, who confirmed the operator would pursue a sole B2B sportsbook strategy in the US outside of Colorado.
Commenting generally on Q2 performance, Lindwall added: “The second quarter is proof of the strength of our business model. We have achieved an all-time high profit based on our scalability and geographic spread.
“We have strong growth in Latam and we have strengthened our B2B offering through agreements with Strive Platform Limited and Masterpiece Gaming.”