Casino and sportsbook drive 6% Amaya revenue rise

Amaya has posted a 6% year-on-year rise in Q1 revenues as growth in casino and sports betting helped offset an approximate 11% fall in poker revenues.

According to a trading update issued last night, revenues reached $228.6m (?158m) during the quarter and would have grown by 14% when stripping out FX effects.

The results highlighted a slight shift away from real-money poker as the core product, as the vertical accounted for 75% of revenues compared to 89% a year ago. Combined casino and sportsbook revenues increased from 6% of the total to 21%.

Growth in casino and sports betting meant Amaya reported adjusted EBITDA of $123.4m (?85.2m)for the first three months of the year, up 8.7% from the corresponding period in 2015.

Interim CEO Rafi Ashkenazi said the firm “remained focused” despite unexpected challenges during the quarter, including insider trader charges which forced CEO David Baazov to take an indefinite leave of absence.

Baazov and Daniel Sebag, Amaya’s chief financial officer, will not be standing for re-election as directors at the next Amaya AGM.

“During the first quarter, we continued to execute on our growth plans despite unexpected challenges, including management changes and the ongoing strategic alternatives process,” Ashkenazi said.

“We attracted new customers to PokerStars, continued to introduce changes to improve the overall poker experience, expanded our online casino offering and continued to invest in our emerging online sportsbook.”

The Toronto-listed firm also issued an early update for its April trading, estimating a 14% increase in revenues to $99m (63.4), excluding FX effects.

On the same basis, real-money online poker estimated revenues increased by 4%, while PokerStars-only revenues increased 7%.

The results were boosted in part by rapid expansion in New Jersey, where the brand already accounts for 46% of the market despite launching in late March.