Mybet expects to receive German federal licence
Operator reveals lawsuit was brought against German state responsible for licensing process "revenue growth "more than compensated" for sale of lottery business
German sportsbook operator Mybet “firmly expects” to be awarded a German federal sports betting licence, but highlighted concerns aspects of legislation were “misleading and contradictory”.
The Schleswig Holstein-based operator said it believes it has “satisfied all the minimum requirements” of its licence application. However, it noted that “observers of the process” had commented “the requirements laid down in the bidding process were to some extent misleading and contradictory, resulting in misinterpretations”.
The operator highlighted the fact the Hesse Ministry of the Interior held initial hearings involving only 14 licence applicants in March “ when over 100 companies are understood to have applied “ at which “further-reaching issues were explored”.
Mybet said it a statement that “along with other market-leading companies” it was not involved in the meetings, although it revealed a lawsuit brought to the Hesse Administrative Court over the issue had prompted the state responsible for licensing to involve other applicants in the hearings.
Mybet recorded strong growth in the first quarter of 2013 across its online operations, aided by the performance of its sportsbook where amounts wagered rose from 20.6m in Q1 2012 to 26.3m. This 28% increase helped revenues from the vertical grow to 11m for the quarter. The quarter also saw casino and poker revenues increase 39% to 6.6m, contributing to total gross revenues of 20m, up 8% year-on-year.
This revenue growth “more than compensated” for the loss of income from lottery operations, according to the firm, which saw revenues for the vertical falling 66% to 0.9m after the disposal of the lottery business in May last year.
Despite steady revenue growth EBITDA fell 74% from 3m to 0.8m due in part to the sale of the lottery business and increased expenditure on marketing and technical infrastructure. The increased spending on marketing has seen registrations rise by 52,000 during Q1 to 1.1m, with average active online customers rising 54% year-on-year to 57,500.
The operator added it will aim to improve profitability in Q2 while maintaining high growth its core business areas. Its expectations for 2013 “remain unchanged”, with revenue expected to reach between 80m and 87m.