PointsBet touts SIG deal while providing first glimpse at Ontario market in quarterly results

PointsBet championed the recent strategic investment it received from SIG Sports Investment Corp while also providing an initial window into the nascent Ontario market as part of its most recent earnings results.

Announcing its results from the fourth quarter of the 2022 fiscal year, PointsBet touted the $65m investment from SIG and corresponding Nellie Analytics partnership as an accelerant regarding its ability to continue to grow and compete in the North American market, particularly on the in-play betting side.

Initial returns from Ontario, however, appeared to be less bullish, as PointsBet generated just $11.1m in handle and $500k in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the newly-legalized market – despite committing nearly $5m in marketing spend.

PointsBet’s branding efforts – which include partnerships with the likes of Curling Canada and the Trailer Park Boys – resulted in just 7,239 cash active clients in the province.

As for the US side of the business, total GGR was $29m – a 29.7% year-over-year (YoY) increase – on $476.7m in handle, up from $340.5m in the same period of 2021.

Net win amounted to $16.5m, an increase of 47% from $11.2m in the fourth quarter of 2021.

In terms of individual states, Illinois continued to be the shining star for PointsBet, which claimed an 8.9% market share in the Land of Lincoln.

That said, the operator’s blended market share across its 10 operational states was just 3.5%, a far cry from its longstanding stated goal of 10%. Colorado, at 3.6%, represented the only other state in which PointsBet laid claim to more than 3% of the market.

Group CEO Sam Swanell nonetheless brought everything back to the SIG deal and Nellie Analytics tie-in, noting it “will accelerate out our focus on sharper in-play pricing” as part of PointsBet’s longer-term focus on creating an industry-leading in-play product.