Betsson has reported its strongest ever quarter following an 18% rise in year-on-year revenue to €200.3m for Q3 2022.

Casino revenue increased by 8% to €135.4m, representing 68% of group total, while sportsbook revenue soared by 45% to €61.9m amid a sportsbook margin of 8.3%.

The figures equated to all-time quarterly highs for both verticals. Revenue from other products, including poker and bingo, climbed by 41% to €3m, or just 1% of total.

Sportsbook performance was driven by the above average margin, compared to the rolling eight-quarter average of 7.7%, while the European football leagues and cups started two weeks earlier than usual due to the rapidly approaching winter World Cup in Qatar.

“To illustrate the momentum that we are experiencing in the sportsbook, it’s worth mentioning that eight of the 10 best days ever in terms of turnover have occurred since the beginning of the third quarter this year,” revealed Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall.

Geographically, Latam provided the strongest revenue growth, up 59% annually to €38.8m, even though revenue declined sequentially in the region due to a lower sportsbook margin.

The Betsson brand went live in Mexico during the quarter with casino, live casino and sports betting through its partnership with local land-based operator Big Bola Casinos. It intends to ramp up marketing activity in the region going into Q4 and 2023.

Betsson also increased its ownership stake in Colombian operator Colbet from 70% to 88% during the period.

Betsson experienced a range of Q3 revenue growth in key territories including Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia (48%), Rest of World (14.5%) and the Nordics (0.7%).

The outlier, however, was Western Europe where Q3 revenue fell by 29.7% year-on-year to €25m due to its withdrawal from the Netherlands and market restrictions in Germany.

“I am particularly pleased with the high growth overall given the fact that we have not had any revenue from the Netherlands, where our licence applications are still being processed,” said Lindwall.

Overall Q3 EBITDA came in at €48.6m, a 19% uptick, amid an EBITDA margin of 24.3%. Gross profit climbed by 22% to €133.8m.

“Betsson’s business has historically been relatively unaffected by the general business cycle and so far, we have not seen any signs of weaker demand due to the general macroeconomic situation,” said Lindwall.

“We are excited as we look forward to the rest of the fourth quarter and the World Cup in football, which has good chances of becoming the biggest sports event ever for Betsson,” he added.

After the reporting period, Betsson revealed that average daily revenue in Q4, up to 24 October 2022, was 38% higher than the average daily revenue in Q4 of last year.

Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall: “To illustrate the momentum that we are experiencing in the sportsbook, it’s worth mentioning that eight of the 10 best days ever in terms of turnover have occurred since the beginning of the third quarter this year.”

Away from the Q3 financial results, Betsson has acquired 80% of B2B sportsbook business KickerTech Malta Limited from TG Holdings Limited for €14m.

KickerTech boasts a team of 50 professionals and has built advanced odds models, trading technology and sportsbook products. The team is based in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In the last 12 months, ending 30 September 2022, the business generated revenue of approximately €2.6m and EBIT of around €1.3m.

Betsson said the purchase would support its existing B2B sportsbook strategy by expanding its client base and providing additional scalable technology, as well as improvements via advanced trading and modelling tools and added features for sports bettors.

“We continue to grow our sportsbook business around the world and this deal will both strengthen our position as one of the leading B2C sportsbook operators in the market and complement our highly competitive B2B sportsbook proposition,” said Lindwall.

“We are acquiring a proven business with a track record of growth in client base, sportsbook turnover and revenue in the past years.

“The acquisition will contribute sportsbook functionality, tech development capabilities and new B2B clients. I am very pleased to welcome the new team and clients to the Betsson Group,” he added.

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