Betsson has reported an 8% year-on-year rise in Q2 revenue to an all-time high of €186.3m.

Second quarter revenue was primarily driven by sportsbook performance and growth across the Latam and CEECA (Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia) regions.

Sportsbook revenue climbed by 22% annually to €61.6m, although casino still provided the bulk of revenue despite coming in flat at 1% and €122.2m.

EBITDA declined by 16% however, falling to €39.3m, down from €46.6m in the prior corresponding period, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 21%.

Active customer numbers rose by 21% year-on-year to 1,246,719.

“The group’s organic growth was 13%, mainly driven by Latin America and the CEECA region, where we see long-term growth potential as these markets still have a low share of online gaming,” the company said in a statement.

Indeed, Latam was the standout performer for Betsson, where revenue soared by 86.2% annually to €45.7m and all-time high customer deposits were recorded.

Sportsbook activity remained particularly high during the period due to high profile events including World Cup qualifying matches, which are also sponsored by the operator.

Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall: “Since last year, the regulated market in Germany is marked by a low level of channelisation, due to extensive restrictions, high taxes, and an unclear licensing process.”

Next up was CEECA, where revenue reached €61.1m amid an increase of 23.4%. This region was mainly driven by casino, where positive trends continued in Croatia and Greece.

Georgia also reported growth compared to both Q1 and the same period of last year, as did Lithuania and Latvia, although Estonian revenue decreased due to lower sportsbook activity.

The picture was not so positive in Western Europe, where revenue declined by 39.1% year-on-year to €24.8m. The company received no revenue from the Netherlands following its withdrawal from the market, while German revenues have also declined.

iGaming NEXT exclusively reported this month that Betsson has only applied for one online casino licence in Germany.

“Since last year, the regulated market in Germany is marked by a low level of channelisation, due to extensive restrictions, high taxes, and an unclear licensing process,” said Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall.

Italy – where the operator sponsors AC Milan – continued to perform well however, reporting an all-time high in revenue, deposits, turnover and active customers.

Significant events during the quarter saw Betsson increase its ownership in local Nigerian operator Betbonanza to 60% from 25%.

The company also increased its ownership stake in US-focused PAM platform Strive by 5% to 40%.

After the reporting period, average daily revenue in Q3 2022 up to 17 July has come in 9.4% higher than in Q3 of last year.

“In conclusion, we see that macro and geopolitical factors continue to dominate the world around us, with great uncertainty and concerns around war, inflation, higher interest rates and potentially a coming recession,” said Lindwall.

“Despite uncertain capital markets, we recently refinanced our bond until 2025, which gives us financial flexibility to continue investing in both organic growth and selective acquisitions.

“We continuously monitor the macroeconomic trends but also note that historically Betsson’s business has been relatively unaffected by the general business cycle.”

Betsson said July was off to a good start despite the unavoidable macro factors, while market launches are planned in both Mexico and Ontario before the end of 2022.

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