North America was the firm’s largest geographical region by revenue during the quarter, bringing in more than half of the total at $10.6m. This represents rapid growth compared to the prior-year period, during which North American revenue totalled just $1.7m.
Revenue from the UK and Ireland was consistent with Q1 2021 at $6.3m, while other European revenues fell by 35%, from $3.0m to $2.0m. Revenue from the rest of the world increased from $593,000 to $721,000.
The business also saw a more even split between casino and sports betting revenue compared to 2021, with $10.4m coming from the casino vertical and $9.0m from sports betting. In the comparative period, casino brought in $10.1m while sports accounted for just $1.2m in revenue.
Gambling.com Group chief executive Charles Gillespie: “We now do not expect that either [Ohio or Maryland] will launch in time for the NFL season in September as we had previously anticipated at the start of the year. We see these states launching in Q4 or in Q1 2023.”
Q1 highlights for the group this year included delivering 67,000 new depositing customers to its operator partners, completing the acquisitions of RotoWire.com and BonusFinder.com, launching in New York and Louisiana, and launching in Ontario shortly after the end of the period.
During the firm’s Q1 earnings call with investors, chief executive Charles Gillespie said: “For the rest of 2022, all of the focus is on Ohio and Maryland, which have already legislated sports betting but have not yet launched their regulated markets.
“We now do not expect that either state will launch in time for the NFL season in September as we had previously anticipated at the start of the year. We see these states launching in Q4 or in Q1 2023.”
Adjusted EBITDA for the period was $7.2m, in line with the $7.1m posted in Q1 2021, although this came in at a significantly lowered EBITDA margin of 37%, compared to 62% in the prior-year period.Net income for Q1 totalled $4.5m, also consistent with the $4.5m generated in Q1 2021. After accounting for exchange differences on the translation of foreign currencies, Gambling.com’s total comprehensive income for the period was $3.1m, up from $2.8m.
“Our core business performed brilliantly in the quarter, driving record revenue and adjusted EBITDA performance,” said chief executive Gillespie.
“This very strong underlying growth together with the acquisitions of RotoWire.com and BonusFinder.com, propelled Q1 2022 revenue 70% past our previous best quarter.
Gambling.com Group chief executive Charles Gillespie: “We continue to believe that the affiliate model offers American and international online gambling operators the most effective and reliable way to spend their marketing budgets.”
“Our current primary strategic objective is to rapidly grow our business in the US market, which is exactly what we did in the quarter – while also delivering high margins despite the continuous investments in the business to position us for further US growth.
Elias Mark, chief financial officer of Gambling.com Group, added: “The record performance was driven by exceptionally strong growth in North America, particularly in New York, and very solid results in the United Kingdom and Ireland measured against our previous best quarter.
“Strong underlying organic growth is complemented by our recent acquisitions, which were all performing in-line with, or better than, our initial expectations. We continue to expect another record year for the group and reiterate our full-year guidance.”
Full-year guidance for 2022 points to total revenue between $71m and $76m, and adjusted EBITDA between $22m and $27m.