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PointsBet makes in-play pledge as US overtakes Australia for both handle and active customers

By Conor Mulheir - 29 Apr, 2022

PointsBet shares are trading nearly 11% higher after the business recorded total net win of A$76.9m in the third quarter of its 2022 financial year, representing annual growth of 18.5%.

The period, covering the three months ended 31 March 2022, saw PointsBet customers wager a total of A$1.40bn with the operator, an increase of 54.4% over the prior-year period.

For the first time, and inline with the operator’s long-term strategy, the majority of PointsBet’s betting handle came from US markets, where customers bet A$818.6m, or 58.6% of total. This represents an increase of 69.8% in PointsBet’s US handle.

Illinois was the firm’s biggest state by betting turnover, accounting for A$289.3m of handle. New York and New Jersey were the second and third largest, where bettors wagered A$170.0m and A$108.3m, respectively.

Customers in Australia accounted for the remaining 41.4% of handle at A$579.4m, representing an increase of 36.7% year-on-year.

However, due to a large difference in the gross win percentage in each of the markets, Australia continued to contribute the bulk of PointsBet revenue during the reporting period.

A gross win rate of 13.6% saw the operator generate A$78.8m of revenue in its domestic Australia, up 43.8%. In the US meanwhile, the gross win rate was just 5.6%, giving gross win of A$46.1m, a modest 0.7% increase over the prior Q3 period.

Together, sports betting in the US and Australia generated A$71.4m in net win for the business, while a further contribution of A$5.5m from the US iGaming sector brought total net win for the quarter to A$76.9m.

This was the first quarter in which PointsBet’s iGaming offering was live in the US, having launched in West Virginia in January. Following the end of the reporting period, the brand also went live with iGaming in Pennsylvania and the Canadian province of Ontario.

The business was able to significantly increase the number of cash active clients in both geographies during the quarter, with the number of active clients in Australia reaching 232,763, an increase of 47.3% year-on-year.

In the US, growth in customer numbers was even more explosive at 249,497, almost double the 127,470 recorded in the same quarter of last year.

PointsBet now intends to cement its position in its active markets, with a focus on positioning the brand as “the home of in-play betting”.

For example, in-play betting as a percentage of overall handle was up 22% compared to the same period of last year.

The business is also focused on optimising the cost per acquisition/lifetime value ratio of its customers, it said, with these efforts targeted mostly towards sports bettors.

PointsBet said it intends to further monetise those customers through the development of a continuously improving iGaming offering, and will expand its headcount in order to keep up with those demands.