CasinoBeats highlights key financial updates from the gaming industry, including Ontario’s gaming ecosystem, Betsson’s Q3 results, and Evolution’s response to recent strike actions in Georgia.
iGaming Ontario (iGO) reported that total wagers exceeded CAD$18 billion in the second quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year (Q3 2024), with online casino comprising 86% of the province's total wagers. From 51 operators and 83 gaming websites, iGO noted that total wagers for Q2, excluding promotional wagers, were CAD$18.7 billion, representing a 1.6% increase from the previous quarter and a 31.7% increase year-over-year.
Total gaming revenue rose as well, increasing by 1.7% quarter-over-quarter and 35.4% year-over-year, reaching CAD$738 million. iGO clarified that this figure reflects total cash wagers, including fees across all operators, less player winnings from cash wagers, and does not factor in operating costs or other liabilities.
In Q2, there were over 1.32 million active player accounts, each averaging monthly expenditures of CAD$308. Casino wagers, which cover slots, live and computer-based table games, and peer-to-peer bingo, totaled CAD$16 billion, accounting for 86% of the overall wagers. Casino gaming revenue amounted to CAD$553 million, making up 75% of total gaming revenue.
Betting, including sports, esports, proposition, and novelty bets, contributed CAD$2.2 billion in wagers, or 12% of the total, with associated gaming revenue of CAD$167 million, representing 23% of the total for the quarter.
Betsson reported a group revenue of €280.1 million for Q3 2023, an 18% increase from €237.6 million in the same quarter last year. After adjusting for acquisitions and using constant currency, revenue saw a significant rise of 50.6% year-over-year. The revenue share from regulated markets increased to €163 million, reflecting 58% of the total, up from €106 million or 45% in the previous year.
Licence revenue from B2B customers was reported at €66.7 million, up from €55.9 million the previous year. Betsson experienced a surge in customer activity, with deposits hitting a record €1.48 billion, a 19.8% year-over-year increase, and an active customer base growth of 9.8% to 1,357,953.
The company's EBITDA increased by 17% year-over-year to €80.3 million, with an EBITDA margin of 28.7%. Meanwhile, EBIT rose 15% to €64.5 million, maintaining a 23% margin. Net income slightly dipped to €43.4 million, with earnings per share at €0.31, and operating cash flow grew to €62.5 million.
CEO Pontus Lindwall noted the record levels of revenue and EBIT, marking the eleventh consecutive quarter of sequential growth at the EBIT level.
On a different note, Evolution’s CEO Martin Carlesund provided insights into the firm’s situation in Georgia, indicating that operations remain stable at around 60% capacity due to disruptions from union strike activities. He mentioned potential instability preventing a return to full capacity. Despite this, Evolution can offset lost capacity globally with its 20 studios. Carlesund expressed support for workers’ union rights but criticized union demands as unreasonable and asserted that misinformation had circulated about the scale of the strikes, which began with around 300 staff members.
He recounted that some union activists blocked workplace access, resulting in significant disruptions. Carlesund concluded that while this outcome is unfavorable for customers, regulators in Georgia are aware of the facts concerning the unions.
In another development, Groupe Française des Jeux (FDJ) announced it has increased its shareholding in Kindred Group to over 98% following its public tender offer extension. Following its completion of the acquisition of Unibet and 32Red for nearly €2.5 billion, FDJ initially held 91.77% of Kindred’s capital after the first settlement on October 11 by tendering 195,659,291 Kindred SDRs. An additional 14,734,917 Kindred SDRs were tendered after the offer was extended to October 18. The final settlement of the extended offer is expected on October 29, raising FDJ's shareholding to 98.6%. Given that FDJ now holds over 90% of Kindred’s capital, it plans to initiate a squeeze-out procedure to acquire the remaining shares not tendered in the public offer, leading to Kindred’s delisting from Nasdaq Stockholm.
