Betsson announced on Friday that Latin America has emerged as its largest market in the second quarter, contributing 36% of the operator's €310.2 million revenue during this period. The company recorded a 32% increase in regional revenue year-on-year, reaching €112 million, with CEO Pontus Lindwall noting significant growth driven by record revenues in Argentina, Peru, and Colombia.
Lindwall shared with iGB that the company had long anticipated LatAm would surpass other regions as its most significant market. "We didn’t say from day one that this will be our biggest region in the future, but we tend to invest in markets where we see good traction and good possibilities for profitability, and LatAm is one such market," he stated. He indicated further growth prospects in LatAm exceed those in Western Europe, where the region generated €64.2 million, accounting for 21% of the total group revenue in the quarter, an increase of 8.3% year-on-year.
Conversely, revenue in the Nordic region fell by 17%, primarily due to reduced marketing expenditures in Sweden and Denmark. Lindwall commented, "The markets are quite competitive, it’s expensive to acquire new customers and the regulations are quite tight. It’s a problematic situation in many European countries with the unlicensed operators that we compete with. When we compare the effectiveness of our money, we prefer to invest in other markets than the Nordics."
As Betsson looks to the future, it aims to continue its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategy, with Lindwall announcing a new €75 million credit facility to support working capital and future acquisitions. "Our strategy is to grow both organically and [through] M&A. This gives us some extra room for M&A. If you look historically, we have done acquisitions which complement some business that we [already] have. And we have acquired full stack businesses in markets where we don’t have a presence. I think that serves our strategy," he detailed.
When questioned about potential new markets, Lindwall expressed a belief in greater potential within LatAm, particularly in countries where Betsson currently lacks a presence.
In terms of performance, despite a solid revenue increase bolstered by the initial half of the World Cup tournament, a slump in B2B revenue affected profitability during the quarter. Lindwall attributed this decline to decreased activity from one of its larger clients. Active customers in Betsson’s B2C segment rose by 31.9% to 1,825,487, yet overall customer deposits fell by 7% compared to Q2/25, totaling €1.38 billion. Gross profit decreased by 8% year-on-year to €177.5 million, resulting in a gross profit margin of 57.2%. Betsson's regulated revenues grew by 17%, making up 75.5% of the overall group revenue.
Lindwall also emphasized various technical and product enhancements made ahead of the World Cup, allowing the platform to manage up to five times its normal traffic. He expressed satisfaction with the sportsbook's technical performance, reporting numerous UX improvements to facilitate customer engagement.
Additionally, Lindwall discussed the early-stage investment in AI tools to enhance operational capabilities, stating, "I believe it’s [early] stage still, but we use AI basically across the board in the operations of the company. So it’s broadly used but I think there is way more to come," he concluded.
