CasinoBeats is breaking down the numbers behind some of the industry’s biggest stories. Our latest headline reflection features the “best quarter ever” for Betsson Group, a drop below expectations for evoke, and M&A action from Evolution.
16%
Betsson highlighted the second quarter of 2024 as its “best quarter ever” after revenue rose by just under 16 per cent in comparison to the same period last year, a new all-time high for the group.
Betsson declared a group revenue of €271.5m, a 14.6 per cent increase year-over-year (Q2 2023: €236.8m) and an organic growth of 38.1 per cent YoY, driven by B2C operations.
The operator stated that licence revenue for system delivery to B2B customers amounted to €70.6m (2023: €65m) a – 26 per cent share of the group’s total revenue (2023: 27 per cent).
Customer activity grew during the quarter, with deposits increasing by 15 per cent YoY to an all-time high of €1.43bn (2023: €1.24bn). Active customers rose by 25.4 per cent YoY to 1.4 million (2023: 1.1 million), while the number of registered customers at the end of the quarter stood at 31.2 million, up 11 per cent YoY (2023: 28.1 million).
In addition, Betsson noted that 88.6 per cent of its active customers have activated tools for responsible gaming (2023: 89.3 per cent), while 16,992 customers have been analysed manually by the operator during the quarter for potentially risky gaming (2023: 14,967).
Betsson’s EBITDA during the quarter rose by 15 per cent YoY to €77.6m (2023: €67.6m) with a margin of 28.6 per cent (2023: 28.5 per cent). Operating income increased by 18 per cent YoY to €64.1m (2023: €54.5m), its tenth consecutive quarter of increasing operating income, with a margin of 23.6 per cent (2023: 23 per cent).
CEO Pontus Lindwall commented: “The second quarter of 2024 meant continued high growth and strengthened profitability with new records in both revenue and operating income for Betsson.
“I am particularly delighted to note the improved operating margin in the quarter and the highest ever operating income, given the increased proportion of revenue that was subject to local gaming taxes.”
5
SkyCity Entertainment Group subsidiary, SkyCity Casino Management Limited, reached an agreement with the Secretary for Internal Affairs regarding the government body’s application to temporarily suspend the firm’s casino operator’s licence for five days.
SkyCity Auckland’s gambling area will be closed for these five consecutive days in 2024, with the agreement conditional “on the Gambling Commission consenting to the withdrawal of the application by the secretary”, which has been filed.
The application to temporarily suspend SkyCity Auckland’s licence for a period in the range of 10 days was initially made by the secretary in September 2023. It followed a complaint to the Department of Internal Affairs in February 2022 by a former SkyCity Auckland casino customer who gambled between August 2017 and February 2021.
The secretary alleged that SCML failed to comply with SkyCity Auckland Host Responsibility Programme requirements about the detection of incidents of continuous play by the customer.
Through the agreement with the secretary, SCML has acknowledged that it didn’t meet SkyCity Auckland HRP requirements and the detection of some incidents of continuous play by the customer “due to a design error in a technology system” developed by the operator to monitor carded customers’ continuous play.
Callum Mallet, COO New Zealand at SkyCity, noted: SkyCity places great importance on host responsibility and takes these failures very seriously. On behalf of the SkyCity board and management team, I accept and apologise for these failures.”
5%
Publishing its interim report for 2024, Svenska Spel declared an overall Q2 net gaming revenue of SEK 1.87bn (€161.8m), down by five per cent year-over-year (Q2 2023: SEK 1.97bn).
The operator noted that the decrease was partly due to its Casino Cosmopol business only having one casino open in comparison to three the previous year following the closure of casinos in Malmö and Gothenburg, resulting in a SEK 90m reduction.
Its online unit improved by eight per cent in comparison to the same period last year, accounting for 59 per cent of the total revenue earned during the quarter (2023: 52 per cent).
In addition, the operator stated that the strengthening of responsible gaming measures had “a negative impact on revenues for all business areas”, but a positive impact on healthy revenue.
The group’s operating profit for the quarter was SEK 640m, up 17 per cent YoY (2023: SEK 550m) following restructuring between October 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, which resulted in lower costs. Operating margin rose to 34 per cent (2023: 28 per cent) due to the lower costs, while group profit grew by five per cent YoY to SEK 499m (2023: SEK 474m).
For the first half of the year, the operator’s net gaming revenue has fallen by three per cent YoY to SEK 3.83bn (2023: SEK 3.94bn), due to it being “heavily impacted by changes in the casino business”.
H1 operating profit stood at SEK 950m, down 18 per cent YoY (2023: SEK 1.16bn), impacted by “non-recurring costs of approximately SEK 375m for the closure of two casinos, the provision for an administrative fine and the reorganisation of Svenska Spel”.
Profit for the group in H1 was SEK 794m, down 19 per cent in comparison to the same period the previous year (2023: SEK 981m).
Anna Johnson, who took over as President and CEO in June, commented: “We are now starting to see the results of the restructuring we have implemented at Svenska Spel. We have conducted a review of the organisation, working methods and costs.
“We have also closed down our casinos in Malmö and Gothenburg. This has led to lower costs, improved earnings and a strengthened operating margin in the second quarter. It gives us an opportunity to invest in transformation, strengthen responsible gaming work and investments that create growth.”
120%
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has published its financial results for the first half of 2024, declaring a net income increase of over 120 per cent year-over-year.
Commenting on the results, Alejandro Tengco, CEO and Chair of PAGCOR, expressed confidence that the annual growth so far indicates that 2024 will be “a banner year” for the market.
For H1 2024, PAGCOR’s net income came in at Php6.56bn (€102.8m), up by 121.48 per cent in comparison to the Php2.96bn reported during the same period the previous year.
Total gross gaming revenue for the Philippines’ gaming industry rose as well by 19.21 per cent to Php194.74bn (H1 2023: Php163.36bn).
PAGCOR noted in a statement on their website that Tengco believes “reforms and enhanced regulations being implemented under the new administration” have contributed to the growth seen in H1.
The CEO said: “PAGCOR’s robust net income growth translates, of course, to a larger Contribution to Nation-Building. We were able to remit Php31.82bn in CNB to the Treasury in the first six months compared to Php22.62bn in the same period last year.”
The gaming corporation stated that gross revenue was up by 42.92 per cent YoY to Php51.76bn (2023: Php36.21bn), with gaming operations consisting of Php45.39bn.
£431m
evoke declared Q2 revenues of approximately £431m in its H1 2024 trading update, a slight decrease in comparison to the previous year (Q2 2023: £436m). Q2’s revenue was also in line with the previous quarter’s figures.
The business stated that revenue is “broadly stable sequentially” and although it is behind initial plans, it is on a “positive trajectory” and is showing “encouraging lead indicators”.
For the whole of H1, evoke reported revenue of £862m, down two per cent year-over-year (H1 2023: £882m).
Adjusted EBITDA margin for H1 is expected to be around 13 to 14 per cent, which is approximately £35m to £40m behind evoke’s plan and “driven by the revenue miss vs expectations and the timing of cost saves”.
The operator noted that H2 2024 and 2025 expectations onwards are unchanged as business momentum supports significantly increased profitability.
As of June 30, 2024, the operator’s cash was approximately £116m with ample total liquidity of nearly £300m including RCF.
“We are focused on mid and long-term profitable growth and value creation and during the first half we have made bold, decisive changes to improve almost every area of the business,” commented CEO Per Widerström.
“We are undertaking a complete reset and transformation of the business, and the scale of change is significant but necessary. This transformation will take time but will enhance operational efficiency, leading to a bigger, more profitable and more cash-generative business in the future.”
$85m
Evolution has moved to bolster its in-house table game offering, following an agreement for the acquisition of Galaxy Gaming for approximately $85m.
It’s a move that underlines Evolution’s ambitions for the US market, building on the presence of one of the market’s key players in terms of supplying proprietary table games to the online gaming industry.
Martin Carlesund, CEO Evolution AB, commented: “We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of Galaxy Gaming, which represents a significant milestone in our mission to provide unparalleled gaming experiences to our customers. Galaxy Gaming’s exceptional products and technology complement our existing portfolio and strengthen our strategic position.”
Furthermore, it also deepens the company’s focus in the US, having recently expanded its live casino presence in Delaware through a collaboration with BetRivers. Galaxy is currently licensed in 28 states, enabling the rapid growth of Evolution’s US footprint.
Carlesund added: “Evolution intends to retain the management and employees and also plans to operate Galaxy Gaming as a separate and independent business unit.
“With the acquisition, we accelerate and solidify our presence in the US market where Galaxy is licensed in 28 states. Through Galaxy we gain a relationship with regulators in states that are not yet open for online and fast-track all future licensing.”
