Half year results – Bookielink

August 19, 2024

Colombia government credits online gambling for supporting GDP growth in Q2

Colombia’s igaming market revenue reached COP10bn (£1.9bn/€2.2bn/$2.5bn) in Q2, with the sector credited as a key component of the nation’s economic growth over the quarter.
National gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1% over Q2 and the country’s National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) pointed to Colombian online gambling as one of the activities that most helped that growth.

DANE director Piedad Urdinola highlighted the impact of recent sporting activities in particular as driving a rise in online betting. In this summer’s Copa América tournament the Colombia national team reached the final.

Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos, revealed that sports betting was indeed the largest contributor to the online betting sector, accounting for 47% of total gross gaming revenue (GGR) nationally.

Localised games such as bingo and casino were second with 33% of GGR, while lottery games AstroSport and Baloto generated 13% and 7% respect..

August 9, 2024

Online slots growth pushes Lithuania gambling revenue to €116m in H1

Gambling revenue in Lithuania increased 12.6% year-on-year to €116.0m (£99.3m/$126.7m) in H1 with a strong online performance mitigating a decline in land-based revenue.
Figures from the Lithuania Gaming Control Authority show H1 revenue was clear of the €108.5m reported in the same period last year.

Starting with the online market, revenue for the channel climbed 12.5% year-on-year to €72.2m. Player spending increased by 8.7% to €1.05bn, winning $973.1m in the process.

Slots reign supreme in Lithuania online gambling market
Category A online slots – games with unlimited winnings – were undoubtedly the star of the show in H1. These slots generated €53.5m in revenue, more than any other segment across both the online and land-based market in Lithuania. Player spending on these machines also hit a market-high of €627.7m, up 6.2%.

For Category B online slots, with maximum stakes of LTL1 (€0.3) and wins limited to 200 times customer bets, revenue was flat at €1.8m in H1. In addition, o..

August 7, 2024

New casino launches help Full House grow revenue in Q2 but costs hit bottom line

Net losses increased for Full House Resorts in Q2 due to costs associated with opening new casinos hit its bottom line.
Revenue for the three months to 30 June at Full House hit $73.5m (£57.8m/€67.3m). This is 23.7% more than Q2 last year at Full House, with casino driving the increase.

July 29, 2024

Investment year paying off for BetMGM as H1 NGR hits $1bn

With revenue reaching $1bn in the first half of 2024, BetMGM expects growth to accelerate in H2, underpinned by Angstrom’s product capabilities and leveraging its omnichannel opportunities through MGM Resorts.
In a trading update published today (29 July), BetMGM chief executive Adam Greenblatt described 2024 as an investment year, focused on improving customer acquisition and enhancing player experiences.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, iconic quarterback Tom Brady and Hollywood star Vince Vaughn starred in BetMGM’s Super Bowl commercial
Net gaming revenue (NGR) for the six months to 30 June grew 6% year-on-year. Despite no new state launches revenue grew 9% year-on-year in Q2, following a slower first quarter.

This showed the strategy of investing in players gain momentum, Greenblatt said, with BetMGM exceeding its acquisition and retention targets for the six-month period. This was helped by a successful Super Bowl campaign featuring Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky and Vince Vaughn and a ..

July 24, 2024

Q2 revenue ticks up for Kambi as Nylén signs off as CEO

Revenue was up 6.5% year-on-year for Kambi in the second quarter of 2024, while the sportsbook specialist kept costs down to improve its EBITDA margin. The latest financial update also marks the end of Kristian Nylén’s tenure as CEO, with Werner Becher waiting in the wings.
Revenue for the three months to 30 June at Kambi hit €45.7m (£38.5m/$49.6m), up from Q2 last year, and an improvement on Q1 this year when revenue declined marginally.

Outgoing CEO Nylén put this increase down to a busy sports calendar, with strong performances from existing partners complemented by new launches.

Wagers placed via Kambi-powered operators increased 3.1% during the quarter, although excluding the impact of Penn Entertainment migrating to its proprietary platform, turnover would have been up 20%.

Penn has been paying Kambi transition fees after completing its migration for its ESPN Bet, theScore and Hollywood Casino brands. The operator will stop paying those fees this month, meaning Kambi is forec..

July 18, 2024

Evoke misses H1 EBITDA target, cites leadership change as H2 growth driver

Evoke Plc missed its H1 2024 adjusted EBITDA target by £35m to £40m due to high marketing costs and lower than expected revenue, it said in a trading update today.

The 888, William Hill and Mr Green parent company expects to mitigate its losses in H2 by employing up to £30m in cost savings and meeting its full-year earnings expectation.

A change in leadership and operational overhaul were cited as key drivers for cost efficiencies in the second half of the year. This includes 888’s new strategy and value creation plan, set out in March.

As a result, the firm expects H2 2024 revenue growth to be in line with its medium-term guidance of 5%-9%. It also hopes to deliver a 20% EBITDA margin in 2025. Marketing costs will be between £35m and £40m lower in H2 than in H1.

In an analyst note, Regulus Partners said the profit warning was “neither small nor unlucky”.

On the impact from marketing spend, Regulus said: “What is slightly alarming is that such poor tactics were allowed to unfol..

February 29, 2024

BlueBet nets record wagering turnover revenue in H1 – offsets US loss

BlueBet Holdings reported a 12.6% increase in revenue during the first half of 2024 on the back of record turnover, but higher costs led to a wider net loss.

Revenue for the six months to 31 December hit AU$27.8m (£14.3m/€16.7m/US$18.1m), up from $24.7m in H1 of 2023 at BlueBet. This, BlueBet said, was driven by record wagering turnover of $319.5m for the half.

The six-month period saw BlueBet further grow its Australian business, with revenue rising 13.0% to $27.9m. Active customers in the country were also up 13.0%, which in turn helped pushed turnover up 6.9% to $298.7m.

revenue of AU$27.8m was driven by record wagering turnover of $319.5m for h1 2024

However, against this background of growth in Australia was some bad news for BlueBet. In August, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission charged BlueBet for breaching state rules on advertising. If found guilty BlueBet could face a fine of up to AU$945,187.

US expansion continues for BlueBet

Over in North America,..

February 27, 2024

Webis upbeat on growth prospects despite wider net loss in H1

Webis Holdings’ non-executive chairman Denham Eke said the company remains “optimistic” over future growth potential for the business despite reporting an expanded net loss in H1.

Turnover for the six months to 31 November 2023 hit $5.9m (£4.7m/€5.4m). This was 4.8% behind the $6.2m reported in the previous year by Webis, which owns advance-deposit wagering (ADW) operator Watchandwager.com.

Eke and Webis put this drop mainly down to external factors in the second quarter. These, he said, included the cancellation of many US events due to bad weather in the country. On the flip side, Eke said trading was stronger during the summer months.

Turnover decline, coupled with the fact that spending remained level in H1, led to a wider loss for Webis. However, Eke is upbeat about the company’s performance moving into the second half.

“Our principal subsidiary, WatchandWager.com, again had a varied start to the first six months of the financial year,” Eke said. “I remain optimistic that trad..

December 5, 2023

BetMGM expects to reach $500m EBITDA by 2026

BetMGM aims to reach 25% market share in the US by 2026, as well as delivering $500.0m (£396.1m/€462.2m) in positive EBITDA.

BetMGM set the 2026 goal after revealing it expects to be at the higher end guidance for 2023. In the current financial year, revenue should be between $1.80bn and $2.00bn, according to CEO Adam Greenblatt.

At an investor presentation yesterday (4 December), Greenblatt detailed how BetMGM, a joint-venture by Entain and MGM Resorts International, was expecting to be self-funding from 2024 onwards.

The business sees next year as an investment period, having already proved profitability in 2023. While it expects to achieve a profitable H2 2023, BetMGM expects negative EBITDA for 2024 in what it bills as an “investment year”.

Investment plans

When pressed on how much cash was available to invest, Greenblatt and CFO Gary Deutsch would not disclose the exact amount. However, the pair said plenty of money is available to “compete and invest for growth at the hi..

September 7, 2023

Net profit up 56.4% at STS in H1

Net profit at Polish sports betting operator STS Holding grew 56.4% to PLN97m (£18.1m/€21.1m/$22.6m) in the first half of 2023, a period in which it agreed to be acquired by Entain CEE for £750.0m.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the half-year rose by 34.1% to PLN157m.

The news that Entain CEE – Entain’s Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) venture – would acquire Poland’s leading sportsbook operator came in June, after Mateusz Juroszek, chief executive of STS, and his father Zbigniew, entered into an agreement to accept Entain CEE’s acquisition offer.

Entain CEE paid PLN24.80 per STS share. This put the business at an equity value of £750m and an enterprise value of an estimated £690m. The deal closed on 24 August, after STS shareholders – holding 155,591,656 in STS shares – backed the deal.

On the half-year, Mateusz Juroszek said STS focused on optimising its operations during the six months, adding that he projects increased player ..

August 10, 2023

Entain hails record online players after revenue hits £2.40bn in H1

Entain reported a 14% year-on-year increase in net gaming revenue (NGR) to £2.40bn (€2.78bn/$3.06bn) during the first half, helped by a record number of active online players in Q2.

The group revealed growth in all business areas for the six months to 30 June. Both online and retail revenue, excluding US operations, was up year-on-year at Entain.

When including $944.0m in revenue contributions from its BetMGM joint venture with MGM Resorts, NGR was up 19%. That business, Entain added, BetMGM posted its first positive EBITDA figures in the second quarter.

Higher revenue also meant an increase in pre-tax profit for Entain. However, its bottom-line was hit by the £585m provision set aside as part of deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) negotiations with the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over historic activities in Turkey.

Entain makes ‘clear strides’ towards strategic goals

CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen was pleased with H1. She said the operator made “clear strides” towards deli..

August 10, 2023

Wynn talks up “substantial” UAE growth potential as Q2 revenue rises

Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings said the operator is edging closer to securing a licence for its new integrated resort in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while the business posted a 75.8% rise in Q2 revenue to $1.60bn (£1.26bn/€2.46bn).

The business first announced plans to open Wynn Al Marjan Island in early 2022. The Wynn Resorts facility will be located on the man-made Al Marjan Island in the Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah and will cost approximately $3.90bn.

The venue is not due to open until early 2027 but Wynn is already busy making plans for the casino. Construction partners were appointed in March, initial designs were revealed shortly after and Thomas Schoen was recently named project president.

“We have everything we need to operate gaming in Al Marjan”

Wynn released renderings of its property in Ras al-Khaimah earlier this year

In addition, the operator is pushing to secure early approval ahead of the planned opening. Speaking on its earnings call, he said Wynn expects to re..

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Tag: Half year results