Betsson flying in 2024
Record revenue for Swedish group, Better Collective, Friday focus: Stake
Good morning, on Gaming&Co today:
Results: Betsson’s strong 2024, Better Collective hits guidance target
Friday feature: crypto giant Stake’s pivot to regulated markets
Partouche’s crypto rollout, busy Netherlands
News shorts: UK deposit limits, Paris stock market up, Nevada, US sweep wars continue
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Betsson enjoys record 2024 but cautious about Brazil
Swedish group going strong in most markets; Better Collective expects to exceed targets
Betsson’s bounce: The group’s FY24 results highlighted the company’s move away from its historic Scandinavian roots with revenues down nearly 14% in the Nordics, and ongoing focus on Latin America. CEO Pontus Lindwall talked up its imminent launch in Brazil, but said the group would be cautious.
Speaking to analysts, Lindwall said: “We foresee a competitive landscape in Brazil. We want to enter the market in a slow fashion and analyse and learn. We don’t want to risk any part of our P&L and profitability by going all in.”
No way: Betsson stopped trading in Norway this year and Lindwall would not say how much the withdrawal had cost in lost revenues, but the Nordics were down c14% to €40m due to lower casino activity. The Betsson boss added that he didn't want the group to operate in markets that don’t have local regulation.
Rare negative: The Nordics were a rare negative in Betsson’s most successful year to date, with FY24 revenues reaching €860m, a 12% YoY increase. The company's net income also saw a significant rise, climbing 15% to €140m.
On the up: Betsson saw record growth in Italy, boosting its Western European revenue to €52m and the group said it will expand its Betsson Italia brand in 2025.
Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia was Betsson’s largest market and was up 23% to €132m YoY, while Latin America achieved record revenue of €78m.
Better than expected
Better Collective said it expects to beat its FY24 EBITDA guidance of €100m-€110m as it announced unaudited EBITDA of €113m for the past 12 months and revenues of €371m, at the top end of its €355m-€375m forecasts for 2024.
In common with the rest of the affiliate sector, Better Collective was hit by Google’s ‘parasite SEO’ update in 2024 but said the cost-cutting measures it implemented following the update had generated savings of €50m earlier than expected. Debt to EBITDA ratio was under 3x, the group publishes FY24 results on 19 February.
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Friday feature: Stake’s journey to regulated markets
Crypto giant’s move into FIAT operations is no surprise as eventual listing or liquidity event seems likely
High stakes: Stake’s stated ambition is to be “the world’s biggest casino and entertainment brand” but its fifth move into regulated markets in just over a year reveals a company in the midst of a profound transformation that is likely to lead to a listing or sale, according to analysts.
Easy does it: Stake parent company Easygo acquired Danish operator VinderCasino last month, following similar moves into Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. It also has licences in Ontario, Mexico, Paraguay and the UK. Chief Strategy Officer Brais Pena recently told SBC Leaders magazine that there will be more to come in 2025.
Regulus Partners analyst Paul Leyland comments: “Stake has got so big that it almost has to go regulated. Once you want to capitalize, you can’t list Stake or sell it without a critical mass of licences.”
Doin’ it right
The company reported revenue of $2.6bn in 2023, according to the Financial Times, and Leyland estimates it must be approaching or eclipsing $3bn by now, although he points out that the volatility of Bitcoin means it is difficult to estimate the effect on revenue.
Doin’ it better: While Leyland speculates that the founders – Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani – must have made more than enough money, Christoffer Andersson, COO of competitor crypto operator 500 Casino, believes another reason for entering regulated markets is that the Easygo team reckon they can do it better than regular FIAT operators.
“A lot of crypto casinos have been very product-focused, making sure that they are constantly increasing their UX/UI and loyalty offering – since the competition is completely different within the crypto bubble and between regular FIAT casinos,” says Andersson.
One-time shot: “One slightly bad experience will usually make a player move from one crypto casino to a different one, while it will take a lot for a FIAT player to change to a different casino,” he added.
The same argument has been made by other crypto operators such as BetHog’s CEO Nigel Eccles, the co-founder of FanDuel. Andersson argues that compliance checks such as source of funds and KYC make the FIAT player stay put, but also that the regular FIAT customer is “not as technically educated as the common crypto player”.
“I think we come from a ‘higher division’ product-wise,” says Andersson. “And can definitely stir up things on the regular markets.”
Goin’ legit
The road from grey to regulated markets and/or listing is a well-travelled route that has been taken in various ways by the likes of 888 (now Evoke), GVC/Entain, Bet365 and Stars Group; but Stake is the first crypto operator to seriously attempt the transition. Gaming&Co contacted Stake but the group did not want to talk about these issues at the time of going to press.
“One of the problems looking at pre-UIGEA operators and with dot.com operators is that they exist in a bubble of entrepreneurial growth and, to a large extent, don’t have to worry about laws and regulation. They don’t realise how debilitating that step can be,” says Leyland.
“The good thing about attempting to do it,” he adds, “is that if failure is the status quo, then you might as well roll the dice.”
“A lot of FIAT casinos tend to be quite relaxed with their product, and don't really feel the need to work on their site/player experience so much – they believe they will still have ‘plenty of players’,” concludes Andersson.
“So once crypto casinos are taking on the FIAT/regulated markets they will have the upper hand on the product side and even within player experience.”
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Partouche to accept crypto payments
Casino group to launch crypto payments across whole estate
Crypto boost: Groupe Partouche has announced that it will accept crypto payments across all its resorts in France after an initial rollout at its Royal Palm casino in Cannes. The move allows players to pay directly for their gambling with cryptocurrencies and follows the move by JOA Groupe to launch crypto payments across its 33 French casinos a few weeks earlier.
In its statement, Partouche said all cryptocurrencies will be accepted at its establishments, which will convert the crypto amounts into euros instantaneously.
It added that the feature was suited “to an international clientele and a new generation of connected clients and guarantees a simple and fast experience”.
Netherlands upheavals
Affordability failures, black market affiliates and crypto football sponsors
Lax affordability: Gaming in Holland is reporting that the Netherlands Gambling Authority (NGA) has identified widespread failures in the implementation of mandatory affordability checks by licensed operators. Under regulations introduced in October 2024, players face monthly deposit limits of €700 (€300 for those aged 18-23) unless they pass affordability checks.
However, the NGA said some operators relied on questionable methods such as self-reported questionnaires rather than verifying income through pay slips or tax returns. The regulator also warned against considering assets like primary residences or loan-derived income in these checks.
No limits: A separate study by KVA, the Dutch quality mark for responsible affiliates, has revealed that Netherlands-facing affiliate websites advertising “gambling without deposit limit” now attract over 400,000 monthly visits, a 240% increase since the deposit limits came into effect.
Crypto substitutes: Elsewhere, Dutch football clubs are increasingly turning to crypto sponsors as the country prepares to ban betting sponsorships from July 2025. Heerenveen, Excelsior and Ajax have joined Feyenoord, Sparta Rotterdam and the KNVB federation in signing up crypto partners.
News shorts
The country may be bitterly divided, its politicians held in low esteem and its gambling sector facing uncertainty, but France’s leading stock market index the CAC 40 finished at its highest level and above the symbolic 8,000 points yesterday for the first time since the country’s National Assembly was dissolved in June. Luxury goods, banking and raw materials were the top-performing sectors.
UK operators will have to ensure customers set financial limits on their accounts before making their first deposits from the end of October. They will also have to make it easier for customers to review their spend and will be required to remind consumers every six months.
Sportradar has extended the data rights deal it has held with Major League Baseball since 2019 and has renewed for a new, eight-year partnership with the US sports league. It will distribute MLB betting data to US media and betting companies and in-game data and feeds outside the US on an exclusive basis.
Nevada could be about to reverse its 159-year-old prohibition on lottery gaming. The state’s legislature is set to consider a constitutional amendment that would remove the ban, but it faces concerted opposition from the casino industry.
Sweepstakes wars continue in the US as Connecticut becomes the latest state to lay out plans to ban online sweepstakes and lottery ticket couriers. This prompted the Social and Promotional Gaming Association to issue a statement decrying “yet another unfortunate example of anti-competitive special interests bending lawmakers to their will at the expense of millions of American adult consumers”.
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