France the next target for player refunds?
Evolution, MGM, Caesars results, Friday feature: EU player refund cases &Co
Good morning, on Gaming&Co today,
Results: Evolution’s unregulated impact, MGM, Caesars
Friday feature: is France next as litigation finance firms assess cases?
For sale: Bet365 mulling over US sale or listing
DAZN-LFP set for reset, France ready to modernise, News shorts: Ontario, Isidore Partouche, Genius Sports, VBet
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Evolution struggles reflect tough market choices
Another brick in the wall: Evolution’s Q1 profits took a hit after it was forced to exit a number of unregulated markets, but the group’s results were also a demonstration of the role those markets play in suppliers’ revenues. The group said the dip was due to its decision to ring-fence its activities in countries like the UK and exit several unregulated European markets and strengthen compliance following the Gambling Commission licence review announced in late 2024.
On Wednesday the company announced a 5.4% YoY drop in Q1 2025 profits to €254.7m and EBITDA dropped 1% to €342m, despite a 3.9% rise in net revenues to €521m. Europe saw a 1% drop in revenue to €189.7m, while Asia dropped 2.2% to €202m due to cyberattacks.
CEO Martin Carlesund said “proactive efforts” to ring-fence operations in low-channelisation regions in Europe had a “negative revenue impact” and would also affect Q2 performance.
“We have had constructive dialogues with all the large European regulators in the quarter and continue to support them in the ways that we can,” he added.
Shifting blame: Carlesund said “channelisation is primarily dependent on factors outside of our control, i.e. the ways in which the regulatory parameters are structured.”
But Evolution’s long-held position that it is a B2B provider which puts most of its compliance duties on its licensee customers, which is “becoming less and less plausible in the real world of regulatory enforcement,” Regulus Partners said. “Evolution’s Q1 therefore provides another layer of evidence that ‘grey’ is being squeezed into tough ‘black or white’ choices.”
MGM, Caesars, EveryMatrix Q1s
MGM Resorts downplayed the short-term impact of new US tariffs. Despite market volatility, strong performance in Las Vegas and BetMGM helped deliver better-than-expected earnings.
The company reported Q1 revenues of $4.3bn and adj. EBITDA of $637m. While Chinese operations were down slightly, Vegas occupancy hit record levels, even if tourist numbers face pressure from trade tensions. MGM is also aiming for $150m in cost savings as it bids for a $2bn New York casino project and expansion in Japan and Dubai.
Caesars Entertainment reported a slight rise in Q1 net revenues to $2.8bn as adj. EBITDA rose 4% to $884m thanks to a strong performance from Caesars Digital, which saw revenue jump nearly 19% to $335m and EBITDA shoot 760% to $43m.
The iGaming success has prompted talks of a potential spin-off to help address its $12.3bn of debt. While regional casino performance improved, Las Vegas revenue fell 1.9%. Management expects lower capital spending and higher free cash flow in 2025, enabling further debt reduction and share buybacks.
EveryMatrix said Q1 net revenues increased 39% YoY to €54m and EBITDA rose 27% to €28m thanks to strong growth from existing clients and new product launches. EBITDA margins reached 52%.
** IMPORTANT MESSAGE **
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Created in memory of Rob’s son Oliver, the foundation supports children’s charities, including Sudden Unexplained Death In Childhood UK, The Lullaby Trust, Chestnut Tree House and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. The iGaming industry has rallied behind the cause, with executives taking on endurance events as part of “Oliver’s Army”, as part of a united effort to raise awareness and funds to support young lives.
How the iGaming industry can get involved: Financial contributions go directly to the charities supported by Oliver’s Wish. You can donate at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/olivers-army-6-ultras
A Foundation Built on Love and Legacy
Oliver’s Wish was founded by Rob in memory of his son, Oliver. What began as a personal tribute has grown into a powerful platform for good – raising awareness and vital funds for charities that support children and young people.
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Could France be next target of player refund claims?
Litigation financing firms could turn to France’s illegal iCasino market, although risks abound
Tidal wave: The past two years have seen court after court order grey market operators to return hundreds of millions of euros to their former customers. First in Austria, then Germany and now gaining traction in the Netherlands, judges have typically ruled in favour of arguments that operators without a local licence in these jurisdictions were not executing a legal contract with their customers - and so forfeit all profits.
Show me the money: The high likelihood of winning prompted a gold rush from litigation financing firms, who are backing players or buying their claims outright and waging a sustained campaign against many of the continent’s most well known gaming brands.
Toi aussi? But is France’s ban on online casino, and its resultant black market, also a tempting target? Yes, says one litigation financier, but not without caveats.
“We have been looking at the market for some time, but have no connection to the French judicial system and have never offered funding there. So the market entry is kind of a steep hill for us,” Stefan Bohar, a member of the board at Advofin, told Gaming&Co.
Advofin and others like them typically partner with local lawyers in each market to prosecute their cases, creating a risk that an opportunistic French law firm with no bridges to burn in the gambling industry could step up.
However, Bohar is also cautious of overextending: “We are pretty much managing our risk exposure at the moment,” he said, noting that his firm is currently funding over €150m worth of litigation in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
Returning fire
This caution comes in part because the industry has begun to fight back. First in Malta, where the so-called Bill 55 (now part of the country’s gambling law) effectively blocks player refund court judgements from being transferred from other EU countries to Malta, where most of the operators are headquartered. Bill 55 is heading for its day in court, but first it’s Germany under the microscope.
See you in court: From a set of three cases before the European Court of Justice, the first of them, which began in April, sees Lottoland challenging the legality of Germany’s former licensing regime, arguing it violated EU law.
High stakes: If that case is successful, pro-industry lawyers say it could torpedo most of the player claims in Germany. “The wave of lawsuits would certainly decline rapidly and the business model of litigation funders for gambling losses would be scrapped,” said Alicia Pointner, an attorney with German law firm Melchers.
Get ready to gamble: The outcome, however, is highly uncertain. And if the industry loses it could strengthen the campaign against them. Asked if Lottoland will win, Pointner said: “That's hard to say. There have often been surprises before the ECJ.” A ruling is expected at the end of the year.
Bet365 exploring $9bn sale
UK giant could be ideal target for US market
Exit plan: The Coates family, Bet365’s founders and owners, could be about to sell the business in a deal worth up to $9bn and recently held talks with Wall Street banks and US advisers about a full or partial sale, sources familiar with the matter have told The Guardian.
Although still at an informal stage, the discussions also explored a medium-term plan to float the business in the US that would include a partial sale to a private equity investor.
Bet365 pioneered online sports betting at the start of the 2000s. CEO Denise Coates holds a 58% stake in the group, a sale could net her more than £5bn.
Its recent and cautious expansion into the US means the group now operates in 13 states, has garnered around 2.5% market share and is aiming for double digits. In addition, it has considerably reduced the volumes it used to take from China to the point where it withdrew completely from the market last year, a move that would make it much more attractive to US investors.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming has said US sports betting revenues will increase from around $14bn in 2024 to more than $23bn by 2029.
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DAZN pins hopes on a French reset
DAZN is hoping exit gets sign off, wants to stay involved with French football next season
Hoping for a reset: DAZN is looking to put its very difficult first year in France behind it and exit its €375m-per-year TV rights deal with the Ligue de Football Professionnel at the end of the season. It would pay an early redemption fee of €100m as part of the agreement , but with the league looking to become a broadcaster in its own right, the two companies might keep working together - with DAZN producing LFP’s football coverage, which would save it from having to pay the €100m fee.
L'Équipe said the severance agreement will be put to LFP’s board today (Friday 2 May), a DAZN spokesperson told the newspaper one of the exit options would tie DAZN to the league as a production partner.
“Coming to France, losing money and stopping after a year doesn't make much sense," the spokesperson added. “We're convinced we can bring a great deal of added value through this channel project. We are prepared to invest around €100m in this channel.”
LFP could partner with a different broadcaster, Qatar’s beIN SPORTS currently broadcasts the Saturday games and could step in as a TV partner. DAZN said it saw itself as the natural partner for LFP’s new broadcast project and welcomed the appointment of the experienced Nicolas de Tavernost as CEO of LFP Media to carry out the negotiations.
The outcome of the discussions will matter greatly to French football clubs, which are set to lose €1.2bn this year and would be left without finances should the LFP project fail. On the sports betting side, the loss of viewership has impacted Ligue 1 volumes. DAZN is also planning to launch DAZNbet.fr, the group has signed a platform partnership with Betconstruct, but that would only happen if the current talks succeed.
France iCasino is political, country ripe for modernisation
Operators looking at market should be up-to-date, says lawyer
On point: Public and regulatory affairs lawyer and former ANJ Head of international and European affairs Claire Pinson-Bessonnet told an online webinar this week that international operators looking at France should be up-to-date with current regulations and remember that the Autorité Nationale des Jeux is a “regulator, not a legislator”. While it administers and regulates the market, it does not have the power to alter the country’s regulations by changing the scope of the legal offer, for example..
Asked whether online casino regulation might happen in France in the near term, Pinson-Bessonnet said legalisation of the vertical would undoubtedly “create GGR” growth, but it was first and foremost “a political decision because, as we see in neighbouring markets, when online casinos open, they take the lead” and become the biggest revenue generators for operators.
She added that with ANJ focused on problem gambling, legalising iCasino had to be placed in context of more players being exposed to potentially more harmful forms of gambling and that “the strong historical link between land-based casinos and municipalities” should be taken into account in any decision relating to authorising online casinos.
The country's online regulations date from 2010 and Pinson-Bessonnet said France “is a dynamic market”, but the industry “has evolved since then” and ANJ could initiate an update the French regulatory framework to reflect the emergence of AI with regards to market supervision and prevention of excessive gambling and other trends.
News shorts
Surprise package: Gaming News Canada is reporting that three years after regulation, “Ontario is faring remarkably well when compared to” New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, “the three most comparable US states (those that have both online casinos and sports betting)”. With the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation yet to release its numbers and making up around 20% of the market, “Ontario is likely No. 1 in revenue”, added GNC.
Isidore Partouche, founder of Groupe Partouche, the second biggest casino group in France, has died at the age of 94. He opened the first Partouche casino in 1973 near Valenciennes in northern France before expanding throughout the whole country. Partouche now runs 44 casinos in France and Europe and employs 3,500 people. In a statement, the group said its leaders and “all its employees salute the memory of an exceptional founder, whose legacy will continue to enlighten future generations and the entire profession".
VBet has extended its sponsorship with Ligue 1’s Nice football club for another three years. The bookmaker has been a club sponsor for the past three years and will have its logo on players’ matchday shorts and training outfits.
Genius Sports has expanded its BetVision platform to include live football streams and betting markets. The company said the move was the next evolution for in-play betting and will transform how audiences engage with live sports content.
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Calendar
Results: 7 May: Flutter, 8 May: Super Group, Penn, DraftKings, 8- 9 May: DraftKings
Events: 13-15 May: SBC Summit Americas, Fort Lauderdales, Florida, 10-12 June: SBC Summit Malta, 5 Jun: Gaming in Holland, Amsterdam, 26 Jun: Gaming in Spain, Madrid
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