Pontus Lindwall, Betsson CEO and president has praised the group’s positive start this year. This is after it posted an increase in revenue, higher net profit and record operating profit in the first quarter.
For the three months until March 31, the revenue hit €248.2 million or £212.9 million or $266.3 million. This is 11.9% higher compared to last year’s first quarter, with Betsson reporting growth across many key markets.
Among many highlights for Betsson during the first quarter was the launch of a second brand in Italy. Last March, its flagship Betsson brand went live. It accompanies StarCasinò that has been active in Italy for over a decade.
Betsson also announced the launch of Betfirst in Belgium in the first quarter. This further extends its reach in the Western Europe region. Moreover, it acquired Holland Gaming Technology. It is a gaming operator with a Netherlands license, and game studio Holland Power Gaming.
Furthermore, Betsson went live in Cordoba, Argentina. The group now offers games under local gaming licenses in three provinces in the country. Nonetheless, it still wasn’t enough to prevent a slight drop in the revenue of Latin America.
Lindwall said Betsson’s ambition is to generate stable earnings growth in the long run. The strategy to achieve this is based on geographic diversification and growth investments within existing markets, new markets, B2B and M&A.
Across its core segments, they were mixed results for Betsson breaking down the Q1 figures. Helped by the launch of 306 new games during the quarter, Casino revenue increased.
From mobile, casino revenue was €151.2 million and accounted for 84.0% of total casino revenue. Casino gross turnover climbed 13.8% to €8.81 billion for first quarter.
Nevertheless, sportsbook revenue slipped 2.5% to €65.5 million. 81.0% of this comes from mobile. This was despite a 24.9% increase in gross sports betting turnover to €1.66 billion.
