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Better Collective AS is prepared to navigate another year of risks and challenges to maintain its dominance as the iGaming sector’s largest and most valued media PLC.
Speaking to investors, CEO and Co-founder Jesper Søgaard emphasised that despite ongoing revisions, there is no change in Better Collective’s overarching ambition to be market dominant across all continents where its media network operates.
Søgaard branded 2024 as a year of unexpected challenges, shaped by external headwinds that impacted the company from H2 onwards, including a “Google policy update and an accelerated slowdown in Brazil, in anticipation of the regulated market launch.”
Despite “strong early momentum” in the US, Better Collective witnessed a shift as challenger brands lowered their marketing activity during the NFL season, which resulted in flat growth for its US operations.
The leadership’s response to these changing dynamics was to implement a cost-efficiency programme to “ensure our operations are well aligned for 2025.”
The programme comes with tough revisions, as leadership expects a “rebasing of Brazil’s market” that will see incumbents impacted by “gross gaming taxes, added costs on net gaming revenues, and a near-term player churn due to the onshoring of the market.”
Speaking on the call, Group CFO Flemming Pedersen stated that Better Collective was taking a proactive approach to mitigate early impacts in Brazil, which “are expected to cause a 50-to-70% revenue share decline in the short term.”
As it stands, the adjustments in Brazil lead leadership to estimate a direct EBITDA impact of approximately €35 to €50 million. However, Pedersen countered this by highlighting the early benefits of the efficiency programme, which resulted in €15 million in cost savings during Q4.
Countering Brazil’s inbound headwinds, Søgaard underlined to investors the market’s long-term value and significance: “Just as a reminder, Brazil was once insignificant for Better Collective. Last year, we saw the market contribute almost 20% of our revenues. It is a testament to our strong organic growth in past years.”
Though 2025 accounts for new and remaining challenges in Brazil and the US, Søgaard believes these headwinds can be offset by “our diversified media portfolio, which delivered solid growth in Europe, Canada, and a growing global esports segment.”
Corporate guidance for FY2025 was set at achieving a revenue range of €320–350 million and EBITDA before special items of €100–120 million, marking the first time Better Collective has presented lower corresponding targets.
CFO Flemming Pedersen deemed the guidance as the right platform to deliver on Better Collective’s long-term stability: “When we introduced our long-term guidance in 2023, it factored in organic growth and M&A.”
“M&A continues to be a significant part of our strategy. However, given evolving market conditions, especially in the US and Brazil, we have decided to prioritise other capital allocation principles in the near term. This includes reducing debt and initiating share buybacks. Our adjusted guidance emphasises organic growth, which we expect to return to positive territory in 2026.”
Søgaard concluded: “Our focus has shifted to organic growth, safeguarding cash flow, and maintaining financial agility to capitalise on future opportunities. We are confident in our strategic direction and our ability to create value for investors.”
