SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Toronto listed Amaya Gaming the operating company of PokerStars and Full Tilt online gaming brands has reported opening Q1 2015 revenues of CAD $340 million(£180 million) (Q1 2014: CAD $12.8 million) as the operator incorporates the corporate performance of its acquired brands.
Amaya Gaming who has sold non -ore assets in early 2015, to concentrate on expanding its PokerStars and Full Tilt business divisions, reported revenues of CAD $30 million from its discontinued operations.
Excluding acquisition related costs and amortization items, Amaya would post adjusted net earnings of CAD $82 million (£42 million) for the period, compared to CAD $1 million in Q1 2014. Amaya disclosed that EBITDA earnings from discontinued operations amounted to CAD $14 million (£7.3 million).
Reporting on the company’s revenue breakdown, Amaya disclosed that approximately 94% of its CAD $340 million revenues were generated by its poker products, with its new casino offering now contributing to 6% of corporate revenues.
On a PokerStars/Full Tilt like for like basis the company reported that revenues in Q1 2015 were approximately the same as Q1 2014, with revenue from the new casino offering offsetting a decline in poker revenue
David Baazov, CEO of Amaya commented on Q1 2015 performance
“Amaya saw continued strength in our core consumer online gaming business in the first quarter with gross deposits at PokerStars increasing approximately 9% on a domestic currency basis and PokerStars estimating an increase in its share of the global online poker market,”
“We believe that this healthy engagement helped counter new sales taxes and gaming duties in certain major European jurisdictions as well as a significant decrease in the purchasing power of our consumer base stemming from a sharp decline in the value of their local currencies versus the U.S. dollar (USD), which is the predominant currency of gameplay.
“PokerStars recently made multiple strategic marketing investments to help grow the global poker sector, including the sponsorship of new poker pros, celebrities and athletes, notably football megastar Neymar Jr, who we anticipate will help attract new players to the game,” said Baazov. “These investments were in part driven by our expansion into adjacent gaming verticals including casino and sports betting, which have provided new revenue streams since their introduction. We ended the quarter with more than 93 million cumulative customer registrations, an increase of nearly 2.5 million during the quarter.
