SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Better Collective has reflected on a ‘tough match’ in 2024, citing unexpected hurdles which it was able to overcome to achieve revenue growth of 14% at the close of the year.
The sports betting-focused digital media group reported revenue of €371.5m (2023: €326.7m) in 2024, though EBITDA did fall slightly by 6% from €109.1m to €102.5m. Operating revenue also took a hit, dropping 24% from €80.9m to €61.5m.
Last year was a challenging year for the group, leadership has stressed – but the Denmark-based, Nasdaq Stockholm-listed group also stressed that it demonstrated considerable resilience in 2024.
“Despite short-term challenges, the long-term outlook for Better Collective remains strong,” a statement signed by CEO Jesper Søgaard and Jens Bager, Chair of Better Collective, read.
“We are confident in our ability to continue leading the sports media and betting media industries through innovation, strategic investments, and operational excellence.”
When Brazil kicks in….
Acquisitions have been high on the agenda for Better Collective over the past few years, with the takeover of Playmaker Capital in November 2023. The integration of this South American-focused media business was one of the defying activities of 2024 for the company.
Better Collective revealed that Playmaker suffered an ‘underperformance’ last year, though this may have worked out well for the firm as the final acquisition price was amended as a result of this underperformance – dropping from US$54m to US$23m.
“All future expectations for the brand are intact, however postponed by approximately one year,” company leadership asserted. The firm’s board are also confident that despite ‘initial commercial challenges’ Playmaker has become a ‘key part’ of its media strategy.
The acquisition’s contribution in social and podcast sports content has been cited as particularly valuable. The fact that the Brazilian betting space was still awaiting market regulation in 2024 may have contributed to Playmaker’s underperformance.
With the market now launched, the start date being 1 January 2025, Better Collective may start to see more of a contribution from Playmaker as more Brazilian consumers move to engage with betting-related sports content.
Better Collective notes that the transition period from grey-to-white as regulations came into effect in Brazil led to a temporary slowdown in market growth. The firm’s leadership now wants to embark on a ‘rebasing of the Brazilian business’, but expect recurring revenue share income to continue growing.
Global considerations
Brazil has been on everyone’s agenda for the past year, not just Better Collective – attendees at industry conferences and regular readers of SBC News will not have to go very far before the country and the prospects of its market are brought up.
In Better Collective’s case, the firm notes that Brazil has been a key growth driver even prior to market regulation under the ‘Bets’ framework this year. The country has contributed to growth for the past three-to-four years, the company says, with its business there generating over €70m in 2024 alone.
South America’s largest nation is far from the only market which has caught the firm’s attention in 2024 though. The UK, one of Europe’s most valuable but also most competitive markets, has been on the firm’s agenda.
In Q2 the firm acquired AceOdds, a UK sports betting affiliate group, for €42m, projecting four hold growth in EBITDA over the next 12 months. In contrast to Playmaker, AceOdds has exceeded Better Collective’s expectations.
The company has raised financial targets for its new British asset, projecting revenue of €395-425m (previous projection – €390m-420m), implying growth of between 21-30%. EBITDA projections have also been raised to growth of 17-26% to €130m-140m (€125m-135m).
Turning to North America, another core focus market for Better Collective, the firm has again reported some struggles, however, but continues to assert resilience against changing market dynamics.
Transitions to revenue share agreements across many states is one particularly big consideration. Leadership also shared that the firm has seen an overall increase in partner activity in North America, and a restructuring of operations with sustainability and profitability in mind has been initiated.
The company expects its North American activity to deliver around €10m-15m in pure revenue share income coupled with a minimum reported EBITDA margin of 20%, this latter figure projected to rise to 35% when the revenue share built up is factored in.
Lastly, Google’s new policy on third party content is another external change which has significantly affected group performance. Better Collective states that this particularly negatively impacted ‘one specific media partnership’ in North America, but that its Europe and Rest of World media portfolio actually saw a positive impact from the changes.
“This year has been a tough match, with unexpected hurdles and a demanding playing field,” Søgaard and Bager’s statement concluded. “Our team has been the most important player behind every win, overcoming challenges and showing the heart and grit of true champions.
“The road was not easy—regulatory changes, shifting market dynamics, and other external headwinds tested our endurance—but our team played through the setbacks, adjusted the strategy, and kept their eyes on the goal.
“Just like in sports, where setbacks can change the course of a game, our team has shown resilience when facing challenges, and we are ready for our comeback!”
