SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
XLMedia has announced strong interim results for the first half of the year following the sale of its European and Canadian assets to Gambling.com Group.
The sale marks a significant moment for the company structurally and from a financial perspective, with the assets being sold for a total consideration of up to $42.5m and an initial payment of $20m received on 2 April. The second payment of £10m is due on 2 October.
Against this backdrop, group revenue from its continuing business – the assets still under its ownership – reached $10.4m, down from $16.9m the year prior but in line with management expectations.
Revenue from the sold assets, the ‘discontinued business’, amounted to $5.2m, less than the previous year’s figure of $12.5m. However, it is important to note that this revenue comes only from the first three months of 2024, as opposed to the first six months of 2023.
Total group revenue, therefore, stood at $15.6, down from $29.4m in H1 2023. Despite the offloading of its Canada operations, XLMedia remains confident in its North America prospects, having cleared some major milestones in the US.
David King, XLMedia CEO, commented: “We are pleased to report the business traded ahead of last year during April to August and we are now focused on maximising the opportunity within the current market conditions.”
XLMedia also emphasised that it remains focused on driving organic revenues in the North America market and rightsizing the group’s remaining cost base while continuing to explore opportunities to create shareholder value.
H1 2023 saw the launch of Ohio in January during the NFL season while H1 2024 saw the launch of North Carolina in March after the NFL season ended. This timing difference accounts for the bulk of the period-on-period variance.
The firm does not have any more state launches planned for the remainder of the year. Instead, it is focused on maximising revenue from the new NFL season and optimising its performance in existing legal online sports betting and gaming states – which now make up the vast majority of US states.
It is also seeking to further diversify revenue in the daily fantasy sports (DFS) sector – a hugely popular market in the US which provided a bedrock for the launch of betting market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings’ sportsbooks – as well as paid media, advertising, sponsorship, and on building up its presence in gaming.
