SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Having secured terms to two major partnerships during the first quarter of FY23 (Q3 2022), BetMakers has closed the three-month period in a strong financial and commercial position.
In a statement to its investors on the ASX, the sportsbook platform provider detailed that its total cash receipts for Q1 FY23 – July to September 2022 – stood at AUS$23.8m, a 13% increase on the previous year (AUS$19.9m).
This enabled the firm to close the quarter with a cash balance of AUS$64m, with growth primarily attributed to the expansion of its Global Betting Services platform and a ‘stable’ customer base for the Global Tote.
Additionally, the group also experienced an uptick in operations for both its platform and Managed Trading Services offering, having launched six new customers in this area, bringing its total client base to 24.
Turnover for the segment was ‘greater than AUS$2bn’ across these customers, which the firm states ‘estimated in excess’ of 100,000 total downloads’, representing 20% of Australian betting app downloads.
One of the most significant developments for the company during the quarter, however, was the amendment of its contract with NTD, the new micro-betting venture scheduled to launch to market as Betr.
BetMakers’ part in the contract has seen its OM Apps subsidiary support the new brand with its sportsbook platform, but an update to the contract has now seen Betr plan the acquisition of O’Shea Bookmaking, a SaaS customer of BetMakers which trades as TexBet.
Betr will conduct the transaction with support from BetMakers, and as part of the agreement, the cap on the Annual Fee payable by NTD to OM Apps has been increased by AUS$2m per annum over the next ten years, increasing the total payable amount by AUS$20m.
Having also received backing from GTG Studios, Tekkorp Capital and News Corp, NTD/Betr is expected to become a major player in the Australian sportsbook market pending its launch.
Further afield, the company was also able to secure a major North American partner in Penn National Gaming, focusing on the distribution of fixed odds, booked bets, and exchange wagering outside of the US and Canada.
Racing content from over 900 fixtures per year will be distributed by BetMakers to its customers as a result of the deal – although the tie-up did drive up costs to some extent, as BetMakers paid Penn a $5.8m first-year guarantee upfront.
Any increase in costs does not seem to be phasing BetMakers, however – moving into Q2 FY23, the company has concluded negotiations to acquire horse racing intelligence and rating systems provider Punting Form for a cash consideration of AUS $3m.
The group also closed Q1 after making progress on its share buy-back scheme, first initiated in Q4 FY22 to acquire ‘up to 10% of the company’. Having commenced on 12 July 2022, the scheme has seen the firm secure 29,126,884 shares-on-market at a consideration of AUS$11,664,000.
