Bwin sportsbook picks up the slack

Bwin.party has reported a mixed quarter, with sportsbook performance filling in for a drop in poker and casino business. The company revealed that, since the end of June, volumes and gross win margins from the FIFA World Cup have been strong and overall the tournament performance has been in-line with management’s expectations

Bwin’s sports betting operation in Italy became the market leader for the first time in terms of turnover and a new HTML5 mobile product in Spain has driven a marked increase in the share of betting volumes and numbers of users on mobile in the country.

However overall betting volumes were down year-on-year, reflecting the loss of Greece as the authorities pursue ISP blocking with some vigour as well as the company’s own business plan to move focus from unregulated markets. Despite this, increased gross win margins mitigated the impact on revenue.

Norbert Teufelberger, CEO of bwin.party, said: “Trading in the second quarter was mixed with revenue a little softer than expected but Clean EBITDA margins were slightly better than expected. While the decline in the dotcom poker market in the period also affected our casino business, the impact was mitigated by an uplift in player activity in sports betting in nationally regulated and/or taxed markets, largely driven by the FIFA World Cup.

“As expected, the start-up losses in New Jersey, ISP blocking in Greece and the absence of domain sales in the first half have impacted both the revenue and Clean EBITDA performance versus the prior year. However, we are taking steps to improve operating performance, simplify decision-making, reduce complexity and costs and, as a result, remain confident about the full year outlook.”