SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Betsson AB has declared its ‘best year in business’ having achieved four back-to-back record-breaking financial quarters.
Publishing its full-year 2022 accounts, the Stockholm-listed online gambling group’s corporate revenues stood at €777m up 18% on FY2021 comparative results of €657m.
Once more, Betsson achieved a record-breaking Q4 performance to close year trading, generating revenues of €220m (Q4 2021: €157m), which benefitted from World Cup 2022 recognised as the “largest sports event ever” experienced by Betsson brands.
A breakdown of segments saw Betsson’s B2C casino unit achieve its third consecutive quarter of peak results, generating Q4 revenues of €146m (Q4 2021: €115m).
Generating 66% of Q4 revenues, Betsson lauded the performance of its casino unit, matched against tough 2021 comparatives and which accommodated for new compliance measures in Western and Nordic European markets as FY year casino revenues stood at €514m, up 8% on 2021 results of €477m.
Casino results were matched by Betsson’s sportsbook unit registering record-breaking Q4 revenues of €71m (+75%) results reflecting an all-time high sportsbook turnover of €1.4bn.
Having achieved peak casino and sportsbook results, Betsson Q4 EBITDA stood at €51m (+68%) as the group’s operating income (EBIT) was declared at €40m, up 92% on 2021 profits of €21m.
Group CEO Pontus Lindwall commented: “As expected, for Betsson the World Cup turned out to be the largest sports event ever and contributed to new records for all possible key performance indicators in the quarter, such as revenues (despite a significantly lower sportsbook margin than in the previous quarter), EBIT, sportsbook turnover, casino turnover, active customers and customer deposits.
“We can look back at the best year ever for Betsson with strong growth and profitability, driven by disciplined capital allocation, geographical diversification and investments in new markets, as well as continuous strengthening of the tech platform and product offering.
Total revenue for the final quarter stood at €220.6m, a 40% increase on Q4 2021’s €157.5m, whilst EBITDA stood at €51.4m (+68%), whilst gross profit also rose by 48% to €144.8 (€97.7m).
As with full year trading, group quarterly performance was driven by an increase in active customer numbers from 1,161,683 to 1,424,794, bolstered by an uptick in deposits to 1bn (+40%) from 784.6m.
On a product basis, sports betting again proved to be the dominant vertical in Q4, with revenue for this sector up 76% to €70.7m (€40.2m) – helping the unit achieve full-year revenues of €251m up 46% on 2021 comparative results of €172m.
Of significance, during Q4 trading, Betsson achieved customer deposits totalling +€1 bn (+39%) across all operating subsidiaries. The enlarged metric sees Betsson maintain growth across all core geographies in Nordic, Western Europe, CEECA and LatAm markets.
Full-year results reflect the changing make-up of Betsson geographic revenues, as Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) markets generated the highest B2C online casino revenues of €197m, alongside LatAm sportsbook revenues totalling €115m – results outpacing Betsson Nordic casino/sportsbook performance of €157m and €52m.
As with group-wide revenue, full-year profits also rose by 18% to €504.4m (€425.6m), with an increased EBITDA of €172.4m (€135.7m).
In Lindwall’s statement, the CEO noted that Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe (CEECA), and moving forward Betsson plans to continue to make ‘strategic investments’ in both regions, off the back of a strong football presence in the former.
On Latin American and CEECA operations, the group noted that it had ‘continued to allocate resources on growth initiatives’ last year, having identified both regions as posing strong opportunities.
“Geographically, once again growth was driven by the regions Latin America and CEECA. Above all, Latin America recorded new highs on most key parameters.”
“Our strategic investments in the region continue at full speed – in Peru, the naming rights sponsorship for the highest football league, Liga 1 Betsson, was extended another four years, and in Chile, a new naming rights deal was agreed with the highest football league, which will be named Campeonato Betsson. Both leagues kicked off at the end of January, and it is gratifying to see the continued engagement in football together with clubs, fans and customers.”
Looking ahead, Betsson intends to maintain momentum on tech development to build on progress made during the final quarter, with Lindwall highlighting particular success during the World Cup.
The firm has outlined three core objectives for the year ahead – pursuing further growth in existing markets, expanding into new ones and enhancing its B2B offering, particularly the proprietary sportsbook in the case of the latter goal.
Full-year 2022 trading saw Betsson operating expenses expand by €65m to €373m, as costs accounted for higher marketing expenses of €129m and personnel expenses of €120m.
Closing its 2022 accounts, Betsson’s operating income (EBIT) rose by 11% to €131m as the group declared a net income of €115m up 10% on FY2021 results of €103m.
Lindwall concluded: “I would also like to take the opportunity to thank our employees for all the hard work put in during the past year. Together we will continue to deliver the best customer experience in the gaming industry and create long-term value for our shareholders.”
“Even if the macroeconomic and geopolitical situation in the world remains uncertain, we remain optimistic about 2023 thanks to our geographical diversification, focus on profitable growth, strong balance sheet and our sustainable gaming solutions.”
