SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
FL Entertainment has hailed the positive contribution of its Betclic Everest subsidiary to achieving the objectives of its merger and transformation as a new Amsterdam Euronext enterprise.
The pan-European entertainment group which in H1 listed on the Amsterdam Exchange merging the assets of Banijay Media and Betclic Everest achieved total revenues of €4.05bn – a result matching its upper-end guidance.
Full-year online sports betting and gaming revenues generated by Betclic and bet-at-home AG brands totalled €835m, up 12% on FY2021 results of €741m.
Strong Q4 trading boosted by France’s World Cup 2022 performance, saw Betclic generate peak sports betting revenues of + €193m, buoyed by a 31% increase in Unique Active Players (UAP).
Online gambling growth was achieved despite FL discontinuing bet-at-home operations in Austria and the UK, as the group reported that the “Betclic entity (+21%), offset a -10% decline at bet-at-home”.
Year-end results saw FL record a net exceptional income of +€11m from the deconsolidation of its 53% stake in bet-at-home Entertainment Ltd approved in the first half of 2022.
Robust Betclic Everest results would see the unit achieve a 15% increase in adjusted EBITDA to €203m, contributing 30% of FL’s group-wide EBITDA €670m.
FL’s net income from operations (Media production/content + gaming) stood at €307m. Accounting for FY2022 listing costs/rewards and merger expenses, the new Amsterdam group booked in losses totalling €81m.
Group CEO François Riahi, commented on Betclic Everest results: “In Online sports betting & gaming, the growth of our revenues has been also very strong, despite a high comparison base in 2021. The overall number of Unique Active Players increased by 25%, powered in part by our strong commercial performance during the football World Cup.
“Looking ahead we will capitalize on increased player numbers to drive continued organic growth at a high pace”.
Providing initial 2023 guidance, FL outlined that it anticipates Betclic to continue its double-digit growth momentum, to help the company achieve a projected FY2023 EBITDA outcome of €710m.
Of strategic importance, Riahi, concluded; “Betclic has been the most downloaded sports betting app in our core markets of France, Poland and Portugal, and the second most downloaded across Europe, thanks to our state-of-the-art technology platform which leads the way in terms of reliability and efficiency.”
