SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
FL Entertainment has raised its full-year 2023 EBITDA guidance to €750m, as the Amsterdam Euronext media conglomerate benefits from M&A expansion and the enhanced performance of its betting and gaming business.
Publishing its H1 Interim trading results, FL, the parent company of Betclic and majority shareholder of Bet-at-Home AG, reported corporate revenues of €1.92bn, marking a 6.8% year-on-year increase on 2022 results of €1.80bn.
A breakdown of units saw FL’s Banijay media content and distribution unit maintain a 2% uplift in revenues to €1.43bn (H1 2022: €1.4bn) – driven by Banijay re-signing premium ‘super show’ deals for Deal-or-No Deal, Lego Masters, and Big Brother across Europe, Japan, and South America.
On the Gaming and Sports Betting front, FL registered a 23% rise in unit revenues to €490m (H1 2022: €396m) as its online gambling portfolio “capitalised on continued strong player momentum with new Unique Active Players up by +44% and total Unique Active Players by +36% in H1 2023 compared to H1 2022”.
Of significance, FL cited that all online gambling segments delivered double-digit growth in H1 2023: sportsbook revenue rose by 21% to €389m, online casino by 40.0% to €66m, and online poker by 24% to €28m.
Referencing its sportsbook activity, FL cited that excluding Bet-at-Home “operations discontinued in certain markets”, unit revenue would have increased by up 24% in H1 2023, with the Betclic entity driving this growth at 26%. However, Bet-at-Home recorded a 5% decline in revenue.
Despite Bet-at-Home’s continued downturn, FL maintains a positive outlook for its German sportsbook brand. The company launched its new betting and gaming platform during H1, which is expected to benefit its business from Q3 onwards.
Meanwhile, in H2, Betclic will continue its expansion in the markets of Portugal and Poland, in which the FL flagship sportsbook brand has secured new football partnerships with Liga Portugal (until 2026-27) and Polish Superliga club Ruch Chorzów SA.
Group-wide results saw FL H1 EBITDA stand at €327m, up 10% on 2022 results of €297m, as the media conglomerate declared H1 interim profits of €169m.
H2 trading will see FL incorporate its new assets of the Balich Wonder Studio, a leading global live entertainment group that specializes in creating, producing, and delivering live shows and experiences.
Group CEO, Francois Riahi, commented: “We delivered excellent first half results that demonstrate the strength of our differentiated and complementary business model, as well as the creativity and agility of our teams. We saw double-digit growth in Q2 that contributed to our earnings and profitability.”
“Our online sports betting & gaming business maintained its double-digit revenue growth across all activities thanks to an increased number of Unique Active Players and our geographic and product diversity.”
