Bet365 ready for UK adjustments as revenues return to +£3bn 

Bet365 has declared an underlying loss of £60m for the financial year of 2022/2023, attributed to expanding its technology resources and growing its corporate headcount to over 7,600 global staff.

The loss was detailed in the private company’s 2022/2023 accounts, which were published on Companies House, spanning a 52-week period up to 26 March 2023.

Despite the loss, Bet365 reported positive trading as its business returned to its pre-pandemic performance, generating betting and gaming revenues of £3.39bn, up 19% on 2021/2022 results of £2.85bn.

The headline figure shows Bet365 hitting the £3bn revenue mark for the first time since publishing its 2018/2019 accounts.

Period trading saw Bet365 increase its operating expenses by £585m (a 24% increase) to £2.89bn. The firm’s corporate statement detailed increased investment in product development, content, and live gaming platforms, including the development of a new ‘proprietary games recommendation engine’.

Further expenditure was attributed to Bet365 launching its sportsbook platform in the US states of Colorado, Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia.

EBITDA before corporate director’s salaries and Stoke FC costs decreased by 15% year-over-year to £322m, as Bet365 declared a pre-tax loss of £60.2m, reversing corporate profits of £76m declared for 2021/2022 trading.

In the UK, Bet365 outlined its confidence in meeting all regulatory duties proposed by the government’s Gambling Review, including stake limits on slots and financial risk checks.

Commenting on the results, industry analysts Regulus Partners cited: “Bet365 has clearly shrugged off the difficult comps caused by UK compliance issues and is likely to have delivered strong growth in the UK over the period (contrary to most larger licensees).”

In light of pending UK adjustments, analysts are monitoring signs of a potential M&A by the company to see whether or not Bet365 deploys its balance sheet for regenerative M&A or continues to be a reliable but less threatening cash machine for its owners, then becomes a very big question for the gambling industry as a whole.

Elsewhere, as reported by SportsBusiness, Bet365 is the current front-runner to become the first betting sponsor of the UEFA Champions League. An agreement would represent Bet365’s biggest sports sponsorship since serving as the headline sponsor of Sky Sports Premier League matchday broadcasts in 2016.