Betsson has highlighted a record year in 2023 as operations concluded with new highs in customer activity in the fourth quarter.
Following the strong year, President and CEO Pontus Lindwall stated that he is looking forward to 2024 “with confidence” and that the operator is “well positioned for continued value creation” thanks to its strong financial position.
Record 2023 for Betsson
Publishing its financial results, Betsson declared a group revenue of €251.9m, a 14 per cent uptick year-over-year (Q4 2022: €220.6m) and an organic increase of 36 per cent in comparison to the previous year.
EBITDA for Q4 was €71.9m, up 40 per cent YoY (Q4 2022: €51.1m), with a margin of 28.6 per cent.
Operating income for the quarter was €57m, up 42 per cent YoY (Q4 2022: €40m) with a margin of 22.6 per cent, while net income was €43.3m (Q4 2022: €32.7m).
Q4 operating cash flow was €47.6m (Q4 2022: €75.5m), while net cash was €59.6m (Q4 2022: €65.7m).
For the full year, group revenue rose by 22 per cent to €948.2m (2022: €777.2m) with an organic increase of 40 per cent.
“When we sum up the jubilee year 2023, we can look back on a new record year for Betsson.”
Betsson President & CEO Pontus Lindwall
EBITDA improved in 2023 by 52 per cent to €262.7m (2022: €172.4m) with a margin of 27.7 per cent.
Operating income for the full year was €210.5m, up 60 per cent YoY (2022: €131.2m) with a margin of 22.2 per cent. Net income came in at €173m (2022: €114.7m) while operating cash flow was €230.4m (2022: €178.7m).
Reflecting on Q4 and 2023, Lindwall highlighted Betsson’s 60 years of operations, including being one of the first in the online gaming space.
“When we sum up the jubilee year 2023, we can look back on a new record year for Betsson,” the CEO said.
“Several important strategic initiatives were taken to strengthen the product offering, manage risks through geographic diversification, and to create the conditions for continued profitable growth with an increased share of revenues from locally regulated markets.”
Customer activity highs
Per vertical, casino operations reported its highest gaming turnover and revenue ever, as revenue rose by 25.1 per cent to €182.8m (Q4 2022: €146.1m) representing 72 per cent of the total revenue earned during the quarter. Turnover improved by 29.2 per cent to €9.2bn (Q4 2022: €7.1bn).
Sportsbook turnover was also the highest ever recorded at €1.7bn, up 18.3 per cent YoY (Q4 2022: €1.4bn). However, revenue declined by 5.2 per cent to €67m (Q4 2022: €70.7m), representing a 27 per cent share of the total revenue with a margin of 6.2 per cent (Q4 2022: 7.3 per cent).
Revenue from other products (poker, bingo and other) came in at €2.1m (Q4 2022: €3.8m). Active customers fell by six per cent to 1,345,129 (Q4 2022: 1,424,794).
Lindwall continued: “The high customer activity continued during the fourth quarter with new record levels in customer deposits and gaming turnover in both casino and sports betting.
“Once again, the Group reports the highest levels ever for revenue and operating profit, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of sequential growth. The growth rate compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year should be viewed in light of the fact that the comparative period included the World Cup in football.
“The football results continued to be favourable for players with favourite wins and plenty of goals, leading to the quarter’s sportsbook margin of 6.2 (7.3) per cent being the lowest reading for a single quarter in the past two years.
“Our vision is to offer the best customer experience in the gaming industry and an important feature of this is that we always offer competitive odds and chances for our customers to win. This simply means that sometimes players win a bit more and the sportsbook margin varies from quarter to quarter, depending on the sports results.”
During Q4, Betsson launched online sports betting in France, in addition to securing an online casino licence in Belgium via a partnership with Groupe Partouche.
Regional performance
Looking at Betsson’s performance per region, YoY growth occurred in Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as Latin America segments, but declined in the Nordics and Rest of the World segments.
CEECA had the biggest share of the total Q4 revenue at 42 per cent, followed by Latin America with 21 per cent, Nordics with 18 per cent, Western Europe with 17 per cent and ROW with two per cent.
Nordics revenue fell by 12.6 per cent YoY during the quarter to €46.1m (Q4 2022: €53.1m). Revenue fell in Sweden and Finland but improved in Denmark in comparison to the previous year.
For Western Europe operations, revenue improved by 61.8 per cent to €41.7m (Q4 2022: €25.8m). Italy achieved an all-time revenue record driven by casino and high deposits and turnover. Operations in Germany declined YoY which Betsson attributed to market restrictions.
CEECA revenue increased by 25.2 per cent in Q4 to €106.8m (Q4 2022: €85.3m) following strong underlying activity and casino revenue growth.
“We see a continued positive development where more countries introduce regulation to enable online gaming with local gaming licenses and reasonable conditions for players and operators.”
Betsson President & CEO Pontus Lindwall
Greece operations achieved an all-time high in revenue, Croatia continued to develop, while Lithuania and Estonia reported growth. However, Georgia reported a decrease YoY due to a lower sportsbook margin, while Latvia saw a decline as well.
Online casino operations were launched in Serbia at the end of Q3 and have since demonstrated good development.
Latin America revenue rose by 1.7 per cent during the quarter to €53.3m (Q4 2022: €52.3m). Sportsbook revenue was limited, while activity decreased since the World Cup occurred during the same period the previous year. Casino revenue increased YoY.
Argentina reported growth thanks to casino operations, while Colombia declared YoY improvements as well. Peru saw a decrease in revenue due to lower activity.
ROW revenue fell by 8.9 per cent YoY in Q4 to €3.7m (Q4 2022: €4m) due to a lower sportsbook margin in Nigeria and lower activity in Canada.
Lindwall stated: “The share of revenue from locally regulated markets continued to increase and amounted to 45.9 per cent (34.2 per cent) in the fourth quarter. We see a continued positive development where more countries introduce regulation to enable online gaming with local gaming licenses and reasonable conditions for players and operators.”
Looking ahead
Since the end of Q4, Betsson launched its online casino offering in Belgium under the name betFIRST, in addition to securing a sponsorship deal with Colombian football club Atletico Nacional.
The operator also has plans to apply for gaming licenses in Peru and Brazil once those respective markets introduce their licensing systems.
Lindwall concluded: “I look forward to 2024 with confidence. Betsson is well positioned for continued value creation thanks to a strong financial position, proprietary technology, an attractive customer offering and – above all – our employees.
“I would like to thank our employees for all their great efforts in 2023 and also extend my gratitude to our shareholders for the trust they have shown.”
