This figure represents a slight nudge of less than half of a per cent from the SEK 6.7bn (£499.8m) witnessed through Q1. For the year-to-date, overall revenue is also down less than half a percentage point after closing at SEK 20.02bn (2022 SEK 20.09bn). 

Segmented breakdown

Looking at the country’s latest quarterly revenue in more detail, online betting and gaming maintains its front running status when highlighting each individual reporting segment, despite revenue dropping 1.34 per cent to SEK 4.25bn (2022: SEK 4.31bn). This is up 1.67 per cent quarter-on-quarter from SEK 4.18bn (£311.8m).

Svenska Spel’s lottery and Vegas slots remained consistent via a figure of SEK 1.4bn (£104.4m), while by Casino Cosmopol reached SEK 132m (SEK 9.8m), which is down 11.4 per cent from the previous year’s SEK 149m (£11.1m) but up 4.7 per cent from Q2 2023’s SEK 126m (£9.39m).

Games for public purposes, such as national lotteries, increased 2.23 per cent to SEK 822m (2021: SEK 804m), and restaurant casinos closed the period at SEK 81m (2021: SEK 62m). Community games, which includes bingo, remained consistent with SEK 49m (£3.6m).

At the end of second quarter, approximately 99,000 people were banned from gambling via the Spelpaus self-exclusion scheme, which represents an increase of 4.2 percent compared to the previous quarter’s 95,000.

Recent market developments

The latest figures released by the Spelinspektionen come after the Swedish gambling authority received an increase in funding, across the next three years, to strengthen work in combating illegal gambling and match fixing activities. 

Further recent developments to impact the market include the Swedish government announcing plans within its 2024 budget to increase the tax on gambling GGR from 18 per cent to 22 per cent in hopes of raising an additional SEK 540m (£39.4m) per year.

In addition, BOS, the Swedish trade association for online gambling, last month welcomed Ministry of Justice proposals to strengthen consumer protection and heighten safety protocols regarding risky lending and over-indebtedness.

The post Swedish gambling records best quarter of the year appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Reviewing data collected between September 3-10, the geolocation solutions provider processed 242.3 million transactions during the time frame, up 56 per cent from the corresponding period one year earlier. 

Furthermore, week one also saw 1.1 million new player accounts created across US sportsbook customers, which represents an increase of 40 per cent year-on-year.

The data also highlighted that 97 per cent of all online sports wagering transactions were made through a mobile device, with 75 per cent of those coming on iOS.

In addition, the first-quarter touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown during game one, when Detroit Lions shocked Kansas City Chiefs, sparked a huge flurry of activity, with the company processing 4,200 transactions per second immediately following the score.

“Consumer awareness around the security and fairness of legal online betting platforms has played a pivotal role in the responsible growth of the industry,” commented Anna Sainsbury, GeoComply Co-Founder and CEO.

“While the increase in our transaction volume emphasises the appetite for regulated online sports betting, our data also accentuates an urgent call to action. States without regulated online sports betting should get off the legalisation sidelines and unlock their ability to protect consumers and generate significant tax revenue.”

Collectively, the three markets of Ohio, Maryland and Massachusetts, which are experiencing their first NFL season, combined to account for 253,000 of the new accounts as well as a total of 41.3 million geolocation transactions.

Today, approximately 47 per cent of the US population has access to legal and regulated online sports betting, a figure that will be boosted to 51 per cent when North Carolina, Maine, Vermont, and Kentucky launch regulated betting as expected in the coming month

However, with “almost half of the country unprotected”, GeoComply has warned of the “significant consumer demand in six states where lawmakers are considering bills to legalise and regulate sports betting next year”. These were named as Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

The post GeoComply: NFL data an urgent call to action for unregulated states appeared first on CasinoBeats.

However, this does represent a slight nudge of 1.77 per cent from the SEK 6.58bn witnessed through Q1. For the year-to-date, overall revenue is down less than half a percentage point after closing at SEK 13.28m (2022 SEK 13.33bn).

In addition to significant progress regarding B2B licensing being made during the quarter, the April to June time frame also saw Swedish gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, gain extra funding, as well as enhanced enforcement potential, in proposals that were to be submitted to the Riksdag.

Based on an agreement between the government and Sweden Democrats, This was made to allow the SGA to better foster a safe online gaming market, in addition to intensifying efforts to counter organised crime.

Looking at the country’s latest quarterly revenue in more detail, online betting and gaming maintains its front running status when highlighting each individual reporting segment, despite revenue dropping 1.5 per cent to SEK 4.18bn (2022: SEK 4.23bn). 

Svenska Spel’s lottery and Vegas slots segment also witnessed a downfall to SEK 1.39bn (2022: SEK 1.4bn), which was echoed by Casino Cosmopol, which closed the three months at SEK 126m (2022: SEK 145m).

Games for public purposes, such as national lotteries, increased 2.98 per cent to SEK 896m (2021: SEK 870m), and restaurant casinos closed the period at SEK 51m (2021: SEK 58m). Community games, which includes bingo, remained consistent with SEK 48m.

At the end of second quarter, approximately 95,000 people were banned from gambling via the Spelpaus self-exclusion scheme, which represents an increase of 1.4 percent compared to the previous quarter.

As alluded to, following the end of the second quarter, Sweden ushered in an era of B2B licensing in a bid to increase channelling and discourage illegal gambling.

“Unlicensed game operators must not be able to use suppliers who manufacture, provide, install, and/or change game software for game operators who have a licence in Sweden,” SGA Director General Camilla Rosenberg noted in a recent update.

The permits, covering a five-year period, initially entered into force on July 1, 2023, with the regulator having granted 157 approvals thus far.

In addition to this, Rosenberg also issued an update regarding operator permits: “Most of the five-year licences that began to apply in 2019 expire at the turn of the year, and the Swedish Gaming Authority will therefore process applications for renewed licences during the fall. 

“A large number of applications have already arrived at the authority, but for those who have not yet applied, it is high time to submit the application documents.”

The post Swedish gambling drops through Q2 as B2B licence approvals hit 157 appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The necessity of building and maintaining a strong network is a familiar construct among numerous industries, and is certainly one that is not lost in the gaming community.

However, among the multitude of strategies and expert tutorials on how best to achieve such a goal, is the question of: how much do you know about your network? With this in mind, CasinoBeats is aiming to take a look under the hood, if you will, and has tasked the 100 Club to help out.

Flavien Guillocheau, Founder of PandaScore, is the next to step into the CB100 Pathways hotseat, elaborating on what will be a game-changer for esports bettors now and in the future and detailing why operators need to embrace esports amid a prediction that it will replace some traditional sports.

CasinoBeats: Could you begin by talking us through any past experiences that have been gained outside of the gambling industry? Could your career have taken any different paths?

My out-of-industry experience is fairly limited as I founded PandaScore after leaving college and soon after that, realised the platform I had developed would be of tremendous value to operators wanting to offer esports betting to their players for the first time.

Before founding PandaScore, I was studying for a psychology degree, specialising in cognitive science. I dropped out before the end of my last year to take up an opportunity with School 42, an innovative higher education institution in Paris with no professors and where students essentially learn through the process of doing rather than from a textbook. This is where I learned how to code, a skill that would prove crucial to building the initial PandaScore platform.

At first, PandaScore was developed to help esports teams improve their approach to coaching, skill development and training, but I soon realised there were tremendous opportunities in the online betting sector and so started to explore those opportunities. I guess my career could have gone down the psychology path, but my passion for data, coding and sports/esports came together perfectly with PandaScore.

CB: What was it that eventually led you into this industry?

When launching a new business in an emerging sector such as esports, you can anticipate what the finish line looks like as the industry reaches maturity. With PandaScore, I was able to look at where the sector was then and where it could be, and then use that vision to identify the sectors and verticals where the platform I had built would be a good fit. If you take a company like Sportsradar, they provide their technologies and solutions to a wide range of sectors, from media to betting.

I realised the same applied to PandaScore, and that our solutions were ideally suited to operators looking to offer esports betting.
The great thing about the betting vertical is that it doesn’t require a critical mass of users for a product to be able to generate revenue for a customer.

If you have 1,000 people regularly wagering on your esports markets, as an operator you can make money. I was also excited about the complexity of the betting product that we would need to develop and build, and the scope to bring new and innovative features to the market. Another draw was that once you have developed your platform and suite of tools, it’s easy to deploy these with a large number of operators so the commercials were attractive, too.

CB: How would you assess your progress through the industry to date? Are there any interesting anecdotes that would interest our readers, or any stand out experiences that may not have been possible without the current, or a past, role?

When we started building PandaScore Odds in 2018 we could not have been further away from our position in the gaming industry today. We had next to no understanding of the sector and how sportsbook operators functioned.

We didn’t know anyone, either. After realising this could be a big industry for PandaScore, we took the decision to attend ICE for the first time back in 2019 and it proved to be quite a shock to the system. We were used to attending gaming industry conferences, but this was something else altogether.

The sheer size of the show, all of the slot machines flashing and making sounds – it was a baptism of fire. But over the next few years, we really got to know the industry and what operators were looking for. We enhanced our platform and product suite, and started to land partnerships with major players such as Ladbrokes and Betcris.

Fast forward to now and we have the right product for the market and have the insight and experience to be able to anticipate the features and tools our partners are going to need before they know they are going to need them. This has seen us roll out things like a bet builder and micro betting markets – both of which will be a game-changer for esports bettors now and in the future.

When I look back at how far we have come since our first ICE, it’s actually quite remarkable and only possible because of the incredible team we have built at PandaScore.

CB: What would you say have been the major changes during your time working in the industry? Both for the better and worse.

The biggest change we have seen is the size of the esports betting market. Back in early ‘10s around $100m was being wagered on esports contests – today, according to Sportsradar research it is $46bn. That makes esports as big as traditional sports such as hockey when it comes to the volume of wagers being placed.

But the size of the market doesn’t really matter if operators do not understand it and this has been another area of change with most of the tier ones having now embraced esports betting, with Entain very much leading the charge. This is quite the shift from back in 2019 when we attended our first ICE, and most operators thought it was all a bit weird.

But operators really do need to embrace esports now as it will undoubtedly replace some of the traditional sports that are dying out. The next generation fans who will be the bettors of tomorrow are excited about games such as Fortnite and Valorant and will want to wager on these rather than things like horse and greyhound racing.

The likes of Entain and Betway are making moves now that will take the market share of tomorrow, and other operators should follow their example of how to approach esports betting and leverage the opportunities it provides.

CB: If you could ask the 100 Club any questions, or task them with tackling any issue, what would that be?

I would ask if they are ready to embrace esports betting now and to give it the investment it needs to gain momentum. More and more operators are offering esports markets, but they are not activating their offerings in the same way they would with traditional sports.

This means they are not getting the most out of their esportsbooks, and that means they are missing a huge opportunity to engage players and position their brand as the go-to place for esports betting among a large but growing audience of players around the world. Entain gets it, as does Betway, William Hill and Ladbrokes, but do they?

The post CB100 pathways through gaming and beyond, with Flavien Guillocheau  appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The track is scheduled for the second day (Thursday 3 November) of the conference and tradeshow at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida.

In addition to an expert slate of sessions, attendees will also have access to an exhibition in which 50 leading companies active in the region will be showcasing their latest product innovations, as well as a program of evening networking events in some of Miami’s most iconic venues.

The ‘Trip Around Latin America’s Betting Markets’ roundtables will kick-start the conference track focusing on the opportunities in Brazil, Central America, Chile, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Uruguay and Mexico.

The market experts ready to answer delegates’ questions include Pedro Melo (CCO, Clube Atlético Mineiro), Felipe Soalheiro (Managing Director, Effect Sport São Paulo), Carlos Silva Alliende (Legal and Corporate Affairs Manager, Dreams Chile), Dr Evert Montero Cárdenas (President, Fecoljuegos), Thomas Carvalhaes (Managing Director, VaiDeBob), Miguel Ángel Ochoa (President, AIEJA), Eduardo Pelaez (Head of Product, Logrand Entertainment), Oscar Paredes Arrollo (President, Palacio de Los Números), Marvin Pickering (Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission) and Manuel Cidre Miranda (Secretary, Department of Economic Development), among others. 

The roundtables will be followed by a panel discussion focusing on creating the perfect scenario for online betting in South America. Gonzalo Perez (CEO, Apuesta Total), Udo Seckelmann (Lawyer, Bichara e Motta), Juan Barrachina (LatAm Sales Director, Kambi), Ignacio Iturraspe (LatAm Sales Director, Stats Perform) will be among the speakers. 

The panellists will discuss the pros and cons of being ‘late’ in legalising online betting as compared to other countries in the region that either have operating markers or concrete regulations in place, with examples from Buenos Aires, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Uruguay. Karen Sierra-Hughes (Vice President of Latin America & Caribbean, GLI) will ask the questions.

After the lunch break, the focus will shift to Brazil. With the market expected to be worth billions, the expert speakers will discuss the proposed bills and analyse the challenges of entering a market that has been unregulated for decades. Thomas Carvalhaes (Managing Director, VaiDeBob), Andre Gelfi (Managing Partner Brazil, Betsson), Alexandre Fonseca (Brazil Country Manager, Kaizen Gaming), Martin Lycka (Director of Regulatory Affairs, Entain), and Leonardo Baptista (CEO, Pay4Fun) will guided by João Gerçossimo (CEO, EstrelaBet).

This will be followed by a presentation from Guilherme Bueno de Camargo (Secretary of Finance, São Paulo City Hall). Here, delegates will learn how ready São Paulo is to welcome the sports betting industry and introduce the services that can help the companies active in the industry do business in Brazil’s most populous city.

While South America has dominated the industry discourse, Marvin L. Pickering (Chair/Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission), Jaime Rivera Emmanuelli (Puerto Rico Gaming Commission) and Paris Smith (CEO, Pinnacle) will argue that the Caribbean should not be overlooked as it has already made some regulatory progress and will discuss the advantages of establishing business operations in these countries. Sue Schneider (VP of Growth & Strategy, Americas, SBC) will moderate. 

Other panel discussions that will take place during the Market Spotlight conference track include: ‘The Hispanic Presence in a booming market,’ featuring Jorge Muñoz Pérez (MD, Engloba Gaming), Sebastián Salazar (CEO, Estelarbet), Ida López (President, IPJYC Mendoza) and Roberto Regianini (CEO, FBMDS) and ‘Emerging Latino Markets – New and Upcoming,’ featuring Seth Young (Chief Strategy Officer, Fifth Street Gaming), Fernando Polti (CEO, Wizard Games) and Raul Bouchot (Senior Business Development Manager, Xpoint).

Find details of the event, including how to book your pass, at the SBC Summit Latinoamérica website.

The post SBC Summit Latinoamérica puts most promising markets under the spotlight appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This sees the 888bet joint venture, which was founded in March 2022, hit its target of regulated market launches in the half-year after being established, amid an “ambitious strategy to expand across Africa’s regulated online betting and gaming markets”.

888bet, which is looking to “capitalise on growing demand and maximise growth opportunities,” is led by Christopher Coyne, ex-CEO of Goat Interactive and former CMO of The Stars Group.

“We are delighted to hit our target and launch into four regulated markets within six months of founding the business,” explained Coyne.

“This is an important milestone that provides us with fantastic opportunities for further expansion in the future. 

“We have enormous ambitions and believe the strength, history and trust of the 888 brand gives us a real competitive advantage as we look to build market-leading positions across Africa. 

“We look forward to introducing 888bet and its unique offer to new players across the region in the months ahead.” 

The brand has focused on customer experience and updated that it has 85 per cent coverage of mobile network operator payments in its markets. 

888bet offers cash out, jackpots, and free to play, while 888casino features 1,500 casino games and a full offering in Zambia, with future launches planned subject to licensing. The offering is currently available in Swahili, Portuguese, and English.

Itai Pazner, CEO of 888, commented: “It is great to see Christopher and his team successfully launch 888bet in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia and begin 888Africa’s growth story on the continent. 

“As a region with significant potential, we are excited to watch 888Africa continue to develop its offer and launch new and exciting products for players over the coming years and months, while introducing consumers to the fantastic 888 brand.” 

The post 888 takes African venture live in quartet of regions appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Furthermore, this performance is also up three per cent quarter-on-quarter from SEK 6.55bn (£522.27m) but dropped 3.7 per cent from Q4 2021’s SEK 7bn, which was also the best quarterly performance of the past year.

Dissecting the year’s second quarter performance in more detail, online betting and gaming increased to SEK 4.22bn (2021: SEK 4.1bn), which remains consistent QoQ.

Svenska Spel’s lottery and Vegas slots reached revenue of SEK 1.41bn (£113.29m), which represents an increase of one per cent year-on-year from SEK 1.4bn (£112.48m) and 9.74 per cent QoQ from SEK 1.29bn (£103.65m).

The reopened Casino Cosmopol, which resumed activity in July 2021 after being closed from March 29, 2020, finished the quarter at SEK 145m (£116.5m), which represents a 40.7 per cent uptick from the SEK 103m recorded through the year’s first quarter.

Charitable lotteries’ dropped a little over 7.75 per cent to SEK 868m (2021: SEK 941m), and restaurant casinos closing the period at SEK 57m (2021: SEK 8m).

Recently, Sweden’s national gambling regulator revealed that the Spelpaus self exclusion system has surpassed 80,000 registrations.

The scheme, which went live on the opening of the Swedish market on January 1 September 2019, allows individuals to exclude themselves from any licensed game that requires registration under the country’s Gaming Act.

The post Swedish gaming regulator reports quarterly increase appeared first on CasinoBeats.

No one is in any doubt that Germany’s online betting and casino regulations make it hard for operators, but quality customer retention strategies can lay strong foundations to this huge market, writes Andrew Foster, CBDO at Enteractive.

Germany’s new gambling regulator, the Glücksspielbehörde (GGL), took up its functions on July 1 and has much to do when it comes to ensuring operators licensed in the country can make the most of what are difficult regulations for one of the biggest online betting and gaming markets in Europe. 

The official start date for the GGL is January 1, 2023, but the new authority and its staff have much to do as German-licensed operators face pressing issues when it comes to competing against unlicensed websites, generating revenues and profits. 

Under pressure 

Those pressures stem from a highly restrictive regulatory framework that permits online bookmakers to only offer live betting on match winner markets and total goals scored. When it comes to online gaming, digital poker and slots are regulated but highly popular table games such as roulette or baccarat are not. 

In addition, further restrictions on spending such as stake limits and maximum monthly spend levels also apply, with German players restricted to monthly spending limits of €1,000.

Operators meanwhile are taxed at 5.3 per cent on turnover, which is a completely different proposition to being taxed on gross revenues. The effect on the German industry has been clear. Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that in 2021 German sports betting revenues dropped 16 per cent to €7.8bn.

Regulatory enforcement 

From the outset the working environment is not particularly encouraging, but at least the market is now regulated by a federal authority that will include more than 100 staff by January next year. In addition, one of its priorities will be fighting illegal operators so that regulated operators can at least work within a protected market.

This will be an important part of the GGL’s work, because with regulated operators not allowed to offer as many live markets or online gaming products as the offshore operators it will be very easy for players to be tempted by all the products unregulated websites offer. 

Although it should be pointed out that forcing offshore sportsbooks out of the regulated market will not be easy. Most of them are prepared for enforcement actions and get around ISP blocking or blacklisting by switching their players over to mirror websites and new domain names.       

Strong foundations 

In such circumstances it is clear that one of the best ways operators can make the most of the market is by driving optimal lifetime values from their players through high customer retention rates. Doing so maximises the revenues operators generate from their players as they maintain open communication channels with them.  

This of course is what Enteractive specialises in. By providing highly localised reactivation agents that activate and engage with players in their native language we have been helping operators maximise player revenues for many years.

In the German market such work will be even more important as the financial pressures that the regulations will bring on consumer brands will be a near constant feature of their work.

Another factor worth considering is that a number of well-known brands that had strong shares of the market have decided to pull out of Germany. This means that even though there will still be high levels of competition, the operators that focus on laying strong foundations for their German businesses will be able to grow in a less crowded market than was the case just a few months ago.  

It’s also worth remembering that Germany industry stakeholders, notably its sports betting associations the DSWV, will be lobbying hard to alter the country’s online gambling regulations and make them more business-friendly for its members.   

There seems to be sentiment in the German market that the regulations will be further optimised and the hope is that this will be in favour of the licensed operators.  So even though the regulations are tough, no one doubts that there are great rewards to be gleaned from Germany. However, it is also likely to be a lengthy process, which is why operators can already start laying the foundations for strong customer retention that drives revenues and margins in partnership with Enteractive. 

Visit the Enteractive website for more info or you can get in touch directly at andrew.foster@enteractive.com.

The post Enteractive: Germany is tough, but has massive potential appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The comments come in a second quarter earnings call, which saw Neal Menashe, Super Group Chief Executive Officer, assert that the firm is “uniquely positioned to take full advantage” of a global online betting and gaming market that it expects to exceed $140bn by 2025.

“One, I believe that our year-on-year results do not properly reflect our treatment over the last 12 months,” he said on the group’s performance.

“Our continued progress across the globe is better reflected by growing global tabs on loan growth in active customer numbers. 

“Two, ongoing regulatory change post-COVID normalisation will ultimately benefit Super Group because we have an efficient cost structure and only – over 20 years track record of trading profitably through thick and thin. Importantly, our control over marketing, our products, and our operating costs gives us a number of levers to optimise them.”

In the US, the Betway and Spin casino parent company noted that the purchase of DGC, a brand licensee of the former that’s currently live in seven states and has market access in up to 12, is on track but is subject to various regulatory timelines.

“DGC will be a tremendous addition to Super Group”

In addition to acknowledging that there’s “a number of licences” that need to be granted before closing, Menashe said: “DGC will be a tremendous addition to Super Group and the fastest and most efficient way for us to enter the US. 

“We look forward to completing the regulatory approvals and having DGC become part of Super Group as soon as possible.”

Furthermore, a number of geographical updates were also offered, with it not expected that “the same level of unsustainable price competition that happened in the United States” will be witnessed in Ontario due to the regulatory restrictions of public advertising of bonuses.

“We remain confident from past experience that regulation will be favourable for us in the medium and long run, and we hope to see regulation introduced to Canada’s other provinces in due course,” Menashe commented. 

“In the meantime, we will continue to trade as before, and we expect that Canada will continue to underpin our 20-year track record of consistent profitability and cash generation. Some of our historically key Western European markets continue to be on hold.”

Elsewhere, in Germany, where the group is still operating sports betting, an assessment into the “ongoing viability” of igaming has not concluded, with the group awaiting a Dutch licence that is “not in any of our guidance for 2022”.

“…online gaming businesses are resilient, but they are not immune to macroeconomic pressures”

Looking ahead to the group’s US performance, EBITDA through 2023, assuming that the DGC purchase has concluded, is expected to be between €50m-€70m and a target to break even has been set for either the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025.

To close, Menashe addressed the global economic pressures that are being encountered by many digital incumbents.

“We believe that online gaming businesses are resilient, but they are not immune to macroeconomic pressures,” he stated.

“What Super Group has is a global footprint and a competitive cost structure that we intend to keep and improve. We are experiencing these pressures, but our underlying business is healthy and we continue and will continue to grow over time.

“Our balance sheet remains strong, our business fundamentals are sound, and we’ll stay focused on long-term opportunities around the world.”

This sees a number of potential considerations being assessed, including investing in brand and other marketing channels to generate profitable long-term growth, M&A for expansion to new and existing markets or the acquisition of skills or technology.

The post Super Group: we’ll stay focused on long-term global opportunities appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This comes after what is lauded as an “incredible period for the business” that was buoyed by the closure of the group’s William Hill transaction in addition to an array of new market entities. 

“This has been an incredible period for the business, the most significant transformation in the 21 years that I have been in 888,” noted Pazner, with Ontario, Virginia, and four African regulated markets pinpointed as key developments.

This will see launches made across Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya and Mozambique under the 888bet brand, which has come to fruition following the 888Africa joint venture being established in March.

With expectations of the addressable market across the content expected to “grow rapidly over the medium term,” Pazner addressed a “really exciting opportunity” that “could be a source of significant value” during the coming years.

“The operations are under the brand 888bet, which is already scoring well in our targeted markets, leveraging the global brand awareness of the 888 brand,” he said. “It is very early days, but we are really pleased with the rapid progress the team has made.”

Adding: “In terms of Africa. So Africa, the brand there is 888bet actually, which is the first time we’re launching that brand. So it will obviously be focused on sports betting and gaming, but the lead product in Africa is actually sports betting. 

“And in terms of access to the William Hill brand, obviously, we have access to the William Hill brand everywhere outside of the US. 

“So we can use that brand if it makes sense in the future. At the moment, we’ve decided to launch with a bet, and that will be the lead brand in the African markets.

“…there are certain markets where having all three brands won’t make sense”

This leads into a William Hill update, which deliver a tick into a third of an aforementioned three part strategy that comprises investment of resources in regions that boasts “the most attractive opportunities,” reinforcing sustainable practices, and supporting growth with strategically and financially attractive M&A.

The combination is praised as uniting “some of the industry’s strongest brands,” with almost six million customers served via 888, William Hill and Mr Green through the past 12 months.

“This acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy and really accelerates our plan to become a global leader,” Pazner said.

Continuing: “The combination with William Hill is really complementary in terms of market focus, giving us top three position in the UK and Spain and top five position across several other markets. 

“There are some additional markets where the William Hill and Mr Green brands performed strongly that we could now consider growth markets for the group. 

“And equally, there are certain markets where having all three brands won’t make sense, and we are working through all of these now as part of the integration to decide where we can optimise our investment decision and marketing approach.”

Driven by a “truly transformational period” through the first half of the year, looking ahead Pazner confidently suggests that “extensive M&A activity” has given the group a “platform to create a world leader in online betting and gaming”.

Before Yariv Dafna, CFO of 888, added a brief note on the period that lies ahead: “It is too early to talk about 2023 in details, but I can say that our priorities and focus are on integration, execution of our synergy plan and on cash generation and deleverage. We remain confident in our plans and outlook, including the midterm target of 3x leverage.”

The post 888 making ‘huge progress’ in Africa as <br> ‘landmark combination’ causes optimism appeared first on CasinoBeats.