SPORTS MARGINS EASE AT BETSSON
31 July 2009
Swedish gambling group blames poor sports
betting results for decline
The normally buoyant sports betting margins at Swedish
online gambling group Betsson recorded a first half 2.6
percentage point decline in the six months to June 30
2009, dropping from 10.5 percent to 7.9 percent.
Management blamed a run of sports results that favoured
the player rather than the operator for the decline,
which was also apparent in the quarterly numbers, where
a 9.8 percent margin slipped to 4.7 percent.
Betsson chief executive Pontus Lindwall remained
optimistic, however, commenting that customer action and
deposits had never been higher than in the second
quarter, indicating solid growth.
H1 2009
revenues were up 29 percent to SEK 600 million ($80
million), from SEK 464.7 million in H1 2008, and on a
quarterly basis were up 20 percent to SEK 284.6 million
(Q2 2008: SEK236.9 million).
There was a slight
one percent increase in pre-tax profit to SEK 62 million
over the quarter and a 22 percent rise to SEK145 million
over the first half of the year.
Deposits by the
punters grew by 32 percent during the second quarter and
gross sportsbook turnover rose 73 percent to SEK 644.8
million (Q2 2008: SEK373.2 million).
The
Malta-based scratch card games developer Neo Games has
signed an agreement with Betsson which will see the
integration of this style of instant win games on the
Betsson platform, management revealed. Betsson will
launch a white label platform in partnership with Nordic
Entertainment to exploit the format.
70 percent
of total gross profit for Q2 2009 came from casino
operations, up 10 percent on the same period last year.
Poker saw a decline, from 19 percent last year to 14.2
percent this time, and sportsbetting contributed 11.5
percent of gross profits, nicely up on the 7.5 percent
recorded in the Q2 2008.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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