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etsson Group revenue for the second quarter was SEK 1,532.8 million (USD 173 M), an increase of 20% year on year. Casino revenue climbed by 40%, while sportsbook revenue decreased by 34% with the sportsbook margin at 6.9%. Operating income was SEK 217.7 million (USD 24.5 M).
During the first half of the year, group revenue was SEK 2,950.3 million (USD 333 M), an increase of 13%. Operating income was SEK 478.3 million (USD 53.9 M), up 6% year-over-year, and net income was reported at SEK 422.5 million (USD 47.6 M), an increase of 5%.
The company highlighted signifcant events during the period, including the completed acquisition of GiG’s B2C vertical, new market entries into Colorado in the US and Kenya. Betsson said the daily average revenue in the third quarter 2020 until 16 July was 35% higher than in the same period of 2019.
Pontus Lindwall, President and CEO of Betsson AB, noted that the company has delivered all-time high revenues under the most challenging conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “We responded quickly and decisively to make changes in the offer, and I am particularly pleased to see the strong performance in casino,” he stated. “Sports betting revenues continued to be impacted in the second quarter by the pandemic as expected, however benefited from the progressive return of football and other sporting events at the end of the quarter. Our business has remained financially robust and resilient to this impact, being both diversified and flexible.”
Lindwall said the ongoing transition from offline to online has been further accelerated as a consequence of the global lockdowns, which “will benefit the strategic direction of our business both short and long term.”
After the second quarter, the CEO said the company has taken further steps to strengthen its position in South America, where Betsson has expanded its presence in the only regulated market by acquiring 70% of the Colombian based operator Colbet, giving them access to the Colombian market for online sport betting and casino.
“During this pandemic, governments have been modelling a range of scenarios of potential impact, several governments took immediate temporary actions on our industry such as either suspending gambling both offline and online or implementing restrictions on marketing,” Lindwall stated. “In the beginning of the third quarter, when most countries had removed Corona-related restrictions, Sweden sadly enough implemented restrictions on online casino, without empirical evidence. This measure will unfortunately push even more consumers to play outside of the Swedish regulation.”
