GiG and LeoVegas highlight low sports revenue mix in Covid-19 updates
Malta-based businesses make impact announcements regarding the outbreak amid cancellation of sporting events
Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) and LeoVegas have emphasised that less than 10% of revenue mix is derived from sports betting in respective announcements concerning the coronavirus outbreak.
As the pandemic sees major sporting events postponed across the globe, operators including GVC, William Hill and Flutter Entertainment have been hit hard by the lack of sports betting action.
Malta-based GiG confirmed that revenue relating to sports betting accounted for 6.5% of total revenue in 2019. The firm has started taking measures to reduce operating expenses related to sports in both its B2C and B2B operations.
Swedish firm LeoVegas reiterated that just 9% of the company’s revenue was from sports, with the other 91% coming from casino.
However, they did concede that the cancellations were expected to result in a “substantial short-term reduction in revenue” in terms of sports betting.
GiG and LeoVegas noted their casino revenue had not been impacted by the outbreak, while both firms have implemented working-from-home policies across offices to stem the flow of the virus.
Gustaf Hagman, LeoVegas CEO, said: “Of course it is sad to see many sporting events cancelled along with the festivities surrounding them. This is expected to lead to lower revenue for LeoVegas in the sports betting segment, but given our strong position in casino, we can mitigate this effect to some extent by shifting the focus even more to our casino product.”
Richard Brown, GiG CEO, commented: “Our focus is on protecting our employees and our customers, as well as securing a stable continuation of service to our partners.
“Board and management are continuously monitoring the situation and further measures will be taken if necessary to protect employees, customers and shareholder value through these turbulent times.
“In these times of turmoil, GiG has so far proven that our technology is robust, staff agile and that there is an increased demand for our services across different verticals,” he added.
Elsewhere, Better Collective announced yesterday it could potentially suffer from a €10m loss in revenue due to the coronavirus.