Cost-cutting drive helps bet-at-home to Q1 revenue rise
Malta-licensed operator sees EBITDA and net profit grow after cuts in marketing spend
Bet-at-home’s gross gaming revenues (GGR) for the first quarter of 2013 rose 7.5% year-on-year with the operator citing the reactivation of existing customers and reducing marketing spend as the driving factors behind the growth.
The operator increased its registered customers from 3.23 million announced in Q4 2012 results to 3.3 million in Q1 2013, while it also cut back on advertising expenses due to a lower number of significant sporting events in 2013 compared to last year. Bet-at-home’s marketing spend decreased from 11.09m in Q1 2012 to 9.99m in the first three months of 2013 “ a cut of around 10%.
The Malta-licensed company’s GGR for the three months of 2013 increased to 22.69m compared to 21.11m in the same period last year. Meanwhile EBITDA for the quarter was up 77.8% year-on-year, while net profit increased 62.9% compared to the corresponding period last year, rising from 1.43m to 2.33m.
The first quarter saw bet-at-home suffer two regulatory setbacks, with the operator losing its appeal against its inclusion on the Belgian Gaming Commission’s blacklist of unlicensed operators in February. It argued its blacklisting and associated internet service provider (ISP) blocks had violated its rights to free speech and free commerce in the EU member state, only to be told that it “could not invoke the rights of an ISP”.
January saw Bet-at-home’s complaint over the tender process for the awarding of Austria’s lottery licence to Ãsterreichische Lotterien GmbH rejected by Austria’s Constitutional Court, which argued that the licensing process was “appropriate and justified”.