BetStars to launch in Italy and France ahead of Euros
Amaya also promises upgrades to UX, UI and Spin&Bet product across all markets
Amaya has announced plans to launch its BetStars brand in France and Italy ahead of the European Championships, along with major product improvements.
Speaking during the firm’s Q1 earnings call, Amaya interim CEO Rafi Ashkenazi said the sportsbook debut in Italy was “imminent”, while a launch in France was expected before the 10 June kick off date.
“We are currently working with ARJEL and we are really hoping the process will be finalised by the Euros but it’s not really up to us,” said Ashkenazi. “It’s an ongoing process.”
Ashkenazi also promised “significant improvements” to the sportsbook product itself ahead of the launches, with upgrades to the UX and UI as well as the platform’s standout “Spin & Bet” innovation.
In the UK, Ashkenazi said returns on the recent BetStars ?10m marketing campaign had been “quite positive”.
“Every month we see better numbers in terms of active players, turnover and lifetime value. It’s all moving in the right direction, and it’s quite exciting to see sportsbook still growing. This is just the beginning.”
He also said the sportsbook’s margin was better than the industry average albeit on a “very different scale to the big operators”.
Specific numbers were not broken out for the BetStars product in the Q1 results, but combined with online casino, the verticals’ revenue grew by 267% year-on-year.
Ashkenazi added this was largely due to the online casino expansion in new geographies, with the sportsbook still in “investment mode”.
The growth of the two verticals reflects a deliberate effort to diversify Amaya’s offering away from poker and appeal to more recreational players. Poker accounted for 75% of revenues in Q1 compared to 89% a year ago.