Intertain looks to mobile for future growth
Chief exec John Fitzgerald says acquisition of Vera&John will give his firm "one of the best" mobile platforms in the industry
Intertain Group CEO John Fitzgerald (pictured) says the firm’s planned 89m takeover of Malta-licensed online casino Vera&John will give it access to “one of the best mobile gaming platforms in the industry” and spearhead the operator’s plans for future growth.
Speaking to investors after the Toronto-based company revealed its Q3 financial results yesterday, Fitzgerald also said he had been “surprised” by the growth of mobile in its Mandalay Media business, which it acquired for £60m in June and includes the Costa Bingo brand.
“We have actually been very surprised by the growth of mobile in our bingo business, where almost 50% of new customers through Mandalay are coming through the mobile product,” Fitzgerald said.
“That outstrips the industry norm of 30%-40%. So we are seeing very quick growth in the mobile business as we look to expand into other markets such as Central and South America and Mexico, and we will be leading into those markets with a mobile offering,” he added.
During the quarter, Intertain also launched its delayed Amaya-powered mobile platform for its InterCasino brand, operated through subsidiary CryptoLogic, which it acquired from Amaya Gaming last year.
Fitzgerald said that not having the mobile platform for its InterCasino site had “excluded” the brand from around 35% of the market, but now live was proving to be a “tremendous benefit” to growth.
The chief exec also said the firm’s planned acquisition of Vera&John for 89m would give them access to its own proprietary software for the first time, allowing them to be “independent” from third party and licensing agreements.
“Our acquisition of Vera&John brings with it one of the best mobile gaming platforms in the industry,” Fitzgerald said. “And that is going to be a proprietary network for us, and a product. So having that, and with the recent launch of InterCasino mobile with Amaya, we feel well positioned.”
Fitzgerald said the takeover would also give Intertain access to the fast-growing Nordic region where Vera&John generates around 75% of its revenues, and revealed plans to launch a bingo product in Scandinavia.
He also highlighted Central and South America as new target markets, particularly Mexico.
“We are looking to leverage opportunities between Vera&John and Mandalay in the near future by adding bingo to Scandinavia,” he said.
“We are currently looking at other acquisitions and keeping a close eye on future growth in Central and South America, with a focused strategy in Mexico,” he added.
Intertain posted revenues of CA$13.6m for Q3, with Mandalay Media contributing more than half of the total group revenues.
Adjusted EBITDA increased from $4.6m in Q2 to $6.9m, while unadjusted EBITDA came in at a loss of $1m with unadjusted net loss at $11.8m.