Sportingbet year-end results: market-by-market breakdown
Sportingbet is focusing on several markets simultaneously as "it is aware that regulatory uncertainty exists in many markets in which the Group operates and therefore a broad geographic base helps to reduce the impact of potential regulatory shocks which may occur," the company said today.
SPORTINGBET IS focusing on several markets simultaneously as “it is aware that regulatory uncertainty exists in many markets in which the Group operates and therefore a broad geographic base helps to reduce the impact of potential regulatory shocks which may occur,” the company said today.
The announcement was included in Sportingbet’s financial year-end results, in which the compnay revealed that Europe, the company’s main market, saw an increase in the amount wagered on sport of 21%, to £917.5m (2008: £755.5m), generating a gross margin of £93.6m (2008: £75.4m) up 24%.
The number of sports bets rose 12% to 57.5m (2008: 51.5), and the average size of bets increased 9% to £15.90 (£14.66).
However the growth was despite a dip in gaming revenues from the Turkish business, which fell by 15% year-on-year as a result of the group reducing the importance of this market. Turkey accounted for approximately 13% of revenue during the year, compared to 17% for 2008.
The company’s UK home market also experienced a dip, falling 21%. However Sportingbet said that the “impact of the recession in the UK has led to the cost of media falling, enabling the group to consider strategies in this market which hitherto had been prohibitively expensive.” These include Sportingbet’s sponsorship of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton football clubs.
Sportingbet’s core markets of Greece and Spain saw gaming revenues up 56% and 11% respectively.
Eastern Europe continues to be a significant growth market, growing in aggregate by 26% to account for 15% of revenues, compared to 13% in 2008. In other European markets, increased focus on France and Germany following more certainty around the longer term regulatory outlook, has resulted in an increase in net gaming revenue of 51%.
During the year Sportingbet launched websites South Africa and Romania and sold its unprofitable Italian business for a nominal sum.
In Australia, amounts wagered increased by 13%, from £543m to £612m resulting, in pre-tax margin increasing 24%, from £23.4m to £29.1m. The Australian operation comprises two elements: an internet business accounting for 34% of the amounts wagered and 46% of the gross margin, and a telephone business on which the number of bets per telephone customer has decreased 26% from an average of 149 bets per year to 110 per year.
The board’s calls for a broad geographical base also saw the group invest in its emerging markets division, which is focused primarily on Brazil and Canada.