TheScore touts Canada opportunity in Q3 earnings report

Score Media and Gaming has released financial results for the three and nine months ending May 31 amid an ongoing push to expand its footprint in the US and ahead of a significant opportunity in Canada, which legalized sports betting in June. The Canada-based sports media giant and mobile betting operator reported an EBITDA loss of $21.1m in Q3 2021 compared to a loss of $8.7m for the same period last year. Gaming handle totaled $73m, including a record $30.8m in March, but gross gaming revenue (GGR) was -$40,000 in the third quarter. The firm was fueled by its media wing in Q3, with record media revenue of $8.9m, a 270% year-over-year growth from the same period last year. However, that was partially offset by negative net gaming revenue of $2.5m. Score Media and Gaming is nonetheless bullish on its future prospects – particularly in Canada – with CEO and chairman John Levy highlighting “an enormous potential market opportunity in our home province of Ontario, which is expected to be the largest regulated sports betting market in North America by population upon its expected opening later this year.” Meanwhile, Levy cited costs associated with theScore’s IPO and efforts to expand its US footprint, in addition to developing its own tech stack, as reasons for the underwhelming financial results. “We continue to work through the licensing process ahead of launches of theScore Bet in additional US states, with an expectation that we will at least double the number of markets in which we are live in the next 12 months,” said Levy. “Next month will mark a major milestone, as we plan to fully deploy our proprietary, internally developed PAM and promotion engine,” Levy added. “These custom built, cutting-edge systems will unlock additional user personalization, cross-platform integration capabilities and platform automation, which we believe will serve to further differentiate theScore Bet’s best-in-class offering and drive both near- and long-term growth.” Despite the optimism, theScore’s stock dropped nearly 10% following the announcement of the earnings report. Elsewhere, online betting industry veteran Patrick Jay has joined theScore to oversee sportsbook operations. Jay spent six years as a sportsbook trading director with Ladbrokes from 2004, while his recent roles have seen him hold executive positions at now-defunct start-up operator Addison Global and Belgium-based GAMING1.