The Kindred Group, which counts Unibet, Maria Casino and StanJames.com among its gaming brands, reported record gross winnings revenue of £153.2m in the first three months of 2017, a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent.

Record Q1 for Kindred

Underlying EBITDA for Q1 was £30.3m, up from £28.5m in the first quarter of 2016, while profit before tax for the period was down to £18.2m from £22.5m.

The profit figures took account of mergers-and-acquisitions costs of £600,000 related to the proposed acquisition of 32Red and non-cash items of £3.9m.

In a statement, group CEO Henrik Tjärnström said: “Despite strong comparatives, new all-time high in active customers and gross winnings revenue [were achieved].”

“Despite a low sports betting margin over the first quarter of 2017 (six per cent after free bets), gross winnings revenue grew by 25 per cent to £153.2m - a 12 per cent rise in constant currencies.

“In the first quarter of 2017, 34 per cent of the group’s gross winnings revenue came from locally regulated markets. Gross winnings revenue from the mobile channel grew by 53 per cent and accounted for 73 per cent of total gross winnings revenue in the first quarter.”

Providing an update on Q2 performance to date, Tjärnström said: “In the period to April 23, average daily gross winnings revenue was 24 per cent higher compared to the same period in 2016. Adjusting for the impact of exchange rate changes, the growth was 17 per cent.”