Operator bet-at-home reported an 11.7 per cent year-on-year decline in Q1 revenue to €11.7m, as regulatory changes in its core market of Germany took hold.
The company said the introduction of cross-product and cross-provider monthly betting limits, as well as obligations to report increased deposit limits from Q2 2023, affected revenues.
However, bet-at-home CEO Marco Falchetto noted the “positive impact” felt from the wide-ranging partnership with EveryMatrix, which included the integration of the technology provider’s OddsMatrix sportsbook solution.
Following completion of the migration in October last year, bet-at-home said Q1 personnel expenses fell by 17.3 per cent year-on-year to €2.1m.
“The group's strategic transformation will be consistently continued in the 2024 financial year,” a company statement read.
“In the area of technological development, the internal focus is made on the creation and introduction of an innovative customer loyalty programme based on real-time data processing and machine learning.
“In close cooperation with EveryMatrix, the online casino and sports betting product as well as the customer platform are being continuously improved and adapted to customer needs and legal requirements of the German-speaking market.”
Ahead of football’s Euro 2024 competition, held in Germany this summer, bet-at-home’s Q1 advertising expenses grew by €1.8m to €4.5m as it looks to beef up its brand awareness in the host country and in the operator’s other key market of Austria.
EBITDA before special items amounted to €208,000 and fell year-on-year from Q1 2023’s €2.5m.
Bet-at-home said it expects gross 2024 betting and gaming revenue to total between €45m and €53m, with EBITDA before special items forecasted to tally at between €-1m and €2.5m.
But Falchetto insisted that despite Euro 2024 providing something to look forward to for the operator, further regulatory changes in Germany could dampen the outlook.
“Additional regulatory developments in Germany are to be expected, in particular further changes in relation to the range of bets that can be authorised and additional requirements regarding the system for limiting customers,” he said in a letter to shareholders.
“The exact form of these requirements will have a significant impact on the extent to which the online gaming market is channelled to licensed providers and will therefore impact the Group’s revenue opportunities in the core market of Germany.
“In the light of numerous challenges in the competitive environment and far-reaching adjustments required by the strategic transformation, the 2024 financial year is considered to become challenging and will require further classical turnaround management actions.”
