Upon publishing their third-quarter 2024 accounts, Betsson AB achieved its eleventh consecutive period of growth, generating group revenues of €280 million, an 18% increase compared to 2023. The operator reported that results in Latin America grew by 34.2% to a record €69.4 million, with strong performance in Argentina, Colombia, and Peru. In Q3, it also applied for a license in Brazil to further expand its reach in the region.
Betsson reported another record period of operations in the third quarter of 2024, with casino revenue being the driving force behind the growth, increasing by more than 20% year-on-year.
Customer activity also reached a new all-time high for the operator, with deposits increasing by nearly 20%, while operating revenue (EBIT) achieved the 11th consecutive quarter of sequential growth.
Peak metrics and KPIs were detailed for Betsson's casino unit, which reached an "all-time high" in gross billing of €9.5 billion, helping to achieve record third-quarter revenues of €209 million, a 22% increase from the 2023 comparatives of €172 million.
Analyzing the third-quarter results, Betsson CEO and President Pontus Lindwall mentioned high customer activity as a key factor. He notes new record levels in customer deposits and gaming turnover during the quarter.
Lindwall also highlighted Betsson's global expansion efforts, pointing out growth in various regions. This, he added, helped to increase the revenue share from locally regulated markets from 45% in the third quarter of last year to 58%.
Revenue in Latin America increased by 34.2% to €69.4 million, a historic record driven by the casino. Revenue in Argentina, Peru, and Colombia increased compared to the same quarter last year. In Peru, an operational subsidiary obtained a local license in July for the Inkabet brand, in addition to the licenses for the Betsson and Betsafe brands acquired in June.
In the third quarter, the company also applied for a license in Brazil to further expand its reach in the region. “After several years of delay, Brazil will introduce new gaming regulation in January 2025 and, during the last quarter, we submitted our application for a local license,” commented Lindwall. “The potential market in Brazil is large, while competition is expected to be fierce, with many operators willing to invest large sums in marketing.”
“As always for Betsson, we will carefully evaluate and compare the likely marketing returns in Brazil with other countries to find the right mix and allocation of investments among our markets. The focus on efficient capital allocation is and has always been an important part of our strategy to create value for shareholders.”
Looking ahead, Lindwall reported that the fourth quarter has already started positively in terms of daily revenue, while also providing an update on the company's 2022/2025 bond and Betsson's thoughts on Brazil ahead of its market launch early next year.
The CEO concluded: “Our business continues to generate strong cash flows and the balance sheet is solid. The fourth quarter started positively with daily revenue 14% higher than the average of the full fourth quarter last year. Therefore, there are reasons to feel confident about the last quarter of the year, which is also typically the seasonally strongest quarter for customer activity.”
Source: GMB
Minister Luiz Fux of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) suspended a section of the sports betting law (14.790/2023) that prohibits the advertising of lottery services in more than one state. The decision responds to the government of São Paulo, which requested a preliminary injunction to suspend the norm after the final judgment was interrupted by a request for review by Minister Gilmar Mendes.
The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), argued that the measure was urgent because the state has an auction for the concession of its lottery services scheduled for next Monday (28).
The effectiveness of the questioned rules puts “at risk the success of public tenders and the provision of lottery services at the state level,” said the governor in the request. Fux agreed and granted the precautionary measure, which will be analyzed by the other justices of the Court.
For the minister, the proximity of the auction for the concession of lottery services in São Paulo justifies the granting of the precautionary measure, as maintaining the restrictions he considers unconstitutional tends to reduce the universe of interested companies.
The judgment on the merits had begun in the virtual plenary last Friday (18). Fux voted to declare unconstitutional the section of the law that allows advertising only in the state where the service is domiciled. The action was filed by the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Acre, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, and the Federal District.
Fux understood that the states have the competence to explore public lottery services and that the Union cannot establish differentiated treatment among the federative entities, “favoring certain states over others or favoring itself over the member states.”
“In today's reality of a globalized market and widespread diffusion of communication means, it may make sense for the state that intends to market its lottery products to carry out marketing actions at events held outside its territory, provided that the transmission of these events reaches the audience physically located within its limits,” stated the minister.
The decision does not apply to fixed-odds bets
The minister highlighted that the decision does not cover fixed-odds bets, known as bets, only the lottery modalities listed in §1 of Federal Law No. 13.756/2018, which legalized the exploration of sports betting in the country. The measure applies only to number lotteries, numbered ticket lotteries, and instant lotteries.
Source: GMB
Recently, the Minas Gerais Lottery and the MSL Group (Mineira da Sorte Loteria) launched the Trem das 11, a modality to capture the passion of the people of Minas. In the first draw, 818 people were awarded in the 12 administrative regions of the state. The maximum prize, with 11 or 0 hits, accumulated for the Saturday (26) extraction, at R$ 600,000 for those who purchase the Completinha, which gathers all bets and additional numbers on two tickets bought together.
In the draw, 806 people were awarded for the drawn numbers and 12 more regional prizes were given, one for each administrative region of Minas. The innovative format of the game offers various ways to win: in addition to the maximum prize for those who hit the 11 numbers, those who do not mark any are also awarded, and there are 8 prize tiers among the 12 possible.
Hosted by Carina Pereira and Elton Novais, winners also included, with 10 hits, 2 winners; with 9, 35 players; with 8, 370 were awarded; with 3 hits, 358 people; with 2, 37 bettors and with one hit, 4.
In the regional draw, the Trem das 11 also awarded players in the following locations: Monsenhor Paulo, Divinópolis, Barbacena, Ubá, Gouveia, Brasília de Minas, Uberlândia, Teófilo Otoni, Governador Valadares, Três Marias, Belo Horizonte, and Unaí. And in this mode of awarding, the bettor who registers their ticket on the website tremdas11.com.br, if drawn, will have their prize doubled from R$ 1,000 to R$ 2,000.
Resources for social programs
Following the success of the Scratch-off®, which has already awarded more than 600,000 people in 2024 and is present in about 2,000 points of sale, the Trem das 11 also plays an essential role in raising funds for government social programs.
From the total net revenue, 21% are reverted to the Minas Gerais Lottery and part of the value will be allocated to income and employment generation projects, as well as supporting the creation of nurseries, hospitals, and social entities.
Following the great reach of the first product launched by the MSL Group, the Trem das 11 is already in thousands of sales points that sell the Scratch-off® and can be found throughout the state of Minas Gerais.
Resulting from a consortium between the two main global lottery providers, IGT and Scientific Games, with more than 35 years of experience and infrastructure to operate lottery systems in more than 100 countries, MSL also counts on the expertise of the national company SAGA BGI.
“We are a group with extensive experience in the lottery sector in Brazil and have prepared significant investments in marketing. Additionally, we count on the knowledge of leading global market companies,” says Roberto Quattrini, CEO of the MSL Group.
The segment continues to expand in other markets around the world. In Italy, IGT and SG launched the national instant ticket lottery in 2004 and increased sales from approximately USD 400 million to over USD 11 billion. In New Jersey (USA), IGT and SG jointly manage the lottery since 2013 and have seen an annual sales increase of 20% since the start of the contract.
For more information about MSL products:
www.tremdas11.com.br
www.raspadinha.com.br
Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / X / TikTok: @tremdas11 @raspadinha.oficial
Source: GMB
