DAZN, as a sports broadcaster, sees the gambling business as a natural extension of the user experience, relying on subscription models and event rights to grab market share in core European markets; while Evoke Group aims to achieve robust performance growth by 2025, but due to a significant increase in UK gambling tax rates, plans to close non-core retail stores and assess asset sales. Although the paths of the two companies are different, both focus on the European market, especially Italy as a key layout area. Relevant European gambling industry compliance operations and market expansion cases can be found on the PASA official website.
DAZN: Sports IP + Gambling Integration, Italy Becomes Benchmark Market
DAZN bases on sports broadcasting and expands boundaries through gambling business, forming a unique competitive advantage:
Expansion Core Logic
User Journey Complementarity: CEO Shay Segev says, "Fans betting on Barcelona to win are likely watching the game on DAZN," gambling complements the broadcasting service, without forcing user participation;
Integrated Multifaceted Experience: Users can achieve a one-stop experience on the platform including watching games, community chatting, ticket purchasing, buying peripherals, participating in gamified challenges, personalized replays, and gambling.
Market Layout and Success Stories
Coverage: Launched DAZN Bet in the UK in August 2022, expanded to Germany and Spain in 2023, recently obtained a license in Ontario, Canada, and is about to enter non-European markets;
Italy Benchmark: Renewed exclusive broadcasting rights for Serie A until 2029 in 2023, becoming the only platform in Italy that can watch all Serie A games; the local online gambling and betting market size reaches 5 billion euros, DAZN achieves deep integration of broadcasting and gambling with exclusive rights, becoming a model of industry integration.
Coordination with Regulation
Focus on Compliant Markets: Operates only in regulated markets such as the UK, Spain, Italy, and Germany, actively communicating with governments and regulatory agencies;
Value Co-creation: Emphasizes to regulators that the more the platform profits, the more it can invest in sports leagues, helping clubs to recruit excellent players, forming a "profit - reinvestment - league improvement" positive cycle.
Evoke: Performance Growth Under Pressure, Closing Stores and Selling Assets in Response to Tax Increase
Evoke's performance meets targets in 2025, but aggressive UK tax increases force the company to start contraction and asset optimization:
Core Performance
Revenue and Profit Increase: Annual revenue of 1.79 billion pounds (about 2.44 billion US dollars), up 2% year-on-year; adjusted EBITDA expected between 355 million to 360 million pounds, up 15% year-on-year, benefiting from profit focus and cost control;
Strong Momentum in Q4: Revenue of 464 million pounds (down 3% year-on-year), but gambling revenue up 9%, retail gambling up 10%, international gambling up 14%, setting quarterly revenue records in core markets Italy and Denmark.
Key Actions in Response to UK Tax Increase
Tax Rate Impact: UK remote gambling tax from 21% to 40% (effective April 2026), remote betting tax from 15% to 25% (effective April 2027), described by CEO Per Widerström as "severely damaging the industry and player interests";
Contraction and Disposal: Plans to close "no longer sustainable" retail stores, reduce costs; advance overall or partial business sales, considering divesting Italian business (potentially raising hundreds of millions of pounds), with Morgan Stanley involved in the assessment;
Strategic Focus: The board focuses on maximizing shareholder value, believes that tax increases may promote the illegal black market, and is fully assessing strategic options.
Industry Observation: European Gambling Market, Integration and Pressure Coexist
The dynamics of the two companies reflect the differentiated pattern of the European gambling industry:
DAZN's Opportunity: Relying on sports IP advantages, achieving "content + gambling" deep integration, meeting user needs and easily obtaining regulatory approval, providing a differentiated development path for the industry;
Evoke's Challenge: Traditional gambling operators impacted by high tax rates, forced to "cut off an arm to survive" through store closures and asset sales, highlighting the direct impact of policy changes on the industry;
The Specificity of the Italian Market: As a core battlefield for both companies, it has DAZN's innovative "content-bound gambling" model and Evoke's traditional operational layout, becoming a microcosm of the European gambling market, with relevant compliance operation experiences available for more reference on the PASA official website.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders" gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
