Australia’s leading sportsbook, Sportsbet, continued its upward trajectory in the first six months of 2022 with revenue up 5% to £612 million (US$743 million).
The improvement was aided by further increase in the company’s player base as the average number of monthly players grew by 10% year-on-year to £993 million (US$743 million) – pushing Adjusted EBITDA up by 9% to £219 million (US$1.2 billion) and gross profit by 4% to £322 million (US$391 million). Adjusted operating profit grew by 9% to £206 million (US$250 million).
In announcing its H1 results, Sportsbet’s UK parent Flutter entertainment – which itself saw revenue grow 11% to £3.39 billion (US$4.11 billion) – attributed its positive momentum to strong retention of players who migrated online during the second half of 2021. when COVID restrictions in Australia were at their peak.
“Sportsbet delivered another strong performance, once again demonstrating excellent execution across product, value and brand,” the company said.
“Following significant retail restrictions in 2H21, we focused on retaining customers through targeted generosity initiatives ahead of the new AFL and NRL season in H1.”
Sportsbet is also well positioned, Flutter said, to swallow the impact of recently announced increases to the point of consumption tax in three states and territories – Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory – which it expects will cost an additional £22 million (US$27 million) in 2022 and £73 million (US$89 million) in 2023.
“Sportsbet has a strong track record of managing regulatory risk, having taken meaningful market share and grown profits after the initial implementation of POC taxes in 2019,” it explained.
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