Customers and revenue up at Sky Betting & Gaming

Sky Betting & Gaming has reported a significant year-on-year increase in revenue and customers for the 2016-17 financial year whilst boosting its total workforce by 40%.

Group revenue amounted to £516m (€583.8m/$677.2m), which represents an increase of 38% on the £374m posted in the previous 12 months, according to Insider Media.

Revenue from the company’s Sky Bet division hiked 46% year-on-year to £314m, while revenue from the Sky Gaming business also jumped 27% to £202m.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the entire group climbed 38% from £105m in the 2015-16 financial year to £146m.

Aside from improvements across key financials, Sky Betting & Gaming reported an increase in customers, with the total number of users up 31% to 2.6 million.

In addition, the company was able to expand its workforce by 40% in the past year and continued to roll out its international growth plans with the launch of the Skybet.it platform.

Richard Flint, chief executive of Sky Betting & Gaming, said: “The business performed very well in 2016-17, with further investments in product, technology and brand delivering strong financial results.

“During the year, we invested in people and technology in our Yorkshire base, with a 40% increase in headcount, helping us to cement our position as the UK’s most popular online betting brand.”

Flint also outlined the company’s ongoing commitment to protecting customers from gambling-related harm and spoke about the measures it has in place to help combat such issues.

“Protecting customers from harm, and providing a safe betting and gaming environment is critical to our success, and we continue to invest in more people and better processes to identify and protect vulnerable customers,” Flint said.

Sky Betting & Gaming ended the 2016-17 financial year by completing the £820m refinancing of a loan.

Related article: SkyBet chief urges against gambling tax rise in UK