International demand drives Gaming Realms to 25.6% revenue growth in record 2023

Gaming Realms’ 2023 revenue was up by 25.6% year-on-year from 2022’s £18.65m figure. This total exceeded the £23.0m target the company predicted in a trading update in early February.

Licensing revenue, from content distribution deals, grew 33.3% to £19.92m, alleviating a 5% drop in social publishing revenue to £3.50m.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up by 29% to £10.06m from £7.80m in 2022. This takes into account head office costs of £2.89m, as well as excluding share option and related charges of £2.4m.

EBITDA, with share option and related charges of £632,000 and adjusting items amounting to £194,000 excluded, stood at £9.24m. This is a 24% year-on-year increase on the £7.45m in EBITDA recorded in 2022.

In terms of EBITDA, Gaming Realms’ licensing segment generated £11.3m, while its social publishing sector accumulated £800,000. The company states the results show it is succeeding in its plans to deliver sustainable growth.

Profit before tax went up by nearly half, with 2023’s figure of £5.17m 46.9% up on 2022’s total of £3.52m, while year-end cash balance also jumped significantly, reaching £7.5m, a 158% increase.

Gaming Realms’ chief executive Mark Segal points to the company’s Slingo offering, which is a combination of the business’ slot and bingo offerings, as a core reason for its 2023 success.

“I am delighted to present another record year for Gaming Realms,” Segal says. “We are now licensing our games into 20 regulated markets and have launched with 44 partners in the year and have 75 live games which demonstrates the scale of our content licensing business.”

New partnerships and international growth drive financial success

Gaming Realms’ portfolio of proprietary games on its remote game server went up by 10 to 75 over 2023, with the company granted igaming supplier licences in West Virginia, Sweden and Greece.

The business also launched in the regulated Portugal market. Gaming Realms says the new licences indicate its continued commitment to enhance its “distribution and market diversification”.

Gaming Realms launched its Slingo Originals content with 44 new partners, including giants such as Bet365 and Penn Entertainment, as well as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

Growth in Europe and North America

Gaming Realms states that 2023 was the year it “consolidated” its position in North America. Its content licensing revenues in the region jumped 26% to £8.1m from £6.4m in 2022. It launched with Penn Entertainment in five markets, as well as Caesars Entertainment in four jurisdictions.

The company pointed to its bespoke games in North America as another driver of success there, with its Slingo Red Wings game helping BetMGM to acquire and retain players thanks to a promotion with the Detroit Red Wings, a National Hockey League (NHL) team.

In Europe, Gaming Realms’ revenues increased by 33% to £10.5m from £7.9m in 2022. The company attributed this to growth in its key European markets of the UK, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. It also promised further launches with new partners in these nations.

Having obtained a supplier licence in Greece, Gaming Realms is expecting to go live with its first partner there soon.

Revenue growth offsets increased costs

Gaming Realms recorded revenue growth of over a quarter to alleviate increases in its expenses.

The company’s marketing spend was over double its 2022 expenditure, up from £38,000 to £95,000, while operating expenses increased by 33.3% from £2.58m to £3.44m.

Although share option and related charges costs fell from £150,000 to £103,000, administrative expenses increased by 13.9% to £4.76m from £4.18m in 2022.

Yet, with adjusted EBITDA up to over £10m for 2023, Gaming Realms reflected on its £0.3m adjusted EBITDA loss in 2019 to outline just how far the company had come over the last five years, highlighting a 48% compound growth in licensing revenue as a key driver of that success.

New launches to kick off 2024 for Gaming Realms

With a quarter of 2024 gone, the company has already signed a number of licensing deals. These include partnerships with Tetris, as well as Relax Gaming for Money Train. In total, the business increased the number of unique players in its licensing business by 24%.

Gaming Realms has also launched with 14 new operators in Q1 2024. These moves include Livescore and DAZN in the UK, as well as Entain in Spain. Gaming Realms has also launched in Ontario with Bet365, the leader in the market.

The company also launched three new Slingo games while signing a distribution agreement with Playtech to aid new market launches.

Gaming Realms described its start to 2024 as “promising” with revenue in line with expectations. This is thanks to a 20% increase in its core licensing business over the first two months of the year when compared to 2023.

Segal added: “With this momentum, we are excited to continue delivering further game launches, new partner deals and, with planned launches in West Virginia and Greece, expanding our global footprint even further.”