Newgioco sees sports handle increase as leagues return in May
Newgioco Group has reported a “robust” increase in its sports betting handle in May as major sports events began to resume amid the ongoing novel coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.
The group’s sport betting handle in May amounted to $1.3m (£1.0m/€1/1m), a 116.7% improvement from $600,000 in April.
Newgioco said its handle was boosted by the restart of the Germany's top-tier club football competition the Bundesliga, which returned behind closed doors on 16 May.
The group also highlighted the reopening of its Italian retail locations at the start of May, following a period of temporary closure that stretched back to when the country entered lockdown on 10 March.
Newgioco added that it expects its sports betting handle to improve again in June after a number of other major football events restart, albeit behind closed doors.
Spain’s La Liga restarted yesterday (11 June), while Italy’s Coppa Italia knockout competition will resume later on today. The English Premier League will also return from 17 June, with the Italian Serie A due to follow on 20 June.
“The results reflected in our rebounding performance within Europe is a prime example of the importance of geographic diversification and product diversification of our business model,” Newgioco chief executive Michele Ciavarella explained.
Away from football leagues and Ciavarella highlighted the scheduled return of events in North America, including the NBA basketball league and ice hockey’s NHL, as a further improving the business' prospects.
“Revised league play schedules could likely mean that thousands of matches will be played over the next few months, which despite the three month lockdown from March through May gives us great confidence that we can achieve our stated performance goals through the remainder of 2020,” he said.
The update comes after Newgioco this week also announced it had established a new US-facing operating subsidiary with the aim of expanding its sports betting operations throughout the country.
Elys Gameboard Technologies will run as a wholly owned subsidiary of the business, with Newgioco to code its Elys betting platform for US certification.