Global Betting Services growth pushes revenue up at BetMakers in Q1
The provider said it went live with six new platform operators during the quarter, taking the total number of platform and managed trading services customers within its Global Betting Services segment to 24 by the end of Q1.
A further three clients have also launched since the end of the quarter including NTD, a new wagering venture by News Corp Australia and Tekkorp that signed up BetMakers as its tech partner.
The parties struck an initial agreement in April to collaborate on the venture, though this was updated in August, with the new deal setting out how NTD would acquire assets from local operator TexBet.
The updated deal also included the potential for BetMakers to earn a further AU$20.0m (£11.2m/€12.9m/US$12.9m) from the NTD partnership, in addition to the $300.0m set out in the original agreement.
NTD launched with Betr on BetMakers’ platform on 12 October, ahead of the Melbourne Cup Australian horse racing event, but after the end of the quarter.
BetMakers said this launch would likely drive further growth in Q2 and beyond, building on its success in the first quarter, during which revenue increased from $21.0m last year to $23.8m.
Aside from growth within the Global Betting Services segment, BetMakers also reported a 34% year-on-year rise in Global Racing Network revenue, driven by expanded wagering operator integrations and commencement of Penn National Gaming content offering.
In addition, Global Tote revenue climbed 7%, with highlights from Q1 including the ongoing implementation of a new tote betting system in Norway, as well as the delivery of a betting application for UK Tote Group customers.
Turning to costs and operating expenses for the quarter reached $29.7m, up 32.0% year-on-year, primarily due to a 65.4% rise in staff spend from $10.7m to $17.7m.
Expenses related to investing activities amounted to $10.2m, down 7.3% year-on-year from $11.0m in Q1 of 2022. However, net cash used in financing activities was $8.1m, whereas last year, BetMakers took $303,000 from such activities.
BetMakers did not reveal net profit figures for the period, but it did note that it ended the period with $64.0m in net cash, compared to $108.8m in the previous year.
Publication of the quarterly results comes after BetMakers this week also announced that it had acquired ABettorEdge, trading as Punting Form, for up to $20.0m.
Punting Form uses proprietary IP and artificial intelligence to create sectional times and benchmarks for horse racing, which are used for time-based ratings systems. Professional wagering syndicates, betting operators, content creators and form analysts use the service.
BetMakers said the purchase will further strengthen its position as a provider of B2B data and technology services for horse racing and form part of its Global Betting Services division.