Tabcorp increases digital market share in Q1
In a trading update, Tabcorp said group revenue for the three months through to the end of September was 18.7% higher than at the same point in FY22. However, it was noted that Q1 of last year was impacted by pandemic-related restrictions on retail locations.
Revenue from its wagering and media business increased 14.2% year-on-year, with digital share rising from 23.9% to 24.7%, following a dip to 24.0% for FY22. Tabcorp said this result was almost entirely delivered on its old app, and that it expects the new app to help increase this share further in Q2 and beyond.
The new app went live in September, towards the end of Q1 and ahead of the Australian Spring Racing Carnival horse racing event. Compared to the six-week period prior to launch, Tabcorp noted a 16% increase in active weekly customers, a 7% increase in the average bet and a 33% increase in reactivations.
Meanwhile, gaming services revenue hiked 91.7% in Q1, though Tabcorp said that this was mainly due to the comparative period in FY22 being impacted by venue closures and fee relief as a result of the pandemic.
Based on the performance of the group in Q1, Tabcorp retained FY23 cost growth guidance of between 3% to 4% on FY22 pro forma. This will primarily be due to expenses related to the launch of its new app, which went live in September.
Tabcorp also retained a capital expenditure forecast of up to AU$150m for the full year, while depreciation and amortisation is expected to amount to between $250m and $260m.
“Tabcorp is focused on growth, and in particular, growing our share of the digital wagering market,” Tabcorp chairman Bruce Akhurst said. “The hero metric we have adopted to measure our performance in our core wagering business is digital revenue market share.
“We will be reporting to shareholders regularly on our progress against that measure.”
The trading update follows recent M&A activity as Tabcorp seeks to further increase digital market share.
Earlier this month, Tabcorp agreed to acquire a 20% equity interest in social digital wagering platform Dabble Sports for AU$33.0m. Founded in 2020, Dabble has over 150,000 customers and offers users a socialised betting experience.
In September, Tabcorp also agreed to sell its eBet loyalty and tracking systems business for gaming venues to Venue Digital Technology Pty Ltd, which is led by former Tabcorp and Tatts Group executive Frank Makryllos, in a deal worth AU$62.0m.
At the same time, Tabcorp’s Max Regulatory Services (MRS) was awarded the new exclusive Tasmanian Monitoring Operator Licence, through which it will monitor all electronic gaming machines (EGMs) in hotels and licensed clubs in the state.