Gamesys revenue up 75% in first full year since Jackpotjoy merger

The sharp increase in revenue was partly due to 2020 being the first full year following Jackpotjoy’s acquisition of Gamesys, in which it took the Gamesys brand name. If a full year’s worth of activity from both operators is included, Gamesys’ revenue was up 29.0%.

More than half of Gamesys’ revenue, at £423.3m, came from the UK, up 97.3%. Asia brought in revenue of £218.3m, up 78.3% as Gamesys launched the new InterCasino brand.

Europe was the only location from which revenue declined, by 0.9% to £68.0m, largely due to “ongoing challenges in the Nordics”, such as the SEK5,000 (£428/€476/$540) mandatory weekly deposit cap introduced in Sweden in July.

Rest of world revenue – mostly in New Jersey – grew 90.5% to £18.1m.

“Our focus on recreational customers, our differentiated brands, proprietary technology and established market positions, have attracted record numbers of players in 2020 and we believe this foundation will allow us to continue to deliver sustainable and long-term growth in the year ahead and beyond,” Gamesys chief executive Lee Fenton said.

The operator’s costs and expenses were up 67.0% to £634.3m. Distribution costs were the largest expense, at £399.9m, up 86.9%. Administrative costs were up 51.2% to £221.5m.

Gamesys paid an additional £24.7m in financial costs, up 3.4% with £24.0m of these costs being interest expenses.

This left net income from continuing operations of £68.7m, up 475.3%. After paying £1.5m in taxes, Gamesys’ net income was £67.2m, up 638.4% year-on-year.

Gamesys incurred a further £7.1m in other expenses, mostly related to foreign exchange, resulting in a final profit of £60.1m, more than 30 times more than its 2019 profit of £1.9m.

“We are pleased to announce another strong set of results, particularly against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has impacted so many across the world,” Gamesys chair Neil Goulden said. “All our colleagues have done an incredible job in maintaining seamless business continuity throughout the year, while also enhancing our responsible gambling approach to ensure we remain a best-in-class operator in protecting our recreational players.”

The operator also announced that its chief people officer Tina Southall will join its board effective today.

Southall joined Gamesys as chief people officer in 2014. She previously worked as Vodafone’s diversity director.

“I am delighted to welcome Tina to the Gamesys board. She has been at the heart of establishing the Gamesys values, our DNA and a highly successful new way of working for the company during the current pandemic,” Goulden said. “I am confident that Tina will continue to evolve our culture as we face the future, bringing valuable insight and new perspectives to the board.”

Goulden said the appointment shows that Gamesys’ board recognises the importance of the operator’s employees.

“Our commitment to both employees and players is further emphasised with today’s 

announcement of the appointment to the board of our chief people officer, Tina Southall,” he said. “On behalf of the board, I am delighted to welcome Tina and I’m sure she will add a very important new voice to our deliberations.”