Q2 results: Affiliates take the plunge while Macau and sportsbooks thrive

Results from the latest quarter have unveiled a series of notable trends among various sectors of the gaming industry. While US sportsbooks and Macau casinos continue to see annual growth, other sectors have struggled, while some individual operators and suppliers may see their wings clipped by wider business moves, such as mergers and acquisitions.

Results from the US sports betting and iGaming markets should come as little surprise, with FanDuel and DraftKings leading the charge while BetMGM and Caesars Digital, the online divisions of MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, respectively, fell somewhat behind.

Interestingly, DraftKings generated a higher net income than Flutter-owned FanDuel fpr Q2, though it must be noted that this result reflects the Flutter brand as a whole, including international brands, as FanDuel’s individual net income/loss is not reported. Regardless, this result shows profitability for DraftKings, and a rate of continued growth, having reported a loss of $305.5m for Q2 2021, now to a net income of $157.9m in Q2 2025.

While Las Vegas has shown fluctuating rates of growth in the past six months, with February – May reporting an annual decline in revenue, Macau and its operators have shown continued growth, with Macau’s gaming revenue in June up 19% compared to Nevada’s growth of 3.5%.

Moreover, in Macau, table games have been shown to be thriving, with table drop outperforming slot handle at the majority of properties. Compare this to the recent news that Golden Gate Hotel & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas will be scrapping table games, and the stark contrast in player interests becomes all the clearer.

June saw the completion of the acquisition of IGT’s Gaming and Digital business by Apollo Global Management, alongside Everi, for $6.3bn. These two brands have now been combined to operate under the IGT brand, leaving IGT’s lottery division to rebrand, now trading under the name Brightstar.

The acquisition comes as IGT’s lottery division sees year-on-year declines, with revenue, operating income and adjusted EBITDA down from where it was in Q2 2021.

The change in pace for Brightstar seems to be reflected in its quarterly results, when compared to two other major suppliers, Light & Wonder and Aristocrat. All three have received licences to supply games in the newly regulated UAE market (Aristocrat being the first to receive a supplier licence in October 2024), alongside the likes of Scientific Games and Novomatic, but, due to being private companies, cannot have their data compared.

While Aristocrat (whose results have been converted from AU$, at a rate of AU$1 ~ US$0.65) and Light & Wonder saw year-on-year growth, with Aristocrat up $158.2m to $1.97bn and Light & Wonder up $7m to $1.58bn, Brightstar saw a year-on-year decline of $60m, totalling $1.21bn.

EBITDA followed a similar trajectory, down $93m to $524m, while Aristocrat and Light & Wonder both saw growth. Admittedly, Aristocrat’s growth trajectory outpaces Light & Wonder in both metrics, giving it the upper hand among its competitors.

Once an affiliate industry giant, Catena Media has found itself struggling in recent years, falling behind its main competitor Better Collective by a country mile and reporting decreases in revenue year-on-year. This is despite restructuring efforts undertaken in Q1, including a 25% cut to staff.

Better Collective has also recently cut staff to improve its finances, yet for the first time in three years, it reported a Q2 decline in revenue. Indeed, across the affiliate industry, quarterly results have been showing decline. EveryMatrix CEO Ebbe Groes pointed to the “dying” .com affiliate business for this decline, during an interview in May, while others have cited the industry’s need to update its tech as a reason why it may be falling behind.

Either way, these results do not bode well for the affiliate segment.

Overall

From this range of results given, Q2 seems to have offered the industry a mixed bag.

FanDuel and DraftKings continue to lead the sports betting back, outperforming the revenue of even the highest-earning Macau casinos, like Galaxy Macau. Despite this, metrics from Macau show a land-based market that is thriving, unlike its Western counterpart, with Vegas struggling to keep pace amid Strip declines.

Brightstar, while up year-on-year for Q2, was down year-on-year for H1, suggesting a business that is still recovering from a rebranding and attempting to stabilise. This H1 wobble has put it behind its contemporaries, but also reflects on several years of Q2 decline, with this latest Q2 being the first in five years to report an increase.

However, where decline can be seen most sharply is in the affiliate sector, with Better Collective taking a significant hit to revenue while Catena Media sinks closer and closer to a loss in revenue. As two tier-one affiliates, these brands in part reflect the sector as a whole, suggesting big change is needed in order for affiliates to continue thriving.