This rise was driven primarily by significant sportsbook growth. For January, February and March, this segment generated €56.4m in revenue, up 45% from Q1 2021.
An increase in sportsbook gross turnover, which was up 10% from last year, and a larger sportsbook margin – after free bets – are primarily responsible for this revenue rise.
The first quarter of 2022 saw strong returns from domestic football leagues, alongside particularly strong returns from the Champions and Europa League competitions, said Betsson.
Active customers likewise increased during the first quarter of this year, climbing by 33% from 948,109 for Q1 2021 to more than 1.2 million.
However, as previously mentioned, online casino revenue was down on a year-over-year basis. For Q1 2022, this area generated €110m, an over €6m fall from the prior-year period.
Betsson attributed this drop to the Netherlands, where it stopped accepting customers, as well as regulatory changes in Germany.
And overall net income was also down. For Q1, this amounted to nearly €21m, an approximately 12% decrease from the prior-year period’s €23.7m.
This fall can be partially attributed to a rise in expenses, including increased personnel expenses and expenses linked to new market entries, in particular the US.
Nevertheless, Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall remained optimistic, commenting: “Thanks to a goal-oriented work from our employees, we have been able to take advantage of the growth opportunities identified, which has resulted in increased revenue and healthy profitability.”
He added: “All in all, the year has been off to a good start as there are many important activities that we look forward to during the remainder of 2022.”
