Organic growth for the group’s local currencies was 8%, while growth with Germany excluded was 19%, with Germany adding costs due to new restrictions.

This is the second such financial report in which LeoVegas has referenced performance in the German market.

During the trading period, LeoVegas acquired Expekt from Betclic Group, for a total price of €5m. The operator also invested €1.1m for 25% of the shares in SharedPlay.

Adjusted EBITDA was €10.9m, which resulted in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 11.3%; reported EBITDA amounted to €10.4m.

LeoVegas also had more customers during the first quarter in comparison to last year, with the group having 12% more deposited customers, a total figure of 462,386.

LeoVegasCEO, Gustaf Hagman, said: “We are pleased with the start of the year and increased our revenue by 8% during the first quarter. Our growth has been driven mainly by our loyal customer base, which reached a new record level during the period.

“During the first quarter we saw the full effect of the changes taking place in the German market. Operators in the market are acting differently with respect to implementing the new restrictions, which unfortunately has led to a skewed competitive situation.

“The assessment is that up to 70%-80% of the German market for casino has temporarily been shifted over to operators that have chosen to not adapt to the coming market regulation.”

LeoVegas recently announced it will launch its own game development studio.