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NetEnt Releases Interim Report for January–March 2020

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Casino content developer NetEnt has released its interim report for January–March 2020.

NetEnt reported a 23.9% year-on-year increase in revenue during the first quarter. Revenue for the three months through to 31 March 2020 totalled SEK518.0m, up from SEK418m in the corresponding period last year.

NetEnt slot games were responsible for 90% of all gaming revenue during Q1, compared to 10% from table games. Meanwhile, the UK was its single biggest market, contributing 19% to total revenue, ahead of the Nordic region on 18%.

Comments by Therese Hillman, Group CEO:

“The pandemic outbreak of covid-19 has put the world in an exceptional situation, leaving nobody unaffected. The health and safety of our employees has the highest priority in the NetEnt Group, while we continue to work hard to secure a good development for the Company both in the shorter and longer term. It is difficult to predict the effects of the covid 19-situation on the economy in general and our sector in particular, but we believe that the underlying trend of digitalization in gaming will continue and offer growth opportunities for NetEnt in the future. So far, the financial performance of our business has not been negatively affected by the outbreak of covid-19.

Revenues for the first quarter of the year amounted to SEK 518 (418) million, supported by a strong finish in March and a weaker Swedish krona. On a proforma basis (including Red Tiger in the previous year’s figures), the Group’s total gaming revenues increased by 12 percent in euro compared to the same period in 2019. Most of the growth came from the US and the UK, while developments in Sweden and Norway continued to be negative. Locally regulated markets accounted for 50 percent of Group gaming revenus in the quarter. The largest locally regulated markets for the Group were UK (19 percent of gaming revenues), Italy (8 percent) and USA (7 percent). Sweden accounted for only 6 percent of gaming revenues, which is significantly lower than before the re-regulation of the Swedish market.

To further strengthen competitiveness and increase efficiency, we implemented organizational changes and initiated a full integration with Red Tiger during the quarter. The changes lead to a reduction in the workforce by approximately 120 employees, mainly in Stockholm, and are expected to result in cost savings of SEK 150 million starting in the second half of 2020. This means that we are increasing our estimate of potential synergies from the acquisition to around SEK 250 million annually, including revenue synergies.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to SEK 229 (196) million in the quarter, corresponding to a margin of 44.2 (47.0) procent. Earnings were negatively affected by SEK 26 million of restructuring costs related to the integration with Red Tiger.

Red Tiger keeps performing above our expectations with its award-winning games and the expansion to new markets continues. During the quarter, Red Tiger games were launched with customers on the regulated markets in Italy and Slovakia, and with large operators like Svenska Spel in Sweden and Sky in the UK.

Within Live Casino we continue our efforts to strengthen the product. For instance, we increased the number of tables in our studio on Malta and upgraded the user interface for mobile gaming in the quarter. We have had new record levels in the number of players every month since December and we see increasing interest for the product by operators and players.

A strong product pipeline, new regulated market entries and the Live Casino opportunity for NetEnt – combined with Red Tiger’s expansion – puts us in a good position to continue delivering profitable growth in 2020.”

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Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024

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Flexion, the games marketing company, has announced that its revenue grew 9% to year-end December 2024. The growth is attributed to the Company’s success in the alternative app store market.

Since its IPO in 2018, the company has built a well-positioned games marketing business around the alternative stores and grown annual revenue 50-fold to almost US$100 million. Its game portfolio represents several billion US$ in gaming IP for alternative market partners like Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, OneStore and Xiaomi.

“With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into force in Europe and recent legal actions in the US, mobile game developers have felt a new-found freedom to explore their market options. We’ve already moved beyond the era when Google and Apple controlled everything. Developers are looking for alternatives that offer better margins, and additional audiences and revenue. Partnering with Flexion opens up a range of market channels with very little up-front investment,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion.

Flexion currently distributes more than 30 high-profile titles on the alternative stores. Top-tier games in the Flexion portfolio make on average US$ 10 million a year based on Q4 2024 run rate. That’s income in addition to their Google and Apple revenue with a business model that adds little to their costs.

In Q4 2024, Flexion-serviced games were, on average, generating 9.3% through the alternative stores of the revenue they made on Google Play. This is a significant boost for Flexion’s partners without major costs or effort.

“If you scale for the size of the stores, the alternatives massively out-performed Google in Q4 for our games. This is exciting both for Flexion’s business and for the future of the games industry as a whole. We’re seeing the beginning of a sea change in games marketing,” Jens said.

“We’re seeing just the beginnings of a major shift in how top-tier developers address their markets. Using Flexion to access alternative stores is an easy first step into the post- Google and Apple world. Many developers are already looking at their options beyond that and Flexion will be right there with them providing the technology and expertise they need to maximise the potential of their games,” Jens added.

The post Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Players Reclaim Close to $7M Through AskGamblers Complaint Service in 2024

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The latest AskGamblers Complaint Service report for 2024 has officially been released. The comprehensive report highlights the most important accomplishments and records of the AskGamblers Complaint Service team for the previous year.

In 2024, The AGCS team (formerly known as AGCCS) managed to return $6,890,547.11 to players. Over 7259 players turn to AskGamblers, submitting complaints against 1114 casino brands. Out of all the accepted and processed complaints, the team had a 68% resolution success rate. One of the notable milestones that reached was returning a total of $70 million to the members.

Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “It’s amazing to see the trust players put in us year after year, and we’re able to repay them by helping them recover their funds from operators or solve other related issues. We’ve had another successful year, with a few records broken and amazing milestones achieved and we can’t wait to see what lies in store in the years ahead.”

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SlotsCalendar Announces its Second Awards Edition at iGC Malaga 2025

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SlotsCalendar, a leading name and tastemaker in iGaming, has announced the second edition of the SlotsCalendar Awards. Winners will be announced during the iGC Malaga event in May 2025.

These awards are rapidly gaining significance in the iGaming world as SlotsCalendar’s steady growth, success, and player-centric mentality represent the community’s interest.

Players have approximately a month to vote between the 10th of April and the 12th of May.

For its 2025 edition, the SlotsCalendar Awards Gala returns to the iGaming Club Conference in Malaga, happening on May 28th. The Awards categories for this year are as follows:

• Game Studio of the Year

• The Slot Everyone’s Talking About

• Star Slot in the Making

• Casino of the Year

• Excellence in Bonus Variety

• Industry Standard in Responsible Gambling

• Live Casino of the Year

• Best Sports Betting Platform

• Best New Casino

• Best Crypto Casino

While the idea of iGaming Awards is not new to the industry, the SlotsCalendar Awards are unique for a simple reason: winners are voted by players from the entire iGaming community.

The uniqueness of these awards makes them particularly important in iGaming. Placing the decision-making strictly in the hands of the player is a fundamental shift in the iGaming community.

SlotsCalendar CEO Viorel Stan said: “It’s truly an honor and a privilege to see how our SlotsCalendar Awards have evolved. Last year’s inaugural edition was a crowning achievement for us. It proved how vast and involved our community is, creating a level of engagement that made us incredibly proud. Being able to return to the iGC and reward some of iGaming’s luminaries in the name of the SlotsCalendar Community is beyond gratifying.”

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