NorthStar Gaming Holdings Inc. released its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.

“In the first quarter we continued our pattern of strong year-over-year growth, highlighted by record total wagers. Our premium customer experience and growing brand awareness are propelling higher player retention, strengthened loyalty and increased player values. These positive trends enable us to spend our marketing dollars more efficiently, contributing to improved operating leverage as the business scales,” Michael Moskowitz, Chair and CEO of NorthStar, said.

Financial highlights for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024:

• Revenue, including managed services fees, net of bonuses, promotional costs and free bets, was $5.9 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 63% over $3.6 million in Q1 2023.
• Total Wagers1 at Northstarbets.ca were $218.0 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 56% compared to $140.2 million in Q1 2023.
• Gross Gaming Revenue at NorthStarbets.ca was $7.0 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 59% over $4.4 million in Q1 2023.
• Gross Margin was $2.2 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 91% over $1.2 million in Q1 2023, and represented approximately 37% of revenue compared to 32% of revenue in Q1 2023.

Recent Operating Highlights:

• Notable year-over-year improvements in key performance indicators (KPIs) included a 42% increase in active players, a 9% decline in cost per acquisition of a customer (CPA), and a 54% increase in estimated 12-month player values.
• Renewed the strategic marketing agreement with Playtech Software Limited, which will contribute services valued at up to $4 million through to October 31, 2024, designed to accelerate player acquisition in Ontario.
• Secured $3 million of short-term financing to fund the Company’s continued growth through an unsecured promissory note to Playtech plc dated April 25, 2024 repayable in one year, or earlier upon completion by the Company of additional financing transactions.
• Recently celebrated the second anniversary of the NorthStar Bets platform, which launched in Ontario on May 9, 2022. Northstarbets.ca has generated more than $1 billion in total wagers1 in its first two years of operations.
• Ongoing roll-out of enhancements to the Company’s “Sports Insights 2.0” content vertical, an initiative announced in February 2024, with recent additions including player injury reports from industry leader RotoWire and a revised content strategy placing a greater emphasis on casino.
• Launched the VIP Elite program to help secure the loyalty and satisfaction of our most active players.
• Introduced branded studios for select live dealer games, prominently showcasing the NorthStar Bets brand and reinforcing the Company’s positioning as a premium offering.
• Continued to strengthen the Casino vertical, which has surpassed 650 games covering all major categories and curated from leading vendors worldwide.

“March was the strongest month of Q1, and we have maintained that momentum into the second quarter. Our team is making regular improvements to our service offering, such as the recent launch of a VIP Elite strategy aimed at the most active players who drive a meaningful share of our results. We have some exciting demand creation activities planned for the coming months along with further innovations to our platform and content. We remain focused on unlocking value for our stakeholders and are excited about the opportunities ahead of us in 2024,” Mr. Moskowitz said.

Bragg Gaming Group, a global B2B content-driven iGaming technology provider, reported record financial results for the first quarter of 2024.

Matevž Mazij, Chief Executive Officer for Bragg, commented: “We carried our strong momentum in 2023 into the first quarter, delivering robust growth that underscores the ongoing success of our efforts to transform Bragg into a content-focused iGaming solutions provider across expanding North American and European markets. Year-over-year revenue increased by 4.2% to EUR 23.8 million, largely propelled by organic growth from our current client base, the addition of new customers in multiple jurisdictions, and impressive results from our in-house Wild Streak Gaming casino games studio.

“Although gross profit and Adjusted EBITDA saw modest decreases in the first quarter stemming from the extension and renegotiation of our agreement with Entain Plc to provide our PAM platform to BetCity.nl through 2025, we maintain a strong belief in our ability to achieve long-term growth and profitability. Our proprietary and exclusive third-party content continues to gain ground with an increasing number of top-tier operators globally, and we introduced a total of 19 new exclusive titles worldwide in the first quarter of 2024.

“Additionally, as we continue to make encouraging progress on our strategic alternatives review process, it’s important to emphasize that we are operating the business as usual and remain laser-focused on capitalizing on growth opportunities.

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“With that in mind and in response to the increasing demand and growth in the iGaming marketplace, subsequent to quarter end, we took two significant steps to further fuel our growth initiatives. First, we secured a USD 7.0 million investment through a promissory note, enhancing our balance sheet flexibility as we continue to execute our strategy and explore strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

“Second, we bolstered our leadership team with the appointment of Neill Whyte as our new Chief Commercial Officer. With over 18 years of iGaming experience and a proven track record of driving growth through successful commercial partnerships, Neill’s expertise will be invaluable as we leverage our extensive content and product portfolio to expand in existing and new markets. This key hire is another testament to how we are scaling our organization for sustained growth and profitability.

“While the strategic review process progresses, we remain bullish on the opportunities ahead as the trend of iGaming regulation continues worldwide. We see exciting potential in newly regulating markets like Brazil, Peru and Finland, as well as untapped opportunities in regions like Africa that we are actively exploring.

“The strategic moves we have made have established Bragg as a vital content provider for premier international iGaming operators, reinforcing our base for reliable and lucrative growth. Equipped with the appropriate strategies, financial resources, and talent, we are well-prepared to maintain our business momentum while pursuing initiatives that foster cash flow growth and deliver increased value to our shareholders.”

Inspired Entertainment, a leading B2B provider of gaming content, technology, hardware and services, reported financial results for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023.

Lorne Weil, Executive Chairman of Inspired, said: “We have completed the financial restatement process and as of today, all amended filings are complete. For the first half of 2023, the net impact to Adjusted EBITDA from the restatement was effectively zero, with a $1 million decrease in previously reported results in Q1 offset by a $1 million increase in Q2. The impact to our Adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2022, was a decrease of $0.6 million, from $99.6 million to $99.0 million, or less than 1%. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the third quarter was 27%, but excluding Low Margin Gaming Hardware sales, the margin was 36%, compared to 37% in the prior year quarter.”

Weil continued: “For the quarter, our aggregate digital business, which includes our Virtual Sports and Interactive segments, grew Adjusted EBITDA 9% to $16.4 million from $15.0 million. Year to date, our digital business generated 58% of Adjusted EBITDA contribution compared to 50% in the prior year period. This performance reinforces the shift in our strategic focus towards our higher margin, scalable digital business and we continue to invest in premium content creation for these segments. At the same time, our Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was impacted by the timing of several one-time sales moving into the fourth quarter. Excluding one-time product sales, Adjusted EBITDA grew 4% year-over-year during the third quarter. As we look forward, we expect our fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA to be in-line with consensus. Additionally, our fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA would have been nearly $2 million higher if not for the ransomware attack on our IT systems impacting results.”

Weil added: “Our digital business third quarter results were led by the Interactive segment where revenue and Adjusted EBITDA increased 28% and 55% year-over-year on a constant currency basis, respectively, underscoring both the growth and scalability of the business. Interactive results reflect another quarterly record as we continue to benefit from an increased footprint through new customer launches, the consistent deployment of new content and increased promotional activity through exclusive deals with tier-one customers as well as revenue growth from existing customers. In our Virtual Sports segment, we generated $13.4 million of revenue during the quarter compared to $14.4 million during the prior year. The year-over-year decline was driven by a major customer’s optimizing of their customer base, with a partial offset due to increased retail revenue. In the last two to three years, we’ve seen extraordinary growth in our Virtual Sports business, driven by new products and market expansions. We believe we are heading into another strong growth phase, driven by our exciting new content partnerships with the NFL and NBA. We have two major markets with substantial growth opportunity, North America and Latin America. In addition, we’ve recently launched Hybrid Dealer, a revolutionary new iGaming product. We are proud to have partnered with BetMGM to launch this innovative new product. With all of this recent progress, we are more convinced than ever that we are in the early stages of an expanding global opportunity with our digital business that will continue to exhibit a high margin and low capital intensity profile.”

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Weil continued: “In our land-based operations, which includes our Gaming and Leisure segments, we’ve completed the deployment of our new ‘Vantage’ cabinet across two of our largest licensed betting shop customers, recording another $22.7 million of low margin terminal sales in Q3. We continue to see approximately 11% year-over-year revenue per machine increases with these new terminal deployments. In our pubs business, we’ve deployed ‘Vantage’ across approximately 20% of our customer estate and have experienced approximately 20% year-over-year growth in revenue per machine. This gives us confidence that we are seeing a reacceleration across our land-based businesses.”

Weil concluded: “Fundamentally, our business remains very strong, which was reflected in our repurchase of $1.5 million of our stock during the third quarter. We are optimistic about the compelling digital growth dynamics of the business, as a wider audience engages with online betting and gaming while new jurisdictions continue to launch. Combined with a resilient land-based business, our diversification and expansion ability reinforce our omni-channel strategy combining our high-margin, capital efficient digital businesses with our steady land-based businesses.”