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Evolution Gaming – INTERIM REPORT FOR JANUARY-MARCH 2020

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Evolution released  its Interim Report for January-March 2020.

First quarter of 2020 (Q1 2019)

  • Operating revenues increased by 45% to EUR 115.1 million (79.3)
  • EBITDA increased by 79% to EUR 64.1 million (35.9), corresponding to a margin of 55.7% (45.3)
  • Profit for the period amounted to EUR 54.2 million (28.6)
  • Earnings per share before dilution amounted to EUR 0.30 (0.16)

Events during the first quarter of 2020

  • Continued high demand generates a positive effect on margin development.
  • Adaptation of operations as a result of covid-19 to ensure the operation and safety of employees.
  • Repurchase of 338,000 shares in order to improve the capital structure by reducing the capital, and thereby creating added shareholder value.

Summary of the first quarter 2020

Comments from Group CEO Martin Carlesund:

“The spread of COVID-19 has put the world in an exceptional and challenging situation which has also meant operational trials for Evolution. So far, we have handled the situation in a good way, and financially, Evolution has started 2020 very strongly in terms of both growth and profitability.

Revenues for the first quarter amounted to EUR 115 million, an increase of 45 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019. EBITDA amounted to EUR 64 million with a margin of 55.7 percent. With a good financial start to the year, great confidence ahead of the upcoming product launches and a good momentum at the start of the second quarter, I am more certain of our objective for 2020 to improve the margin level compared to 2019. Together, all employees did a fantastic job during the first quarter. I am deeply grateful for the energy and determination with which we have taken up the challenge – we have step-by-step, methodically moved forward every day. Of course, this work continues as we work to stay ahead of the developing situation. Our main priorities in dealing with the COVID-19 situation are to minimize the risk of spreading the virus and to create a safe workplace for our employees as well as to maintain the operation for our operators. We continue to comply with all the requirements from the authorities in the countries we operate in, and in many cases we have taken more far-reaching initiatives. Thanks to the extensive measures that have been implemented in terms of social distancing, changed working processes and routines for our employees, our operations have been able to continue without any large negative effects. However, in several of our studios, we operate with fewer tables compared to normal, and our studios in Georgia and Spain have been temporarily closed during limited periods. During these periods, a large share of the traffic has been managed by the company’s other studios. To be a global company with sites across multiple territories has been an important factor during these times. With that said, our studios in Latvia and Malta are important hubs from which several of our most popular titles are broadcasted.

We have seen an increased and strong demand for our products all through the first quarter. During the end of the quarter the absence of sporting betting games likely also favoured growth in our products. This circumstance effects also the start of the second quarter and we now see many new players being introduced to the Live segment. All in all, this means that we have a very good start to the year so far, but there will be also continuous challenges as we have not seen the end of the development of COVID-19 yet.

We continue unabated with investments in both studios and new games. During ICE in London earlier this year, 12 new titles were announced, of which two went live during the first quarter; Speed Blackjack and Lightning Baccarat. Today, 23 April, we are launching Mega Ball – including a First Person version. Mega Ball is our first game in the lottery vertical. During its beta phase, the game has exhibited a high attraction and it will be interesting to follow the games development. In addition, we will extend our First Person portfolio with three more launching in the second quarter. Another two table games will also be launched during the quarter, Power Blackjack and Baccarat Multiplay.

The construction of our new studio in Pennsylvania continues but with a postponed timetable due to the COVID-19 situation. However, our aim to launch it before year-end remains. Michigan has accelerated its casino regulation process and we hope that the state soon will be the third regulated market in the US. In South Africa we have received a National Manufacturer license. The license means that Evolution now is able to offer its and the subsidiary Ezugi’s products to all licensed gaming operators in South Africa.

To conclude, I am proud of how we have started off the year from a financial perspective, but even prouder of how we have handled these difficult times from an operational standpoint. All employees have showed that they are fast-paced, flexible and that even in hard circumstances they are able to maintain their focus on our given path; to continue to increase the gap to the competition and to strengthen our leading position.”

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The 8th AskGamblers Awards Officially Enters the Voting Stage

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AskGamblers has announced that the final voting stage of the 8th annual AskGamblers Awards has started.

The voting phase kicked off on 28 April, and will last until the award ceremony scheduled for 12 June.

As in previous editions of the Awards, players can cast their votes for one of the top 10 finalists in the following categories: Best Casino, Best New Casino, Best Sportsbook, Best New Slot and Best Software Provider.

The Best Crypto Casino, Best Partner and Best Manager categories will traditionally be chosen by the AskGamblers team. This year’s edition introduces a new category, the Superstar Award, a crown achievement handed out to one operator that best represents the values of brands, whose laureate will also be chosen solely by AskGamblers.

Another novelty in this year’s Awards cycle is the Forum vote: the votes from the members of AskGamblers Forum will be counted towards the final tally of votes as a separate voting tier.

Commenting on the launch of the 8th AskGamblers Awards voting stage, Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “Now that we have the finalists, we are entering the final stages of preparation for our biggest night of the year. To say that we are excited about the 8th edition of the AskGamblers Award would be an understatement.”

“As everybody in the team is working tirelessly to make the gala ceremony a night to remember, we invite our players to do their bidding: to give a vote to their favourite contestants and help us choose the rightful winners in the five categories that are open to public vote,” Radunović added.

Before the award ceremony on 12 June, AskGamblers will host the traditional Charity Night on 11 June, where the partners will bid for positions on the website, with the money raised allocated to a humanitarian cause.

The post The 8th AskGamblers Awards Officially Enters the Voting Stage appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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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.”

The post Players Reclaim Close to $7M Through AskGamblers Complaint Service in 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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