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Better Collective Interim report January 1 – December 31, 2020

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Highlights fourth quarter 2020 

  • Q4 Revenue increased by 88% to 36,714 tEUR (Q4 2019: 19,579 tEUR). Organic growth was 32%. Revenue doubled from Q3 2020.
  • Q4 EBITA before special items increased 92% to 13,670 tEUR (Q4 2019: 7,117 tEUR). The group EBITA-margin before special items was 37%. EBITA-margin was 52% in Publishing and 13% in Paid Media. In Q4, significant costs were added in Paid Media to shift the business model towards revenue share and new market openings.
  • Earnings per share (EPS) increased by 143% to 0.18 EUR/share (Q4 2019: 0.07 EUR/share)
  • Cash Flow from operations before special items was 10,148 tEUR (Q4 2019: 7,532 tEUR), an increase of 35%. The cash conversion was 71%. End of Q4, capital reserves were 43 mEUR consisting of cash of 28 mEUR and unused bank credit facilities of 15 mEUR.
  • New Depositing Customers (NDCs) was above 153,000 in the quarter, a growth of 30%.
  • Better Collective acquired the Atemi Group for 44 mEUR on October 1 and has completed a successful integration. Atemi Group is one of the World’s largest companies specialised in lead generation for iGaming through paid media and social media advertising. The acquisition is a major strategic move for Better Collective with significant synergistic opportunities.

 

Financial highlights full year 2020 

  • Revenue grew by 35% to 91,186 tEUR (FY 2019: 67,449 tEUR), with organic growth of 8%.
  • EBITA before special items increased 34% to 36,604 tEUR (FY 2019: 27,231 tEUR). The EBITA-margin before special items was 40%.
  • Cash Flow from operations before special items was 38,321 tEUR (FY 2019: 26,585 tEUR), an increase of 44%. Cash conversion rate before special items was 99%.
  • Earnings per share (EPS) increased by 46% to 0.47 EUR/share (2019: 0.32 EUR/ share)
  • New Depositing Customers (NDCs) exceeded 437,000 in 2020, similar to 2019. Performance was maintained despite the cancellation and postponement of major sports events due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • During 2020, Better Collective completed acquisitions of approximately 80 mEUR:
  • In March 2020, Better Collective established a strong position within the esports betting market through the acquisition of HLTV.org ApS. The purchase price was agreed at up to 34.5 mEUR on a cash and debt free basis.
  • In October 2020, the acquisition of The Atemi Group was completed for 44 mEUR.
  • In November 2020, the smaller acquisitions of Irishracing.com and Zagranie. com were completed for just above 1 mEUR.
  • COVID-19 had a significant impact from the last part of Q1 as the pandemic set a halt on major sports events and thereby also online sports betting. Q2 was the most affected until some of the major sports in Europe resumed in June. In Q3, sports calendars were still affected with amended and reduced tournament formats, whereas Q4 has been largely back on track.

 

Significant events after the closure of the period 

  • January revenue reached 13 mEUR, a growth of 78% vs. 2020, of which 16% was organic growth. The organic growth was recorded despite a strong comparison towards January 2020 and was partly driven by the US business where total revenue in local currency almost doubled. In revenue from the affilliate business from sportsbetting and casino, the growth exceeded 200%.
  • On January 1, 2021, Better Collective exercised its option to acquire a further 70% of the shares in Mindway AI for a total price of 2.3 mEUR (17 mDKK), bringing the ownership to 90%. Mindway AI specialises in software solutions based on artificial intelligence and neuroscience for identifying, preventing, and intervening in at-risk and problem gambling.

 

Financial targets 2021 
With the expiration of the 2018-2020 targets and the introduction of segment reporting, the Board of Directors have decided on new targets for the financial year 2021: Revenue >160 mEUR, EBITDA >50 mEUR, Organic growth >20%, Net interest bearing debt/EBITDA <3.0. See page 13 of the report for more detail.

Conference call

A telephone conference will be held at 10.00 a.m. CET today by CEO Jesper Søgaard and CFO Flemming Pedersen. The presentation will simultaneously be webcasted, and both the telephone conference and the webcast offer an opportunity to ask questions.

Dial in details for participants:

Confirmation Code:            6573033
Denmark:                            +45 32 72 04 17
Sweden:                +46 (0)8 56618467
United Kingdom: +44 (0)8444819752

Webcast link https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/msczk4rq

Jesper Søgaard, CEO of Better Collective, commented: “Looking back at an unusual year, I am pleased to see that our business has proven resilient and I am proud that we come out strong on performance. We have entered 2021 in great shape and are well-positioned for an eventful 2021”

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Stake unveils new Stake Engine: Build. Launch. Earn. The Engine Is Yours

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Stake, the world’s largest online casino, today announced the launch of Stake Engine — a next-generation Remote Gaming Server (RGS) built to give developers the tools, infrastructure, and audience they need to succeed on their terms.

Backed by the technology behind 300 billion bets and a global community of over 20 million players, Stake Engine offers an instant path to revenue with full end-to-end game development tools and the most developer-friendly commercial model in iGaming: 10% GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue), paid monthly.

Whether you’re an indie creator or a full-scale studio, Stake Engine offers everything you need to build, deploy, and grow games on your terms.

Studios are already winning.
Over the past 12 months, games built on Stake Engine have generated $3.31 billion in turnover. In the most recent quarter, three titles ranked among Stake’s top 50 games by total bets: Massive Studio’s Jawsome at #17, Serpentina at #23, and Twist’s Samurai Dogs Unleashed at #25.

Who can build?
Any developer. From math devs and indie studios to full-stack teams, if you can design and deliver engaging games, you’re welcome here.

What can you build?
Anything your imagination allows. Slots, wheel mechanics, card-based logic, original IP, Stake Engine has no templates, no restrictions, and no gatekeeping. If it plays well and meets our standards, you can build it, launch it, and own it.

Why build on Stake Engine?
Stake Engine gives developers everything they need to launch faster, without the barriers that slow down traditional game development.

No need to build your own infrastructure, negotiate publisher deals, or spend months integrating with legacy Remote Gaming Servers (RGS). With Stake Engine, you can go from idea to live game in days.

Stake handles the infrastructure, distribution, and visibility, so you can focus on what matters: building great games. There’s no pitching, no storefront politics, and no delays.

Behind the scenes, Stake Engine powers everything with a full front-end SDK, integrated math engine, balancing toolkit, and real-time analytics dashboard — putting real performance data at your fingertips.

And once your game goes live, you get paid monthly, with 10% GGR royalties and zero lockups.

Proven at Scale

  • Over 300 billion bets placed on Stake

  • 10 billion monthly wagers processed

  • Stake is behind 4% of global Bitcoin transactions
    Capable of handling 1 million+ bets per second

    Stake Engine: Key Features

  • Stake Engine delivers unmatched scale and performance, supporting over 1 million bets per second and powered by the same infrastructure behind the world’s most popular crypto casino.

  • It offers a full end-to-end developer stack, including a front-end framework, integrated math engine, and balancing toolkit — everything needed to build rich, interactive games quickly and at scale.

  • Developers have complete creative freedom with no templates or restrictions. Build any game, upload it, and launch directly to Stake’s global audience.

  • Instant deployment tools allow developers to upload, test, and go live in minutes, with full versioning and real-time testing capabilities.

  • Stake Engine provides transparent analytics, offering real-time insights into game performance across players, markets, and engagement cohorts.

  • It features an industry-leading commercial model with 10% GGR perpetual royalties — the most aggressive terms in gaming, paid monthly without delays or hidden fees.

  • Stake Engine is built by developers, for developers. Created by the engineers behind some of iGaming’s top studios, it is focused on speed, control, and fixing everything broken about legacy game launch processes.

  • Stake also handles all positioning, marketing, and growth — giving developers full visibility and freeing them to focus purely on building great games.

Brais Pena, Chief Strategy Officer at Easygo, the technology powerhouse behind Stake, said: “Stake Engine is built for creators, with speed, freedom, and scale baked in.”

“Stake Engine is more than just infrastructure, it’s a launchpad for the next generation of iGaming creators. We’ve taken everything we’ve learned building the world’s most popular online casino and packaged it into a platform that removes barriers, unlocks creativity, and delivers scale from day one.”

“Stake Engine is what happens when the biggest operator in iGaming builds for the builders. It’s not just a platform. It’s our commitment to the next generation of game creators.”

The post Stake unveils new Stake Engine: Build. Launch. Earn. The Engine Is Yours appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs

PENN Entertainment Announces Plans for New Land-Based Hollywood Casino to Replace Riverboat Gaming Operations in Council Bluffs, Iowa

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PENN Entertainment Inc. announced plans for an expected $180–$200 million project to relocate its Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs (Ameristar) riverboat casino operations to a new, state-of-the-art land-based property to be rebranded as Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs (Hollywood Council Bluffs). The proposal is approved by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in conjunction with a 15-year extension of Ameristar’s partnership with the nonprofit Qualified Sponsoring Organization (QSO) Iowa West Racing Association. All commercial operators in Iowa are required to have an operating agreement with a QSO licensed to conduct gaming operations.

Under the proposed plan, the new Hollywood Council Bluffs is expected to include roughly 125,000 square feet of new development with approximately 58,000 square feet of gaming space. The new facility will complement the existing ESPN BET sportsbook, 160-room hotel and dining options in the landside portion of the current infrastructure. The existing riverboat, which presently offers gaming spread out over three levels, will be vacated upon opening of the new property.

“We are pleased to add another landside relocation to our pipeline of development projects. This project will enhance the quality and efficiency of our Council Bluffs location and significantly improve the property’s competitive positioning in the greater Omaha market. PENN’s diversified portfolio of casino properties is core to our omni-channel approach to entertainment, which combines our best-in-class retail operations and a database of more than 32 million PENN Play members with our robust interactive and media footprint. We thank the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission for their approval today and are grateful for the continued collaboration with our partners at the Iowa West Racing Association,” said Todd George, Executive Vice President of Operations for PENN.

“We are thrilled with the exciting development plans for the new Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs. For nearly thirty years, the Ameristar riverboat has been providing not only dining and entertainment, but thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in support of our community. PENN’s commitment to reinvesting in Council Bluffs is laudable and we are grateful for our ongoing partnership,” said Brenda Mainwaring, President & CEO of the Iowa West Racing Association.

Construction of the new facility is expected to take approximately 18-24 months following the design and permitting approval process. The Company is entitled to obtain financing for the project from Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) of up to $150 million at a 7.10% cap rate, which may be structured at PENN’s option as either rent or a 5-year term loan that is pre-payable at any time without penalty.

The post PENN Entertainment Announces Plans for New Land-Based Hollywood Casino to Replace Riverboat Gaming Operations in Council Bluffs, Iowa appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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Daily Fantasy Sports

PrizePicks Teams Up with San Francisco Giants as Official DFS Partner

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PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, announced that it has been named the Official Daily Fantasy Partner of the San Francisco Giants. The new partnership strengthens the DFS leader’s presence in professional baseball and features digital and in-park activations at Oracle Park.

“We are thrilled to team up with a legendary organization like the San Francisco Giants. PrizePicks is committed to bringing unique experiences to our players around the country and is excited to strengthen our connection with baseball fans in San Francisco and across the United States,” said Mike Quigley, Chief Marketing Officer at PrizePicks.

As part of the multi-year partnership, PrizePicks branding will be showcased prominently throughout Oracle Park with rotating signage behind home plate and LED signage on each baseline. PrizePicks logos will be featured across the K-Counter in right field, creating an interactive experience for fans in the ballpark. Fans seated on top of the right field wall near the strikeout counter will have the opportunity to flip over the PrizePicks branded signs, revealing a “K” for each strikeout earned by a Giants pitcher.

When Giants pitchers combine for 12 strikeouts in a home game, fans can participate in a text-to-enter promotion with the chance to win a $12,000 free PrizePicks lineup and tickets to a future Giants game at Oracle Park.

“The Giants are always looking for innovative ways to enhance the fan experience. Partnering with PrizePicks provides our fans with new ways to engage with us and deepen their connection to both the Giants and baseball,” said Jason Pearl, Chief Revenue Officer at the San Francisco Giants.

The post PrizePicks Teams Up with San Francisco Giants as Official DFS Partner appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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