Bet-at-home previously said revenue would amount to around €50.0m (£43.6m/$53.0m) in the 12 month to 31 December 2023. However, this is now likely to be in the range of €44.0m to €48.0m.
This, it says, is due to a “disproportionate” number of unfavourable sports results across key football leagues. Bet-at-home says this has negatively hit sports betting margins during the period from August to October.
As such, its management board has adjusted gross betting and gaming revenue guidance for the full year.
However, Bet-at-home says it could still turn a positive EBITDA for the 2023 financial year. Its initial estimate of negative €3.0m to a positive of €1.0m remains in place.
The operator also reiterated earlier guidance that it may be impacted by additional one-off effects. These primarily relate to the winding-up of Bet-at-home.com Entertainment, which is currently in liquidation.
“In particular, the migrations of the customer and betting platforms to an outsourcing partner have positively impacted the cost and earnings structure,” Bet-at-home says.
Revised guidance follows H1 revenue decline
The decision to reduce full-year expectations comes after Bet-at-home reported a decline in revenue in the first half.
Gross gambling revenue stood at €24.2m in H1. This was a 9.3% fall from the €26.7m that the business achieved in the same period of the previous year.
The FL Entertainment-owned company said this resulted from regulatory developments in Germany. It represents the operator’s largest single source of revenue. In particular, Bet-at-home highlighted the impact of the monthly betting limits that Germany implemented from 1 July 2022.
However, EBITDA more than tripled during H1, rising to €3.8m from €1.1m achieved the previous year. Bet-at-home says this resulted from a strict regime of cost-cutting across the business.
Tricky times for Bet-at-home
The cost-cutting initiatives come in the wake of a difficult period, after Bet-at-home wound down operations in several key markets. This included exiting the Austrian market in the wake of a legal challenge to its operations.
Bet-at-home also wound down the Maltese business set up to target the Austrian market. The business owed €27.4m in liabilities, with €24.1m resulting from reimbursing players.
After the shutdown, Bet-at-home warned of an increased liquidity risk, with the business potentially unable to meet its financial obligations.
Bet-at-home then surrendered its GB licence. This followed a Gambling Commission decision to suspend the licence following an investigation that uncovered anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/finance/bet-at-home-cuts-full-year-revenue-guidance/
