Speaking exclusively to Global Gaming Insider, Betsson AB CEO Pontus Lindwall outlines how the operator remains on the “right track” ahead of a big nine months ahead.
In the wake of the release of Betsson’s first financial report of the calendar year yesterday, Lindwall reflects the marginal 3% year-on-year revenue reduction experienced by the operator – citing juxtaposed outcomes from the B2C and B2B sectors, respectively: “The small decrease on the overall top line is mainly due to the B2B business, that is a bit on a downturn compared to the same quarter last year."
What would Betsson do without Brazil online casino?
Indeed, the operator experienced notable revenue growth in the Peruvian market during Q1, driving overall 25% revenue growth across the Latin American region. Lindwall cites an established presence and long-term groundwork as a key driver for this outcome: “We've been in Peru for quite some time, and it's one of our markets in Latin America where we have both a strong brand position, alongside a strong technical offering.
“We added some new things in the Peruvian market on the tech side last quarter, including a new app, which helped. Obviously the LatAm markets are very interesting for us going forward.”
Naturally, it is hard to discuss LatAm without discussing Brazil. And, right now, it is hard to discuss Brazil without acknowledging that the nation’s President has now submitted a bill to scrap online casino just 16 months after its regulation. Alas, should this bill come to pass – where does an operator such as Betsson prioritise its LatAm efforts?
“For us, Peru and Argentina are very strong,” explains Lindwall, “We have been in both regions for quite some time, and we have a very strong market position – so those are two key markets where we will continue to invest and push our revenues, regardless.”
We are on the right path with our B2C business, which the majority of our business in total, and that gives us great confidence going forward
A World Cup like no other
Shifting focus away from geographical markets, Lindwall overviews the operator’s excitement ahead of the World Cup in its new-look format. It is an excitement that is echoed industry-wide: “When tournaments like that happen, it invariably serves to increase the intensity in the industry – and this time it's a totally new format for the tournament with the number of teams going from 32 to 48, which is a 50% increase.
“That change broadens the spectrum of teams, which will have a big impact in the early stages of the tournament, particularly. It's going to be very interesting to see how it plays out.”
With the 2026 World Cup group stage resting entirely in the tail end of Q2, and the remainder in the beginning of Q3, the tangible engagement facts and figures from the industry will be unlikely to reveal themselves until the beginning of the fourth quarter. However, as highlighted by Lindwall, a tournament of such magnitude only serves to turn up the proverbial ‘heat’ of the industry, tenfold. And the closer it gets to kick-off, the more the anticipation builds.
Remaining on the “right path”
With sportsbook revenues remaining all but flat (up 1%) in comparison to the year prior over the course of Q1 for Betsson, the operator will certainly be hoping for a favourable tournament to help bolster its H2. With active customers increasing to 1.5 million over the course of the first quarter, the framework for a big summer is certainly in place, a sentiment which is echoed by the Betsson boss...
“The B2C business, however, is up 15% and growing strongly in all our focus markets. It's a fact that B2B, when the B2B revenues go down, but we are working strongly with our B2B offering and our ambition remains to crank up the B2B revenues this year – we just have to put in all our efforts to ensure that happens.
“We are on the right path with our B2C business, which is the majority of our business in total, and that gives us great confidence going forward. The B2C sector will have a big influence over what happens in the FIFA World Cup for Betsson, because it's centred around marketing, customer acquisition, customer retention and so on. That is a huge strength in our expertise and a big part of what we work with in general."
Despite experiencing a B2B slump of 47% year-on-year, Betsson’s shares have been subject to a slight increase today
