SAZKA Revenues Plummet 28 per cent EMEA
Czech lottery operator SAZKA has announced its financial results for the first six months of 2020, with gross gaming revenues down by 28 per cent to €652m
Operating EBITDA decreased by 42 per cent to €167m and adjusted EBITDA decreased by 41 per cent to €168m
CZECH REPUBLIC LOTTERIES
France - BetConstruct partners with Barrière BetConstruct has entered into a long-term partnership with the Barrière Group, enabling the French casino operator to launch its online betting operation, BarrièreBet, offering players sports betting, and later horseracing as well as poker.
Available on desktop and mobile (iOS and Android apps and mobile version), BarrièreBet operates upon BetConstruct’s sportsbook under ANJ’s (formerly ARJEL) licence, which enables iGaming activities in France. The integrated platform offers online sports wagering experiences to BarrièreBet’s new and existing players. They will have access to more than 40 sports and 200 event types, with over 30 000 sports events per year.
Dominique Desseigne, Chairman and CEO of Barrière Group, commented: “The online gaming market is a new axis of development which will allow the Group to consolidate its positions and promote its brands, as well as increase our brand awareness toward our new players and retain our land-based Casino customers.”
Switzerland - Grand Casino Luzern scores Grand Casino Luzern has expanded its successful partnership with FC Luzern until June 30, 2021, with its online casino
mycasino.ch becoming a co- sponsor and being featured on the first team's shirt.
Wolfgang Bliem, CEO of Grand Casino Luzern, commented: “For years, the Grand Casino Luzern has been partnered with FC Luzern as the region’s sporting flagship. I am therefore all the more delighted that, as a co-sponsor, we will be able to advertise our new online casino game range
mycasino.ch through FC Luzern throughout Switzerland with a wide-reaching presence for the coming season."
Austria - Casinos Austria relocates from Linz Casinos Austria is looking for a new home for Casino Linz, its venue in Upper Austria and third-largest city in the country.
The casino is currently located in Schillerpark in the city centre. However, PlusCity and LentiaCity boss, Ernst Kirchmayr, the majority owner of the Schillerpark property, does not want to offer the casino a long-term contract because it is still unclear how the building complex will be converted. Earlier this year, a fire on the first floor of Casino Linz damaged restaurant areas and the “Casineum” event location, which remains closed.
Casinos Austria further confirmed 600 employees would be the maximum number of people who could lose their jobs following a cost cutting exercise in light of the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on the business.
P14 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
Czech lottery operator SAZKA has announced its financial results for the first six months of 2020, with gross gaming revenues down by 28 per cent to €652m, primarily as a result of the impact of COVID-19 on land-based sales.
Operating EBITDA decreased by 42 per cent to €167m and adjusted EBITDA decreased by 41 per cent to €168m. Profit after tax from continuing operations decreased by 90 per cent to €42m. “Our diverse geographic exposure, game portfolio and sales channels, the wealth of knowledge and expertise we have within the organisation, and the agility and resilience of our team meant that we were well placed to deal with COVID-19," explained Robert Chvatal, SAZKA Group CEO.
"Tey also positioned us well for recovery when the situation began to normalise. Over the last few months performance across geographies and products has been returning towards, or in some cases is above, pre-pandemic levels. Whilst the future impact of COVID-19 on businesses and the economy is hard to predict, it is clear that the pandemic has allowed us to accelerate our strategy of increasing online sales, including of traditional products and digital-only games. Tis was already a major
strategic focus for us and our experience in the last several months has only emphasised the benefits that it can bring."
Online sales, which increased significantly in the Czech Republic, Austria and Greece during the period most directly impacted by COVID-19, have continued to perform strongly. In June, SAZKA acquired a 17.19 per cent stake in CASAG previously held by Novomatic. As a result, SAZKA Group’s shareholding is now 55.48 per cent and CASAG has been fully consolidated as a subsidiary from 26 June.
In July, the Supervisory Board of CASAG approved a plan to optimise the cost structure of the casino business in Austria and OPAP acquired an additional 51 per cent stake in Stoiximan Group’s Greek and Cypriot business, as a result of which it now holds a 69 per cent stake. Chvatal added: “I’m delighted that we were able to close two M&A transactions. After closing the acquisition of Novomatic’s stake in CASAG, we look forward to working together with the Austrian state, CASAG and Austrian Lotteries to take the business to further successes, and to build a sustainable and profitable casinos business, leveraging the strength of the brand and the team.”
Armenia SIS strikes live betting deal with Betcart
SIS has secured a deal with Betcart to deliver its 24/7 Live Betting Channels to the Armenian-based operator. Te 24/7 Live Betting Channels will include a mix of horse and greyhound racing in a watch and bet format, which will provide Betcart with profitable short-form content throughout the day, with a betting event taking place every three minutes.
Premium exclusive live UK and Irish horse racing will be available, with international horse racing from Australia, Dubai, Latin America, Mauritius, and Korea, as well as high-quality UK and Irish greyhound racing. SIS’ 24/7 live betting service will provide the operator with streamed pictures, data, commentary, on-screen graphics and betting prompts for the range of races on offer.
Anze Gantar, Digital Sales Manager at SIS, said: “We’re
delighted to be partnering with Betcart for the first time, to deliver an engaging betting experience to their customers via our 24/7 Live Betting Channels. Tis deal is further proof of the growing appeal of our 24/7 Live Betting Channels offer amongst operators around the world. We look forward to working with Betcart whose customers can enjoy quality racing, with frequent betting opportunities.”
Hector Cortes, CEO at Betcart, said: “We’re thrilled to have reached this agreement and to be introducing 24/7 Live Betting Channels and Competitive Gaming product to our customers for the first time. Tis partnership will not only enable us to enhance our offering to our customers, but it will help us to increase engagement and provide incremental revenues through the regular, engaging betting opportunities.”
Denmark
Having minimised revenue decline and lowered its costs, Denmark’s gaming giant Danske Spil reported a fall in revenue of 7.8 per cent year- on-year to DKK2.3bn (309.1m) for the six months to June 30. Te operator said: “Overall, Danske Spil has succeeded in maintaining a satisfactory turnover at its casino and several of our other consumer facing offerings. Combined with a reduction in the company's costs - not least the marketing costs - this has meant that Danske Spil is back on track in relation to its profits. Te first half of 2020 has been challenging in every way for Danske Spil. Covid-19 saw sporting events across the globe cancelled, and thus put a stop to most sports betting and simultaneously the lockdown of Danish society affected all of our customers as well as physical venues and arcades.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144
