Swedish online gambling software provider Net Entertainment had what CEO Per Eriksson called a “fantastic” 2013, as evidenced by the record numbers in the company’s Q4 and FY report cards. The Stockholm-based Net Ent’s Q4 revenues rose 24.5% to SEK 180.1m (US $27.9m), while profit after tax leaped 65% to SEK 56.1m ($8.7m). Net Ent inked 10 new license agreements during the quarter with operators including Bet365, Ladbrokes and William Hill, while the quarter also brought the launch of six new customers’ casinos, including Lads, Hills and Lottomatica.
For the year as a whole, revenues were up 19.8% to SEK 630.7m ($97.6m) while profits increased 22% to SEK 167.1m ($25.9m) and the number of game transactions rose 32% to 16.2b. Net Ent inked 27 new license agreements in 2013, 20 of which went live during the year. Five of these agreements were with larger ‘Tier 1’ operators, including the aforementioned UK companies. Eriksson says the company is currently negotiating similar deals with Betfair and Betfred.
Eriksson said the boffo results were the fruit of the company’s 2012 decision to firmly establish Net Ent in the UK, but the deals it struck with UK operators have yet to reach their “full capacity” and Eriksson has “high expectations” that growth will accelerate in coming years. Despite its relatively recent foray into Europe’s biggest market, Eriksson says Net Ent currently enjoys a 31% share of the European online casino market, four points higher than 2012’s figure (based on H2 Gambling Capital figures).
Mobile continues to do well for Net Ent, with 13 customers launching Net Ent’s mobile product in Q4 alone. Eriksson said mobile now represented 9% of the casino’s gross gaming yield. Net Ent introduced its Live Casino only a year ago but the company has already signed up 30 clients, 14 of which have launched the offering.
Net Ent is also eyeing expansion into the “very promising’ US market. Eriksson said the discussions the company initiated last year were ongoing and “coming into a better stage now.” Eriksson declined to make a prediction on when Net Ent might plant its flag on US soil but suggested that a late 2014 launch wouldn’t be out of the question “if everything goes right.”
