German gambling operator MyBet (formerly known as JAXX SE) saw revenues rise 14% to €69.2m in 2012. The Kiel-based company reported over 300% gains in both earnings and net income to €7.2m and €6.2m respectively, thanks in part to the €12.5m sale of its German-language lottery operations. Sports betting revenue rose 34.5% to €33.8m, representing 49% of the company’s total revenue pie. The rise was accompanied by a 186k increase in the number of online registrations in 2012, while the average betting stakes per active customer rose from €298 to €338. Online betting handle rose 45.2% to €90.5m. MyBet’s number of betting shops decreased from 501 in 2011 to 443 in 2012, but total betting stakes in these shops rose 26.3% to €95.6m.
Casino and poker operations were up 26.7% to €21.7m, while horse betting revenues rose 17.3% to €5.7m. The aforementioned sale of the lottery business and ongoing sluggishness in MyBet’s Spanish operations resulted in the lone negative tally on the revenue chart, with lottery revenues down 54.4% to €6.2m. Looking forward, the company says 2013 is off to a “promising’ start, and expectations are that the year will produce revenue growth between 15% and 25%. With no European Court of Justice ruling on the legality of Germany’s new federal gambling law expected before 2014, MyBet intends to use the time to “further consolidate and extend its position” in its most strategic market. MyBet was one of the lucky recipients of a Schleswig-Holstein online gambling license before the northern state had a change of heart and decided to sign on to the new state treaty on gambling.
Hamburg-based online lottery-based games operator Tipp24 SE also had a good 2012, with revenues up 2.5% to €142.7m and earnings up 8.8% to €56.5m. The spin-off of former subsidiary Lotto24 AG last summer had a “strong impact” on Tipp24’s results, with a net gain to earnings of €18.2m. Total payouts for secondary lotteries came in €14.1m below expectations, resulting in a €6.2m earnings boost.
Looking ahead, the company says it has high hopes for its new 25.7% stake in UK-based Geonomics Global Games Ltd. (formerly Roboreus), the company behind the GeoSweep lottery game, and expects total revenues of between €130m and €140m in 2013. Late last month, the company announced it was planning to relocate to London, a decision that shareholders will vote on at the next AGM in June. As further evidence of its new UK-focus, Tipp24 recently hired former Ladbrokes e-com director Paul Witten to head up biz-dev at its UK subsidiary.
