Europe's most profitable GEOs by Q4 2024 results
The fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 presented unique opportunities for the largest companies in the iGaming industry to set records. Anton Rublievskyi, CEO of Growe, published the Growe Analytics Q4 report on publicly traded B2C companies with the latest insights and performance metrics reflected in the NGR. SiGMA News highlighted the regional trends of global iGaming players based on profit data from Betsson, Flutter, SuperGroup, and Entain.
Italy was the most profitable for Betsson and Flutter
Betsson’s revenue growth in Western Europe was 26.3 percent, or €52.7m, with Italy being the most profitable GEO, where it introduced an accelerated SPID registration process for online casinos, followed by Belgium. The company continues to invest resources in the region, having presented one of the largest jackpots in the industry to players in Denmark.
Flutter reported revenues of $3.8bn for K4, up 14%. Adjusted EBITDA reached $655m, up 4%. The company’s most successful region in 2024 was the US, followed by the UK and Italy. Overall, the international business showed a 20 percent growth in the fourth quarter, driven by success in Italy. Flutter’s Sisal platform earned recognition as Italy’s most profitable gaming operator, achieving an impressive 41% growth and $1.4bn in GGR.
Records in the CEECA region
Betsson reported K4 revenue of €1.1bn, up 17% year-on-year. EBITDA increased by 20% to €316m. With the introduction of the new Bet Builder feature, the company achieved record-high KPIs, with Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe (CEECA) driving growth.
In particular, Betsson’s revenue growth of 23.8% to €132.2m in the CEECA region was the highest ever. This figure is due to the high-margin sports betting business, underpinned by its partnership with the ATP Nordic Open tennis tournament. Of all the countries where Betsson is currently represented—Greece, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Georgia—the sportsbook’s profit figure only declined in Latvia. The casino product also showed growth in CEECA, but not as marked as in Western Europe.
Entain’s NGR grew by 9 percent overall, with online revenue up 13 percent and land-based venues up 8 percent. EBITDA grew by 12%, supported by the best performance in Brazil. As for the CEECA region, compared to the same period in 2023, Croatia was the best performer with 19% growth for the fourth quarter. Georgia follows it with 13%, and Poland with 8% NGR growth. Specifically, sportsbook Superbet is recognised as the market leader in Croatia, while STS is the market leader in Poland.
For Flutter in the CEECA region, Georgia, 31%, and Turkey, 62%, showed revenue growth.
The UK is SuperGroup’s primary source of revenue
SuperGroup achieved record total revenue outside the US of €487 million, reflecting a 38% year-on-year increase. Adjusted EBITDA for non-US operations reached a record €129 million, up 152% year-on-year.
Growth was driven by the achievement of 5.3 million unique monthly active customers. The player base grew 12% year-on-year, and the company forecasts double-digit growth in 2025. Altogether, the most profitable Western European GEOs for SuperGroup were the UK and Spain. Betway’s sportsbook profits doubled to €111m year-on-year in K4 2023, primarily due to expansion in these GEOs.
Flutter’s Paddy Power platform, with 4.2 million monthly active users, including land-based betting outlets, generated $3.9bn in profits, with sports betting profits up 31% and casino games up 16%.
Growth prospects
Betsson and Flutter’s earnings figures for the fourth quarter of 2024 highlight Italy as the most promising area for development in Western Europe. Croatia is showing growing demand in the sports betting sector, but it will have to compete with giants such as SuperGroup and Betsson to gain market share here. The UK remains the most profitable GEO in Western Europe for Flutter and SuperGroup. A pleasing discovery in K4 was Spain, which played a role in doubling the profits of Betway, owned by SuperGroup.
Key trends in the iGaming industry are aptly summarised in a statement from Francesco Durante, CEO of Sisal Italy, featured on the operator’s official website. Durante notes the company’s focus on internationalisation, technological innovation, and responsible gaming. He also emphasises the importance of sustainability, setting goals for the company such as no problem players, no gender pay gap, and no net CO2 emissions by 2030.
This article was first published in Russian on 9 April 2024.
