EGR Power 50 2024: 50-31

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50. Betfred

One of Betfred’s most notable developments this year was April’s folding of gambling technology group Sharp Gaming into Betfred Technology after the group transitioned onto a new platform built by the supplier. As part of the process, Sharp Gaming CEO Andrew Daniels became CIO of the Warrington-based legacy bookmaker. But it wasn’t the only notable appointment, with ex-Stats Perform vice-president of product Nick Cockerill installed as chief product officer in September. A huge supporter of British horseracing, Betfred became the first bookmaker to sponsor all five British Classic races at the same time after signing a multi-year agreement in July to sponsor Newmarket’s 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas from 2025 onwards. Betfred already sponsors the Oaks, the Derby and the St Leger. However, progress across the pond has faltered, with operations in Virginia, Iowa and Arizona having recently shuttered. These exits followed closures in Colorado, Ohio and Maryland. Betfred USA CEO Kresimir Spajic exclusively revealed to EGR in August that withdrawing from the US altogether couldn’t be ruled out.

49. Hollywoodbets

Making the move from the ones to watch list last time around to the main rankings, Hollywoodbets is a brand that’s hard to miss, particularly as the African operator’s logo has been emblazoned across Brentford FC’s shirts since 2021. Operating in South Africa, Mozambique, Ireland and the UK, Hollywoodbets boasts its own software company, which allows it to release and iterate games as required. In an interview with EGR in April, Hollywoodbets’ brand and communications manager Devin Heffer classed 2023 as a “stellar year” in terms of growth. He pointed to its core business in South Africa, which benefited from the surge in popularity of crash games. While its home continent is its current focus due to the “untapped potential”, Heffer said his aim was to grow the brand further in the UK and Ireland. The firm also places great importance on helping local communities through its Hollywood Foundation. As part of its mission to support grassroots sports, in May the foundation donated new football kits to South African club Athletic FC Komani Stars.

48. Buzz Bingo

When EGR spoke to CEO Dominic Mansour in July, he described Buzz Bingo’s digital business as “flying”, with figures passed to BDO showing NGR up YoY in 2024, while both monthly active players and first-time depositors (FTDs) also increased. The omnichannel operator has benefited from acquiring customers through its land-based bingo venues, as Mansour explained: “The cost of acquisition is insanely cheap by comparison to what an online-only operator must contend with. In parallel, the value of [a retail customer] is two or three times that of a normal online customer.” Attributing ongoing growth in bingo in the UK to a recovery in consumer confidence across the leisure sector, Buzz Bingo also noted a growing appetite for the vertical among the younger demographic, with the number of 24- to 34-year-olds playing bingo in 2023 having doubled compared to 2018. In August, the company opted to relocate its digital business to Gibraltar for strategic benefits, including greater proximity to suppliers, so it could capitalise on international opportunities and compete with rivals already based there.  

47. BetPlay

A new entrant in this year’s rankings, BetPlay has firmly established itself as the leading operator in Colombia, which regulated online gambling back in 2016. Owned by Bogotá-based Corredor Empresarial, and with its sportsbook powered by Kambi, BetPlay is a brand that has forged close ties with football in the South American country, including its headline-grabbing sponsorship deal with the Colombian national team. A 60-second advert released in the summer featuring a handful of ‘Los Cafeteros’ players sporting the BetPlay logo across their shirts has racked up, at the time of writing, 4.4 million views on the company’s YouTube channel. Staying with sponsorships, in May, BetPlay extended its partnership with Dimayor, which runs Colombia’s top-flight football leagues, for a further six years. There are separate deals in place with clubs including Independiente Santa Fe, América de Cali and Club Deportes Tolima. BetPlay is also particularly active on social media, with a localised strategy to appeal to fans in the football-mad nation.

46. Bet9ja

Logifuture-powered Bet9ja made a big impression by breaking into last year’s EGR Power 50, and it remains one of Nigeria’s largest sportsbooks. According to Semrush, Bet9ja racked up 61 million page visits in the country in October. This year, the operator showed its patriotic side by partnering with Sportdotcom to launch the “Let’s Do it Again” campaign, supporting Nigeria during February’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament. Part of the initiative included the creation of a virtual stadium where fans could connect to share their favourite AFCON memories while supporting their teams. Bet9ja also made sure to capitalise on football fever worldwide by launching betBOOM just in time for the start of Euro 2024. The new feature allows players to enjoy enhanced odds for any sports bet completely at random with a maximum payout of NGN1bn (£465,000). Meanwhile, the operator’s charity division, the Bet9ja Foundation, committed NGN500m to several projects across Nigeria. This was disclosed in the foundation’s 2024 Impact Report, collated and released to celebrate its first year of existence.

45. Novibet

Securing its spot in the EGR Power 50 for the second successive year after a debut in 45th place in 2023, Novibet enjoyed another impressive 12 months. In confidential figures shared with BDO, the Greek operator reported a surge in NGR, monthly players and monthly FTDs. This followed a 44% rise in revenue for full-year 2023, along with new registrations skyrocketing 525%. Bolstering its leadership team, there was a string of new appointments at country manager level as the business went on a hiring spree and entered the likes of Cyprus, New Zealand and Finland, all of which were accompanied by localised marketing plans. UX improvements were made in the summer, including team and player pages featuring Opta statistics and the addition of ‘Sports Center’, featuring a dedicated tournament landing page in the build-up to Euro 2024. A new poker product was rolled out in Brazil in April, a market high on management’s list of priorities seeing as the brand has a solid foothold there from a sports betting and igaming perspective. Novibet was among the first wave of companies to apply for a Brazilian licence in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive arena.   

44. LiveScore Group

The LiveScore Bet and Virgin Bet parent company holds its 2023 position in this year’s EGR Power 50. From a tech point of view, 2024 was a significant year for the business as it fully migrated to Kambi’s platform, switching five million customers from DraftKings’ B2B offering. Furthermore, significant improvements were made to both LiveScore Bet and Virgin Bet’s football bet builder, while BetBuilder+ has allowed customers to combine bet builders with other events and sports. Supported by powerful global sports media subsidiary LiveScore, the operator is live in the UK, Ireland and Nigeria. However, management took the decision in November to pull out of the Netherlands due to forthcoming igaming tax rises. On the personnel front, the group made plenty of changes over the past 12 months, with eight new directors added to the ranks via internal promotions and external hires. However, in November the operator took the decision to initiate an internal restructuring process, which is expected to result in more than 100 job losses.

43. Gaming1

Active in six core European markets, the Ardent-owned operator demonstrated growth throughout the 12 months to the end of June, with data shared confidentially with BDO revealing an increase in NGR, EBITDA and monthly active players. That is despite last year’s near-total gambling advertising ban in Belgium, along with the country’s €200 weekly deposit limit. It was a particularly strong year for Gaming1’s flagship brand, Circus, with the UX given an overhaul as part of the rollout of the fourth version of the product. Circus also extended its longstanding partnership with Belgian football giants Standard Liège for another three seasons, with the Circus logo appearing on the front of the team’s shirt for the first six months of the deal before moving to the back. In January, Gaming1 was one of seven gambling companies named among the Top Employers Institute’s rankings for demonstrating excellence in HR policies and strategies in Belgium. Gaming1’s most notable senior management appointment was new managing director Renaud Thys, who will operate out of the Malta office.

42. La Française des Jeux

The year kicked off with significant M&A news as it was announced in January that La Française des Jeux (FDJ) had tabled a £2.1bn public tender offer for Kindred Group at a price of SEK130 per share. As the acquisition completed on 3 October, FDJ now owns 98.6% of the Unibet parent company. The French online giant has committed to focusing on regulating or regulated markets, saying the move creates “a European champion with a diversified and balanced profile both in terms of its offering and its geographic footprint”. With the deal completed, FDJ is sure to skyrocket up the EGR Power 50 list next year. In terms of its financial performance, digital revenue soared 40% YoY to €201m, when including the acquisitions of Premier Lotteries Ireland and horseracing betting platform ZEturf, or up 25% on a like-for-like basis. The increase, which was attributed to new player acquisitions, meant the online division accounted for 15% of group revenue in H1. Meanwhile, it was announced in August that the Sporting Solutions subsidiary was to be sold to Betsson Group, allowing FDJ to concentrate its international activities on B2C and B2B2C operations.

41. ZEAL Network

H1 2024 saw the Germany-facing lottery company report a new high of 1.35 million monthly active players (up 21% YoY) against the backdrop of a favourable jackpot environment, particularly for the Eurojackpot lottery. The period included 592,000 new registrations (up 70% YoY) at a 26% lower cost per lead than H1 2023, management revealed in ZEAL’s H1 earnings report. Moreover, revenue at the LOTTO24 and Tipp24 parent company surged 40% YoY to €76.8m and billings from lotteries jumped by almost a quarter, to €507.1m. Elsewhere, in May, it was announced that long-serving board member Peter Steiner would step down from his role as chair of the supervisory board after the group’s 2025 AGM. Steiner first joined ZEAL’s board in June 2013, serving as chair since 2017. After receiving a licence in June, ZEAL launched its new charity lottery, Traumhausverlosung, in August, a first-of-its-kind raffle in Germany which gives players the chance to win a fully furnished house. Finally, CEO Helmut Becker continued to highlight the problem of leakage to the black market in Germany, telling EGR in November: “The biggest ask we have from any regulator is to make the system fair, so that the competition is fair, that we don’t operate at a disadvantage against illegal operators and that the regulation is enforced.”

40. GGPoker

After entering last year’s EGR Power 50 for the first time, in 39th place, GGPoker’s parent, NSUS Group, laid down a marker to poker rivals in August by snagging the intellectual property rights to the prestigious World Series of Poker (WSOP) from Caesars Entertainment in a deal worth $500m. Half will be paid up front, with the remaining $250m due five years after the transaction closes. Talking of the WSOP, the fifth edition of GGPoker’s International WSOP Online Bracelet Series wrapped up in early October and, according to calculations by news and data resource Poker Industry Pro, the series generated $114m in prize money, attracted 150,000 entries and raked in almost $7.8m. With numbers like that, it’s little wonder GGPoker continues to have a stranglehold on the vertical. Data from traffic monitoring platform PokerScout showed, at the time of writing, GGNetwork (dominated by GGPoker) had a seven-day average of 11,000 cash game players. Not only did this beat the company’s seven-day average from this time last year (9,800), but it far outstripped second-placed WPT Global’s 2,300 players at the cash tables. In a bid to appeal to Gen Z, GGPoker signed streamer, chess champion and poker player Alexandra Botez as a brand ambassador in March.

39. ATG

Amid the spectre of Sweden’s tax increase from 18% to 22% of operators’ GGR, which came into effect on 1 July, AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) enjoyed a strong first half of the year. NGR stood at SEK2.7bn in H1 – up 6% YoY, a new record high for the first half of a year in ATG’s 50-year history. The increase was attributed to more horseracing jackpots, Euro 2024 and igaming (casino NGR rose 15% YoY). Meanwhile, the number of customers who placed a bet in the previous 12 months jumped from 1.3 million to 1.4 million. Going forward, ATG remains fiercely critical of Sweden’s gambling tax hike – a move CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth branded “illogical” while warning that ATG will stump up SEK200m of the SEK500m increase in annual tax the government expects to collect from the sector. ATG’s counterproposal was to keep betting tax at 18% and raise online casino tax to 26% – a move the firm still insists would generate more revenue for state coffers than the across-the-board rise to 22%. 

38. Svenska Spel

Since June, former Grant Thornton exec Anna Johnson has led Sweden’s Svenska Spel as CEO and president following Patrik Hofbauer’s departure in February. As part of the state-owned lottery, casino and sports betting operator’s interim results for H1 2024, Johnson said cost savings had been realised following a reorganisation of the business, effective from 1 April. These savings resulted in an increased operating margin for Q2 to 34%, compared to 28% for the same period last year. However, group NGR for the three months ending 30 June amounted to SEK1.9bn, a 5% decrease YoY. The online division accounted for 59% of revenue, or SEK1.1bn. Svenska Spel attributed the slide in revenue to “changes in casino operations” and strengthened gambling responsibility measures. It also reported 93% of revenue for Q2 was “healthy”, compared with 92.5% in the prior three months. Healthy revenue increased to 94% in Q3. This figure is based on the operator’s risk analysis tool, Playscan, which categorises healthy customers as those with a low risk of developing problem gambling habits. Other safer gambling efforts this year include Svenska Spel’s independent research council donating SEK5.9m to seven different research projects focused on gambling-related harm. Meanwhile, the operator continues its 30-year partnership with the Swedish Ice Hockey Association by extending its sponsorship through to 2027.

37. SkillOnNet

Boasting more than 30 gaming brands in its portfolio, SkillOnNet comfortably maintains its position within the EGR Power 50 after financials shown to BDO revealed increases in NGR, EBITDA and operating profit. In August, a licence was secured in Peru for its PlayUZU brand, which also partnered with Playtech in Buenos Aires in May to expand its game content in Argentina’s capital. At a time when gambling companies are under the microscope for their charitable contributions, SkillOnNet stood out among its peers. According to GambleAware, the operator donated £40,000 during the charity’s fiscal Q1 for 2024-25. This figure was the most of any firm in the industry and £30,000 more than SkillOnNet donated in fiscal Q1 2023-24. Lastly, a global marketing campaign was unleashed in October for one of its flagship brands, PlayOJO. The ‘Sounds Like OJO Time’ ad series, which initially launched in the UK, was developed with creative agency Motel and appears across TV, digital and social media.

36. Rank Interactive

Rank Interactive is finally reaping the rewards of completing the migration onto its own proprietary tech stack last year. The gaming-first operator said this was a key driver for revenue growth. CEO John O’Reilly told EGR in August: “I think we’re now really starting to be rewarded for that work.” And that seems to be the case. For the 12 months to 30 June, digital NGR increased 12% YoY to £226m, driven by a 20% rise for bingo-led Mecca and a 21% spike for the gaming operator Grosvenor, while the Yo and Enracha brands in Spain achieved a revenue increase of 16% YoY. Boosted by strong customer growth, Rank Interactive’s operating profit jumped 79% to £23.4m. In the same interview, O’Reilly noted “key technology developments” as powering this growth. Alongside the tech migration, these include a single CMS for all UK brands and an in-house-developed Grosvenor app, which is translating into a “strong take-up from customers and driving higher deposits per player”. Rank also plans to launch a new Mecca app before Christmas.

35. Paf

A torchbearer of safe play, the Åland Islands-based operator continued its responsible gaming drive by lowering mandatory loss limits for 20- to 24-year-olds to €8,000, down from €10,000 the previous year. The cap on losses for those aged 18-19 was slashed from €10,000 to €1,800, while the most those aged 25 and above can lose in a calendar year is €17,500 (previously €20,000). Never one to mince his words, Paf CEO Christer Fahlstedt said in May that his company was “not selling teddy bears” and it had a responsibility for the product it provides. Propelled by a record number of active customers, online revenue for 2023 came in at €153.8m, compared with €142.1m the previous year, with growth particularly strong in Sweden, Spain and Latvia. Paf now claims to be the third-largest gaming operator in Latvia after last year’s acquisition of WilliamHill.lv and MrGreen.lv from evoke.

34. PENN Interactive

Following its industry-shaking ESPN deal in August 2023, PENN has been in a seemingly endless phase of headline-making transition as it strives to become a bona fide, tier-one US operator. That touched the very top of the organisational structure as theScore’s founders, the Levy family – of whom, three members occupied executive roles at PENN after it bought their company in 2021 – all left in H1 2024, ahead of former Disney and ESPN exec Aaron LaBerge being named PENN’s new CTO. While his appointment signified a refocus on product and technology, PENN understood it needed to maintain a dual emphasis on the buildout and expansion of its sports betting infrastructure – which it tackled through official sports betting partnerships with the NHL and PGA – in addition to the Q1 2024 launch of ESPN Bet in North Carolina, its 18th state at the time. Crucially, PENN is now live in New York following the acquisition of Wynn Interactive’s mobile licence in the Empire State. The launch increased ESPN Bet’s reach from 40% to 46% of the US population. PENN CEO Jay Snowden, who is facing heat from investors to deliver results, still believes ESPN Bet can become “America’s sportsbook”. But its single-digit market share right now suggests otherwise.

33. Pinnacle

Pinnacle has long been a global standard-bearer of traditional bookmaking thanks to its high-volume, low-margin business model and reputation for welcoming all bettors, sharp or otherwise. While its future US ambitions remain unknown (the Curaçao-based operator has not serviced US customers since 2007), it has nonetheless established a solid foothold in the regulated North American market, with Q4 2024 marking two years of operating in Ontario. Within that period, Pinnacle was concurrently celebrating a bigger milestone – the 25th anniversary of its trading business – with the rollout of an online esports competition in both CS:GO and Dota 2 dubbed the ‘Pinnacle: 25 Year Anniversary Show’ that featured a $100,000 prize pool. Although Pinnacle’s sports betting and esports offerings are not available Stateside, the operator has made a concerted effort to reach the US audience through education-focused content as well as a partnership with a North American media company, The Hammer Betting Network, that includes a title sponsorship of its flagship podcast, Circles Off.

32. Caliente Interactive

Entering the EGR Power 50 for the first time, Mexico’s Caliente is the market leader on its home turf. Semrush data for October revealed it was the country’s most visited gambling website, with 51.2 million hits – miles clear of the second-placed brand (7.2 million). The operator is prolific in sports marketing, acting as the official bookmaker for Liga BBVA MX, Mexico’s top-flight football league, as well as shirt sponsor for Atlas FC and Club Tijuana. Despite a few years of legal wranglings with Playtech over its JV, Caliplay, in September a new agreement was reached where the London-listed supplier will hold a 30.8% equity stake in Caliente Interactive, a new US-incorporated holding company of Caliplay. Playtech will gain the right to appoint a director to Caliente Interactive’s board and receive an additional $140m from the Mexican operator, phased over four years. In addition, Caliplay resumed paying Playtech unpaid software and services fees, with more than €150m – equivalent to 80% of the total owed – having been received, Playtech said in September.

31. Tabcorp

A bumpy 12 months for the Australian operator has seen it slide down the EGR Power 50 as full-year EBITDA slumped and CEO Adam Rytenskild left under a cloud. He quit in March following allegations of “inappropriate and offensive language” and was replaced by former Australian Football League chief Gillon McLachlan. The new boss then admitted Tabcorp would not hit its 2025 targets and that a “new cadence” would be introduced at the ASX-listed firm. Chair Bruce Akhurst also stepped down amid investor pressure at its October AGM and was replaced by non-executive director Brett Chenoweth. On the financial front, EBITDA for the 12 months to 30 June tumbled 18.7% to A$317.7m, while revenue slid 3.9% to A$2.3bn, which management blamed on “soft” market conditions and heightened competition. Non-cash impairment charges of almost A$1.4bn were also recognised during the reporting period. In August, Tabcorp received its largest-ever fine from the state of Victoria (A$4.6m) for repeated RG failings. This followed a A$370,000 penalty, also in Victoria, in June for allowing a minor to gamble in a retail setting.

If you are lucky enough to be ranked a Power 50 operator, secure your place at the Power 50 Summit next April.