Betsson CEO: We have slowed down on our US B2B ambition
Pontus Lindwall explains why Europe and Latam will take precedent for operator nearly two years on from Colorado Betsafe launch
Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall has said the business will continue to explore non-North American opportunities after an eighth record-breaking quarter for the business.
The Stockholm-listed firm, which runs the Betsafe brand in Colorado as a B2B showcase opportunity, reported Q4 revenue of €251.9m ($270.7m) and a 40% year-on-year (YOY) leap in EBITDA to €71.9m.
Betsson rolled out its North America-facing product in Colorado in March 2022 after agreeing a deal with Dostal Alley Casino two years prior.
However, speaking on an analyst call following the publication of the firm’s results, Lindwall said the firm hadn’t “concluded any deals yet on the sportsbook”.
Speaking to EGR today, the CEO further explained his thinking on the US almost two years since going live in the Centennial State.
Lindwall said: “We have slowed down on our ambitions on the B2B side in North America. The market is competitive. It’s quite crowded. We see other opportunities which look more attractive to us. So that’s why we go in that direction.
“But the investments that we have done in the B2B offering, and still do, are not wasted in any way because we still have a global B2B offering, and we have customers coming on to our product.
“The investments we are doing right now and what we have done before, we will still capitalize on going forward,” he added.
License revenue for system delivering for Betsson’ B2B customers jumped 26% YOY to €65.1m during the reporting period.
The group’s key geographies for its B2C operations are Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) and Latam.
CEECA accounted for more than €100m in revenue during the last three months of 2023, while Latam is the second largest region by revenue after returning €53.3m.
When asked about any potential frustrations regarding the development of the US for the company, Lindwall was bullish on Betsson’s success and outlook.
He said: “It will be very sad to sit here and have a sense of frustration when we have just released the best quarter ever. As a really huge company, we’re really proud about those figures. It’s like winning a soccer game by 5-0 and sitting here complaining because you didn’t [score a great] goal – that’s not what you do.
“We celebrate where we are and we’re really happy with the development that we have. We don’t have any bad feelings about the US and how that market is going.
“Some companies are busy doing what they are doing in the US and we are busy doing what we are doing elsewhere and that’s going perfectly fine,” he concluded.