Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall has emphasised that taxes have no impact on the group’s investment strategy, which maintains the full trust of investors satisfied with the proven track record on growth and profitability.
Lindwall strikes a confident tone on Betsson’s FY2025 performance, insisting that the Stockholm gambling group remains well-positioned to navigate rising tax pressures and regulatory tightening that have begun to weigh on earnings across the wider sector.
Speaking on the iGamingDaily podcast, Lindwall said he expects Betsson AB to be amongst the fastest European gambling PLCs to adjust and recover from heightened fiscal demands. He dismissed growing investor anxiety around cost pressures as an issue “for others” rather than a constraint on Betsson’s long-term strategy.
“High taxes or regulatory complexity are just part of being in this industry,” Lindwall said. “We are familiar with complex environments and high tax regimes — that’s nothing new to us. It’s pointless to fixate about the tax. The market is what it is.”
The comments followed a Q4 trading period that marked the beginning of anticipated headwinds across multiple regulated markets. However, Lindwall remained confident that the quarter would still deliver Betsson’s highest revenue performance on record of €1.197bn to close a strong FY2025 maintaining net earnings at €183m
Rather than framing the current headwinds as a structural downturn, Lindwall pointed to Betsson’s long-term operating discipline as the foundation of its continued profitability.
“You get to be super fit in everything you do,” he said. “If you have a strong product and a lean organisation, you can be profitable even in heavily regulated markets.”
He credited years of system upgrades, tighter operations and continual product development for keeping Betsson competitive while many peers grapple with mounting cost pressures and thinning margins. Increasing regulation, Lindwall argued, is now acting as a competitive filter that favours efficient and well-run operators.
Under Lindwall’s leadership, Betsson has delivered on an extended period of corporate growth, of which the CEO can reflect on 18 consecutive quarters of growth as evidence of consistent execution.
“The fact that we’ve grown robustly over the course of many years comes from operational efficiency and improving our gaming systems,” Lindwall said. “That puts us in a strong position to continue delivering growth as competition becomes more severe and tax increases follow.”
While wider investor sentiment across gambling PLCs appears to be shifting towards aggressive cost-cutting and simplified strategies, Lindwall said Betsson’s shareholders continue to back investment in product, marketing and diversification.
“We have profitability, we pay dividends, and we continue to grow,” he said. “Investors should be happy about growing a company while making money and getting money back.”
Addressing speculation around potential crypto-related acquisitions, Lindwall said the market interest was unsurprising given Betsson’s financial strength. With more than €150m in net cash available, M&A remains a strategic lever for the group across both operator assets and technology platforms.
“We invest in operators, but also in technology, be it sportsbook solutions, payments companies and platforms that underpin the business,” he said. “Anything that strengthens our operations and competitive position is of interest.”
Lindwall made clear that tougher regulatory conditions will not dilute Betsson’s diversification strategy or its commitment to product excellence across both B2C and B2B divisions.
Active in 25 regulated jurisdictions, he described localisation and regulatory adaptability as key competitive advantages… “The strategy we’ve followed for the past five years has proven extremely effective,” Lindwall concluded.
“There’s no need for major adjustments; we just keep improving the product in every market.”
