Betsson will be staying away from some of the largest gambling markets in Western Europe because of recent regulatory changes and challenges, according to Chief Executive Officer Pontus Lindwall.
Speaking on the latest episode of iGaming Daily, Lindwall was asked about the operator’s first quarter financial performance across global markets, after overall group revenue during the period declined by 3% year-on-year (YoY) to €285.3m (Q1 2025: €294m).
B2B revenue dropped to €51m (Q1 2025: €90m), while B2C revenue improved by 15% YoY.
Although revenue dipped, Betsson performed well across Western Europe (€61.3m) and Latin America (€93m), achieving double-digit YoY growth in both regions despite the challenges faced.
Lindwall said: “The Latin American market is a little bit, let’s say, behind Europe on the timeline of development. That means that it’s not as well penetrated yet by online gaming, so we believe that there is a strong structural growth in many of these markets going forward.
“We have good positions in a few of these markets. I think we’re definitely number one in Argentina. We’re well-positioned in other markets as well, with good brand recognition and technology, which has been proven there for quite some time. We are definitely optimistic about the future in that region.”
Latin America revenue increased by 24.7% YoY to €93m (Q1 2025: €74.5m), recording growth in both Peru and Colombia, while Argentina was in-line with the previous year.
Western Europe revenue improved by 10.3% YoY to €61.3m (Q1 2025: €55.6m), with revenue in Italy achieving an all-time high, revenue growing in France, but dipping in Belgium. Betsson’s performance comes despite the operator not being in two of the region’s biggest markets – the UK and Germany.
Betsson staying away from the UK
Lindwall explained that the regulatory directions in some markets across Europe mean they are no longer feasible jurisdictions to operate in.
“Western Europe, as a whole, is actually a sad story in many ways, where we have seen regulatory development, which definitely is working against the ambitions of the regulators to create a regulated and taxable gaming industry,” he continued.
“We at Betsson, being quite a big company, are standing more or less outside many of the largest markets in Europe, such as the UK and Germany, two powerhouses of nations with a lot of gaming history, good economic foundations, but we don’t consider them investable as a company, so we leave them for someone else to invest in.
“In Italy, it’s a different situation and in some other markets as well, we see a better climate. There, we can invest and keep on growing, but Europe, as a whole, is very saturated, and it’s not a similar situation in most countries there.”
Elsewhere, revenue in the Nordics was down 16.9% YoY to €31.4m (Q1 2025: €37.8m), as well as in Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia by 21.8% to €95.7m (Q1 2025: €122.3m). Revenue from the rest of the world was €3.9m (Q1 2025: €3.4m).
Betsson’s Q1 casino revenue was down 4% YoY to €203.8m (Q1 2025: €212.3m), while sportsbook improved slightly to €80.2m (Q1 2025: €79.7m).
The operator’s EBITDA dropped 36% YoY to €50m (Q1 2025: €77.7m), with margin down to 17.5% (26.5%), while EBIT declined 47% to €34m (Q1 2025: €64m). Net income came in at €25.5m, down 47% (Q1 2025: €48.4m).
During the iGaming Daily episode, Lindwall also went into Betsson’s market strategy in Canada, where the company recently acquired Rhino Entertainment, as well as provided insight into the operator’s preparations for this summer’s FIFA World Cup football tournament.
Want to hear more stories like this? Check out the new SBC Media YouTube Channel, the new home of all things multimedia at SBC, where our team deep-dives into the biggest stories from across the sports betting, iGaming, affiliate and payments industries.
