Bet-at-home revenue falls 8.8% due to new regulations in Germany

Betclic Everest’s Bet-at-home has reported revenue of €56.8m for the first half.

Germany.- Bet-at-home has signalled Germany’s new gambling regulations as the cause for an 8.8 per cent year-on-year drop in revenue in the first half. It reported revenue of €56.8m, down from €62.3m in the same half last year.

Bet-at-home began operating under its newly issued German sports betting licence in February, meeting the legal requirements of the country’s new licensed market.

Germany’s new gambling legislation includes monthly betting limits of €1,000 for most customers. Deposits are also limited until players pass verification checks. In-play betting is limited to final result or next scorer markets.

Those restrictions caused Bet-at-home to perform below expectations during the UEFA European Football Championship, which began close to the end of the half. It was also affected by the lack of roulette and blackjack and the licensed market’s €1 per spin stake cap on slot games.

EBITDA fell 65.8 per cent year-on-year to €5.4m, partly due to higher marketing expenses linked to Euro 2020. It said it now expects gross betting and gaming revenue for the full year to come in between €100m and €110m, with EBITDA between €8m and €10m.

Bet-at-home said: “Although long-term legal certainty was gained in the core market of Germany as a result of the licensing, the upcoming implementation of cross-product monthly betting limits for online sports betting and online gaming is likely to lead to further revenue losses in Germany in the coming months.”

Other factors influencing the downturn include customer lawsuits in Austria, which cost the company €3.2m, and the discontinuation of its Polish business from June 1 due to legal changes that saw Polish authorities block the operator’s IP addresses and payment methods.

In May, Bet-at-home said it remained optimistic about the German licensed market despite a drop in revenue in Q1.

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has filed a complaint with the European Commission arguing that Germany’s 5.3 per cent tax on online slots and poker turnover constitutes illegal state aid for land-based gaming.

See also: Anne Poggemann appointed to lead new German gambling supervisor