LeoVegas growth hit by Swedish casino restrictions

Deposit limits in Sweden impacted on growth in the third quarter.

Sweden.- LeoVegas has reported a 0.8 per cent increase in revenue year-on-year for Q3 as temporary online casino restrictions put the brakes on recent growth.

Revenue for the three months ending September 30 hit €88.9m, with 77 per cent coming from the operator’s core online casino product. Live casino accounted for 16 per cent and sports betting 7 per cent. 

Although total revenue increased marginally, the Nordic region, which accounted for 35 per cent, saw revenue fall 20 per cent year-on-year owing to Sweden’s temporary SEK5,000 deposit limits imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Revenue in the rest of Europe grew by 13 per cent, and the rest of the world by 21 per cent year-on-year.

LeoVegas’s president and chief executive, Gustaf Hagman, warned that Sweden’s temporary deposit limits were allowing offshore competitors to take a greater share of the market.

He said: “In Sweden we are seeing a troubling development in which the unlicensed market continues to grow unhindered.

“A growing number of operators without licences are actively targeting Swedish players, including those who have been barred by the self-exclusion tool Spelpaus.”

EBITDA for the quarter reached €11.9m, down 6.3 per cent year-on-year. Net profit was €4.1m, down 19.6 per cent.

Revenue for the nine months from January to September reached €289.1m, up by 7.5 per cent on the same period last year.

EBITDA increased by 25.4 per cent to €43.9m and total profit climbed 69.6 per cent to €21.2m.

The operator said that initial Q4 results from October saw revenue up by 26.9 per cent on 2019, but that Germany’s new transition rules for igaming operators have already had a slight negative impact.

Hagman said: “With a positive start to the fourth quarter, a record-large customer base and many exciting initiatives, I am looking forward to a strong end to the full year.”