Lottomatica eyes acquisitions after successful first half

The Italian gaming operator has reported a rise in revenue of almost 350 per cent.

Italy.- The CFO of the Italian gaming operator Lottomatica has revealed that the company is open to making acquisitions after it reduced its debt and built up its cash in a successful first half. Revenue rose by nearly 350 per cent year-on-year to €801m, largely thanks to its incorporation into the Gamesnet Group, which bought Lottomatica from IGT but then assumed the brand name itself.

Online revenue was up 27.3 per cent for the first half, coming in at €164m. Retail betting revenue rose from €10m to €174m and gaming machines revenue from €40m to €463m. The scale of the increases was affected by Covid-19 restrictions in 2021.

Lottomatica reported profit of €61m for the period, compared with a loss of €54m last year. EBITDA for the second quarter hit €234m, up from €125m in Q1. Online business accounted for 39 per cent of EBITDA.

The period saw Lottomatica migrate its retail and digital business to a single platform. It also merged Lottomatica Scommesse and GoldBet and launched its shopfront virtual betting product.

The company’s update predicted a positive outlook on the back of the Italian government’s decision to extend Italian betting licences until 2024. The strengthened financials put Lottomatica in a good position for potential acquisitions.

Chief financial officer Laurence van Lancker said: “We are actively monitoring the market, assessing those assets with the same approach we have previously discussed. But for now, there is no update. When there is an update we will clearly communicate to the market what we want to do.”

He added: “We don’t want to do acquisitions for the sake of EBIDTA or the sake of growth; we want to have a profitable, sustainable and disciplined growth for the right conditions – but we keep on being very active in this space.”