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10: Betsson
Financials: For the first half of 2024, revenue reached €519.7m, marking a 13% rise compared to H1 2023. EBITDA climbed 22% YoY to €149.2m, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 28.7%.
Strategy & impact: Primarily a casino-focused operator, 75% of its revenue derives from gaming. Over the years, Betsson has expanded its portfolio of local hero brands through organic growth and strategic mergers and acquisitions.
Geographic reach: Betsson holds local licenses in 22 countries, with over 40% of its revenue generated from markets not locally regulated. Currently, CEECA represents the largest segment in terms of revenue share.
Influence & leadership: Emerging from a legacy business in Sweden, Betsson has grown into one of the largest online groups, with management emphasizing profitable and sustainable growth.
Pontus Lindwall, the CEO, described the recent quarter as “the best ever for Betsson,” highlighting new records in revenue and operating income for the three months ending in June.
As Betsson continuously posts new highs for various KPIs, witnessing the company’s accolades during quarterly earnings calls has become routine. The Stockholm-listed firm’s share price has skyrocketed by 75% over the past two years, underlining this streak.
With a roster exceeding 20 brands—including Betsson, Betsafe, Rizk, and NordicBet—the operator continues to make strides in regions labeled as CEECA (Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia).
Within CEECA, vibrant markets such as Croatia, Lithuania, and Estonia have emerged recently. Currently, CEECA constitutes 42% of group revenue, followed by Latam (25%), the Nordics (16%), and Western Europe (16%).
Betsson has historically not shied away from engaging in unregulated markets, which sometimes impacts its final rankings.
Nevertheless, revenue from locally regulated jurisdictions surged to 58% in Q3 (€163m), climbing from 45% in the same period in 2023. In Q2 (55%), Peru was included for the first time as local gaming tax was accrued during the entire period.
During the summer, Betsson secured local licenses for this newly regulated market, along with Betsafe and local operator Inkabet. Betsson’s push into Latam is bolstered by a four-year front-of-shirt deal (Betsson.sport) signed in July with Italy’s Inter Milan, a club with robust ties to South America due to its current and former players.
In March, Betsson marked its return to the Dutch market by acquiring a locally licensed B2C business and a B2B outfit for a total of €27.5m. Following that with M&A activities, Betsson acquired Sporting Solutions’ trading, pricing, and sports betting risk-management services from FDJ in August, partially to enhance the B2C offering.
Further M&A initiatives could be on the horizon, as indicated by the news in September that Betsson would assess investor interest in a €100m bond offering. The raised funds would be used to refinance existing bonds and facilitate acquisitions.
9: Kindred Group
Financials: Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) for the year’s first half totaled £635.3m, rising by 3.5% YoY, albeit incorporating B2B (3% of revenue). Underlying EBITDA, inclusive of B2B, surged 26.5% to £132.9m.
Strategy & impact: Encompassing nine brands, this well-established business had reached a lifecycle juncture where M&A seemed inevitable. Eventually, FDJ emerged as the acquirer.
Geographic reach: Western Europe (65%) and the Nordics (23%) contribute nearly 90% of revenue. In light of the FDJ deal, Kindred Group will withdraw from markets with “no clear path to regulation.”
Influence & leadership: Kindred remains influential in the sector, recognized for its transparency with RG through its ‘Journey towards zero’ stats (revenue share from harmful play).
This marks Kindred Group’s final appearance as an independent entity in the EGR Power 50 after French giant La Française des Jeux (FDJ) completed its €2.5bn acquisition of the legacy Swedish operator.
Among the top five betting and gaming operators in Western Europe, Kindred Group made notable strides in 2024.
Despite seeming as if the business was in a holding pattern following FDJ’s public tender offer in January, strategic operational decisions were still in motion, with Nils Andén being appointed as Kindred Group’s permanent CEO shortly thereafter.
Operationally, Unibet’s parent company recorded a “strong performance” in its locally regulated markets for the three months ending March, mainly driven by the Netherlands, the UK, and Romania. Group-wide active customers rose by 3% to 1.7 million.
This momentum carried into Q2, with active player numbers rising 12% and core markets in France and Belgium experiencing a resurgence. Furthermore, Euro 2024 generated its highest revenue from a football tournament (£183.6m), marking a 16% increase compared to the 2022 World Cup.
In parallel, development of the internally built Kindred Sportsbook Platform (KSP) is advancing rapidly; early results from test markets are positive, meeting developmental milestones revealed by management.
North America won’t be part of KSP’s deployment, as the company completed its withdrawal by the end of Q2, reverting largely to being a pan-European operator, with Western Europe accounting for nearly two-thirds of group revenue.
Surveying the future for FDJ’s new asset, regulatory challenges lie ahead in some core markets. For example, the Netherlands plans to incrementally increase the tax on GGR from 30.5% to 37.8% by 2026.
Teun Struycken, the Dutch minister responsible for gambling, has expressed intentions to regulate “very risky elements” of slots and has proposed an outright advertising ban.
This ban could paradoxically benefit Unibet, given its leading position and brand awareness in the country.
8: Kaizen Gaming
Financials: Insights from BDO indicate substantial YoY increments in NGR and monthly active players over the 12 months up to 30 June 2024.
Strategy & impact: Their logos prominently feature on club shirts, leagues, and competitions. This marketing blitz is reinforced by exceptional products backed by proprietary technologies.
Geographic reach: Present in 18 global markets, including top positions; Betano has become one of the world’s leading sportsbooks.
Influence & leadership: Still under the leadership of founder and CEO George Daskalakis, Kaizen Gaming has rapidly grown into one of the world’s foremost online gambling businesses in just over a decade since its inception.
Entering the top 10, Kaizen Gaming’s meteoric rise within the industry is undeniable. Founded in 2012, the company first carved its presence in Greece with Stoiximan, later launching a brand designed to conquer international markets: Betano.
Today, Betano accounts for the bulk of Kaizen Gaming’s 13 million active customers. The group has expanded to 18 markets, including Portugal, Romania, Czechia, and Germany, along with a notable presence in Latam, particularly Brazil.
In Brazil, Betano has experienced tremendous growth in a short span, becoming the market leader. Traffic from Brazil to Betano.com reached over 82 million visits in October—approximately 40 million more than its nearest competitor, according to Semrush data.
In conversations with EGR in September, an established operator in Brazil referred to Betano as the industry’s “North Star” due to its impact.
Betano also forayed into the UK market in May through a white-label partnership with BVGroup, supported by a two-year sponsorship deal with Aston Villa. Football sponsorships are integral to Kaizen Gaming’s strategy, with partnerships with multiple clubs in Greece’s top-flight, the Stoiximan Super League, and Portugal’s top teams, including Benfica, Porto, and Sporting CP.
Moreover, in September, Betano became the official global sponsor of the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League. Stoiximan sponsors both competitions in Greece and Cyprus, and Betano’s official global sponsorship of Euro 2024 garnered notable prestige and TV exposure.
Kaizen Gaming’s accomplishments culminated in
