During the 2022 financial year, Bet-at-home’s earnings decreased while operational expenses rose considerably.
Bet-at-home reported €53.5 million (£47.5 million/$57.1 million) in income in its 2022 annual report, a year marked by operational challenges.
Bet-at-home’s income decreased by 9.7% compared to €59.3 million in 2021, primarily due to the company’s difficulties in 2022.
Bet-at-home stated that the income decline was attributed to various factors, including the company’s withdrawal from the UK market.
On July 7, the UK Gambling Commission suspended Bet-at-home’s permit. The commission stated that during the suspension, the company’s operations would be examined because there were “actions that may have violated the Gambling Act 2005.”
The commission clarified that alleged shortcomings in anti-money laundering and social responsibility were the reasons for the permit suspension.
Days later, on July 12, Bet-at-home announced that it would permanently leave the UK market and stated that it had “surrendered” its permit. In the announcement, Bet-at-home said that customers could no longer place bets through the company as of July 6.
Later that month, on July 28, Bet-at-home announced that it would be reducing its workforce by 45 employees due to the outsourcing of certain services to EveryMatrix.
At this time, the company anticipates that its 2022 earnings will be adversely affected by staff reductions.
In the ninth month of the year, Bet-at-home issued a cautionary statement indicating that its liquidity risk had escalated due to its withdrawal from the Austrian market.
**Complete Year 2022**
Examining its performance for the entire year, Bet-at-home’s income was primarily driven by its online sports wagering operations. This segment generated a total income of €49 million, representing a 13.4% decrease compared to the previous year.
Online gaming revenue, encompassing casino games and virtual sports offerings, contributed the remaining €4.5 million, exhibiting a substantial 60.7% year-over-year increase.
After deducting €11.3 million in betting and gaming taxes (down 2.9%) and value-added tax, which doubled year-over-year to €99,000, the year’s net betting and gaming revenue amounted to €42 million. This represented an 11.6% decline.
Other revenue sources experienced an increase of €3.4 million. Bet-at-home did not provide specific details regarding the composition of this additional income.
Other operational expenditures surged by 128% to €16.2 million. Bet-at-home attributed this surge to several factors, including elevated legal and consulting fees, increased expenses associated with the liquidation of Bet-at-home Entertainment Group, and higher transaction costs.
The company explained that transaction costs were elevated for the year due to the inability to capitalize certain costs in “discontinued operations.”
Advertising expenses also saw an increase, albeit at a significantly lower rate of 14.8%. In contrast, personnel expenses declined by 27.4% to €13.5 million.
This led to an operating profit of €2.1 million, a decrease of 83.9%.
Subtracting €2.2 million in depreciation and amortization charges, the business experienced a loss of €105,000. After factoring in the cost of “financial outcomes,” the pre-tax profit was a loss of €690,000.
However, a positive contribution of €1.2 million from income tax and earnings brought the profit from ongoing operations to €551,000. This figure was down 94.8% year-over-year.
Including the €11.3 million result from discontinued operations, the full-year consolidated net profit was €11.9 million.
**Looking Forward**
Bet-at-home stated that it will concentrate on increasing outsourcing, revenue expansion, and “corresponding modifications to key procedures” in 2023.
Intriguingly, the operator indicated that it intends to expand in its “primary markets” of Germany and Austria after shutting down its Austrian online casino operation in 2022.
Financially, Bet-at-home stated that it anticipates total betting and gaming revenue to be between €50 million and €60 million in 2023.
It also anticipates EBITDA to be between a loss of €3 million and a positive contribution of €1 million.
