During 2021/22, bet365 reported a profit of £42.8m. It also recorded solid numbers in 2020, despite an industry-wide downturn caused by the pandemic and the resulting sporting postponements. It seemed like things would only get better for the brand, but they have just announced a loss of £61.2m for 2022-23, So, does this mean the brand is dropping off or is there a simple explanation?
Britain’s Biggest Sports Betting Brand
According to a report from SimilarWeb, bet365 has the highest traffic share of all UK betting sites, accounting for around 28% of total traffic. That’s a phenomenal figure considering how big and competitive this sector is. It’s no wonder that the company reported revenue of £3.39 billion for 2022/23.
To put that into perspective, the online net gaming revenue for Entain during the same period was just £3.1 billion. It’s not that much of a difference, sure, but bet365 is one brand while Entain owns a wide number of gambling brands and sites, from household names like Ladbrokes and Coral to player favourites like Foxy Bingo and international behemoths like BetMgm.
But if it holds such a dominant position in the industry and is generating so much revenue, how did it record a loss of £61.2m?
The Story Behind the Numbers
Although things seem ominous at first glance, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Revenues were actually up overall. As noted above, bet365 reported £3.39bn for the year, and this marks a year-on-year increase of 31% in gaming revenue and 15% in sports betting revenue. Customer numbers also increased by nearly a third, and this was largely down to the brand’s improved presence in the US market.
Recent regulatory changes in many US states have given operators like bet365 the chance to use their contacts and infrastructure to hit the ground running. And in bet365’s case, it’s clearly working.
The issue is the same one we’re all having right now—everything is more expensive. It’s not just your food and energy bills that are increasing, business is getting more expensive as well. bet365’s admin expenses jumped by a massive 42.2%, hitting an extraordinary £2.93bn and wiping out most of the revenue.
There were a few other minor factors too, many of which can also be attributed to inflation and the increasing cost of goods and services
The Future
bet365 is a massive company that operates a prominent position in the UK betting sector. Although the recent reporting suggests otherwise, these are good times for the brand. The CEO, Denise Coates, attributed the increased player numbers to the introduction of new features such as Bet Builder and Bet Boost.
The former of these lets players build in-game multiples while the latter provides boosts on multiples. But again, this could also be partly down to the current economic crisis—research suggests that people are more likely to place bets and play casino games during times of economic strife—as well as the continued growing interest in leagues like the Premier League.
Either way, bet365 is doing well and things should only improve in the near future.
