Better Collective interim report January 1 – December 31, 2019

Published

5 years ago

February 20, 2020

George Miller

Highlights fourth quarter 2019

Q4 Revenue grew by 61% to 19,579 tEUR (Q4 2018: 12,135 tEUR). Organic revenue growth was 24%.
Q4 EBITA before special items increased 32% to 7,117 tEUR (Q4 2018: 5,382 tEUR). The EBITA-margin before special items was 36% including an expected downwards impact of 4%-points from the acquired US-businesses. Excluding the impact from US, the EBITA-margin before special items was 40%.
Sports win margins were significantly lower than historic average. Compared to historic average, revenue and earnings were affected negatively by an estimated 2 mEUR in the quarter.
New Depositing Customers (NDCs) exceeded 118.000 in the quarter (growth of 55%, most of which organic). This established a new quarterly company record.
Bank financing with Nordea has been re-structured and Better Collective now has committed 3-year credit facilities of >80 mEUR with an extension option for one additional year.
A directed new share issue of 4 million shares raised cash proceeds to the Company of 30 mEUR (312 mSEK) before transaction costs.
Cash Flow from operations before special items was 7,532 tEUR (Q4 2018: 5,411 tEUR), an increase of 39%. The cash conversion was 96%. End of Q4, capital reserves stood at 90 mEUR consisting of net cash of 23 mEUR and unused bank credit facilities of 67 mEUR.
A new version of the flagship product bettingexpert.com was launched.

Financial highlights full year 2019

Revenue grew by 67% to 67,449 tEUR (YTD 2018:40,483 tEUR). Organic revenue growth was 26%.
EBITA before special items grew by 69% to 27,231 tEUR (YTD 2018: 16,072 tEUR). The EBITA-margin before special items was 40% (YTD 2018: 40%). Excluding the acquired US-business the EBITA-margin was 43%.
Cash Flow from operations before special items was 26,585 tEUR (YTD 2018: 15,158 tEUR), an increase of 75%. The cash conversion rate before special items was 91% (YTD 2018: 89%).
New Depositing Costumers (NDCs) exceeded 431,000 (growth of 66%).
Acquisitions completed in 2019 by Better Collective:
60% of the shares in Rical LLC (RotoGrinders Network) were acquired for 18 mEUR (21 mUSD). Better Collective will acquire the remaining 40% of shares in the period 2022-24 and a contingent consideration of 26.7 mEUR is recorded.
Through the wholly-owned US subsidiary, the assets of Florida based Vegasinsider.com and Scoresandodds.com for a total transaction price of 18 mEUR (20 mUSD).
All shares in the company owning and operating the site mybettingsites.co.uk for up to 2.4 mEUR.
19.99% of the shares in Mindway AI at 0.5 mEUR, who develops software solutions for the identification of at-risk and problem gambling behaviour.

Other significant events after the closure of the period

January trading update: Revenue of approximately 7.2 mEUR (growth of 48%, of which organic growth 30% compared to January 2019). The sports win margin in January was significantly higher than historical average.
Advanced negotiations for the potential acquisition of 100% of the shares in an e-sport company, who promotes and advertises sports betting operators, for up to 34 mEUR.
On January 23, 2020, Better Collective hosted the first edition of bookmaker awards starting in Greece with its Greek flagship product Betarades.gr.
Better Collective won the “Affiliate of the Year” at the EGR Nordics Awards 2020 and bettingexpert.com won the iGB Affiliate Award for Best Sports Betting Affiliate website.

44 New Brands Growth in Q1’25: Affilka by SOFTSWISS Results

Published

17 hours ago

May 8, 2025

George Miller

44-new-brands-growth-in-q1’25:-affilka-by-softswiss-results

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Affilka by SOFTSWISS reports its business performance in Q1 2025, continuing its steady growth as one of the industry’s leading affiliate marketing platforms.

The first quarter of the year marked a period of significant achievements for Affilka by SOFTSWISS. In January, it was named Affiliate Company of the Year at the International Gaming Awards 2025, highlighting its growing recognition in the industry.

In the first three months of 2025, 44 new brands joined the Affilka platform, bringing the total number to over 450 brands. During the same period, affiliate GGR rose by 2.7%, the number of visits increased by 3.1%, and affiliate payments grew by 13.2% compared to Q4 2024. Overall, Affilka now supports over 400 thousand affiliate accounts (+23.1% vs Q4 2024) and tracks more than 98 million registered players, up from 87 million in Q4 2024.

Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 (25-26 March)

Alongside its financial gains, Affilka maintains an active pace of product development. The team is now preparing to release a new feature: Cross-Brand Player Duplicate Detection. It will enable operators to detect identical player accounts across multiple brands within a single affiliate program. The tool will allow operators to optimise their marketing costs and improve traffic quality.

The innovation is the third major update released by Affilka in the last six months. Earlier, the platform introduced the Geo-Distributed Redirect feature, which reduces user redirect times by fivefold and boosts player conversion. The most recent tool, the Cohort Analysis Report, enables operators to track and evaluate player behaviour more effectively.

“Affiliate marketing is evolving fast, and Affilka evolves with it,” says Anastasia Borovaya, Head of Affilka by SOFTSWISS. “We’re focused on helping our partners meet emerging challenges – whether that means offering new ways to analyse player behaviour, refine traffic strategy, or cut costs without losing efficiency. The Cross-Brand Duplicate Detection tool is one more example of how we turn real-world operator needs into functional, high-impact solutions.”

Anastasia Borovaya recently participated as a guest lecturer at the Academy of Gaming Operations, where she led a session on the Affiliate Management course. She is expected to return to teach the course again in the second half of 2025.

About SOFTSWISS

SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS complies with a number of gaming licences and provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 27,800 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team, based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia, counts over 2,000 employees.

The post 44 New Brands Growth in Q1’25: Affilka by SOFTSWISS Results appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Affiliate Industry

Casino Guru shortlisted for prestigious SBC Awards Europe 2025

Published

4 days ago

May 5, 2025

George Miller

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Casino Guru has been shortlisted for the inaugural SBC Awards Europe 2025, joining a competitive field of contestants in the “Casino Affiliate of the Year” category. SBC Awards Europe 2025 is the first edition in what will be a recurring event, celebrating excellence at the SBC Summit Malta, which was rebranded from CasinoBeats Summit.

The event ceremony is due to take place on Thursday, June 12, at the Hilton Malta and will reunite 300 industry guests. Casino Guru is honored to have been distinguished by making the shortlist and competing against other industry leaders such as Gentoo Media, Gambling.com Group, and Brian Christopher’s Flip the Switch.
Casino Guru is more than an affiliate, with a distinguished track record for favoring player safety and empowering consumers to make the right choices about the casinos they play at.

With a review database that exceeds 8,296 casinos, 17,414 bonuses, and 20,194 casino games, Casino Guru is constantly growing as the Internet’s largest and most reliable database for anything that has to do with iGaming.
Commenting on Casino Guru’s shortlisting in the ‘Casino Affiliate of the Year’ category at the SBC Awards Europe 2025, Daniela Sliva, Public Relations and Creative Projects Director, said:

Being shortlisted for the inaugural SBC Awards Europe is a testament to Casino Guru’s impact and recognition as a trusted voice in the industry. Through continuous efforts to educate both industry professionals and players, we have consistently promoted the core values that should define the entire iGaming industry – transparency, fairness, and openness. Casino Guru is proud to be considered for the Casino Affiliate of the Year award, a reflection of our unwavering commitment to player protection and ethical industry standards.

Casino Guru is an outlier with groundbreaking initiatives, including the Complaint Resolution Center, which returned more than $40,000,000 to players by February 2025, making it an unmatched industry specialist.

Casino Guru is one of the few industry companies – and possibly the only one – to actively champion industry-wide improvement of casino standards through its unique Safety Index reviewing methodology.

Each of the more than 8,296 casinos in the Casino Guru database is reviewed manually and scrutinized for the fairness of their terms and conditions.

Ratings are fluid and are continuously subjected to reassessment to ensure that players looking for recommendations will get the most up-to-date and reliable information.

Casino Guru has spearheaded sustainable efforts in responsible gambling through the launch of the Gamtegrity platform and has worked with sector leaders to advance the importance of safe & positive play.

Casino Guru continues to set industry standards by taking a truly player-centric approach, one that challenges industry practices and upholds transparency, fairness, and openness as core principles of play.

The post Casino Guru shortlisted for prestigious SBC Awards Europe 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Affiliate Industry

Already Media acquires Live Casino Comparer

Published

3 weeks ago

April 14, 2025

Adrienn Sarkany

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

Tech-driven affiliate and media company Already Media has acquired Live Casino Comparer for an undisclosed sum.

Live Casino Comparer is a well-established review portal focused on the live dealer niche. It was founded in 2014, and its team brings more than 30 years of casino experience to every review it publishes.

The site’s founder, Neil Walker, will stay on both as an advisor and an active part of the content team, helping to scale Live Casino Comparer’s output across both the B2C and B2B verticals.

Already Media will also rebuild the site’s platform and has plans to enter into new geos and content formats.

The deal was brokered by Corfai, the specialist M&A advisory founded by Ben Robinson.

Alina Famenok, CEO at Already Media, said: “This is another landmark for Already Media, as we continue to acquire brands that expand our reach and can benefit from our technology. We’re excited to get to work alongside Neil to take Live Casino Comparer to new heights. Huge thanks to Ben and the Corfai team for helping us close this deal in just two weeks, which is surely the fastest M&A deal in iGaming history.”

Neil Walker, founder at Live Casino Comparer, added: “I couldn’t be more excited to begin this new chapter for Live Casino Comparer as part of the Already Media team. They bring the technical and operational firepower to scale globally, while keeping the spirit of honest, expert-driven reviews at the core.”

The acquisition aligns with Already Media’s strategy of acquiring trusted affiliate brands and elevating them through its technology-led approach.

Last year, the company acquired PokerListings, and has since migrated it to a new platform, entered new regions and developed a vibrant community around the brand.

The post Already Media acquires Live Casino Comparer appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.