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Better Collective reports record revenue; strong growth in US business and media partnerships

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Interim report January 1 – December 31, 2021

Highlights fourth quarter 2021

  • Q4 Group Revenue grew by 44% to 52.8 mEUR (Q4 2020: 36.7 mEUR). Organic revenue growth was 25%
    • The continued large increase in NDCs sent on revenue share contracts has signif- icantly increased future recurring revenue (in Publishing business) but also had a short term dampening effect on revenue and earnings. Combined with an ex- ceptionally low sports win margin, we have estimated an effect of approximately 6 mEUR in the quarter compared to historical average.
  • Q4 Group EBITDA before special items increased 16% to 16.3 mEUR (Q4 2020: 14.1 mEUR). The Group EBITDA-margin before special items was 31% (Publishing 40% and Paid Media 5%).
  • Cash Flow from operations before special items was 13.5 mEUR (Q4 2020: 10.1 mEUR), an increase of 33%. The cash conversion was 82%. By the end of Q4, capital reserves stood at 33.5 mEUR of which cash of 30.1 mEUR and unused bank credit facilities of 3.4 mEUR.
  • New Depositing Customers (NDCs) were >267,000 in the quarter (growth of 74%). NDCs sent on revenue share contracts were >190,000 (growth of 69%).
  • On November 4, Better Collective completed the acquisition of the remaining 40% shares in the US based RotoGrinders Network at a total price of 33 mEUR.
  • On December 8, Better Collective initiated a share buyback program to cover future payments relating to completed acquisitions and incentive programs for up to 10 mEUR.

Financial highlights full year 2021

  • Revenue grew by 94% to 177.1 mEUR (FY 2020: 91.2 mEUR), with organic growth of 29%.
  • EBITDA before special items increased 46% to 55.8 mEUR (FY 2020: 38.2 mEUR). The EBITDA-margin before special items was 32% (Publishing 43% and Paid Media 8%).
  • Special items amounted to a cost of 16.7 mEUR (FY 2020: 0.1 mEUR). It includes an 11.5 mEUR adjustment of the contingent liability related to the 2019 acquisition of Rical LLC, treated as a P/L item under IFRS, as well as income related to an ad- justment of the variable payment recorded in connection with the acquisition of Dutch assets. M&A cost of 6.0 mEUR is related to M&A activities, primarily Action Network, and 2.5 mEUR cost of Management incentive program related to Action Network.
  • Cash Flow from operations before special items was 51.2 mEUR (FY 2020: 38.3 mEUR), an increase of 34%. Cash conversion rate before special items was 92%.
  • On May 26, 2021, Better Collective resolved on a directed share issue of 6.9 million shares, thereby raising gross proceeds of SEK 1,500 million and significantly in- creasing financial flexibility.
  • New Depositing Customers were >857,000 in 2021 (growth of 96%). NDCs sent on revenue share contracts were >607,000 (growth of 70%).

During 2021, Better Collective completed acquisitions of approximately 210 mEUR:

  • On January 1, 2021 Better Collective increased its ownership to 90% of the shares in Mindway AI that specialises in software solutions based on artificial intelligence and neuroscience for identifying, preventing and intervening in at-risk and problem gambling.
  • On March 31, 2021 Better Collective strengthened its position in the Swedish sports betting market by acquiring online sports betting media platform, Rekatochklart. com for 3.8 mEUR.
  • On May 28, Better Collective acquired leading US sports betting media platform, Action Network, for 196 mEUR (240 mUSD), gaining market leadership within sports betting media in the US.
  • On September 24, Better Collective acquired Soccernews.nl, a Dutch online sports betting community, in separate transactions for total upfront payments of 5.9 mEUR.

Significant events of the closure of the period

  • January revenue reached >26 mEUR, more than double vs. 2020, of which 69% was organic growth. Earnings (EBITDA before special items) were >11 mEUR. Performance was boosted by the market opening in the state of New York.
  • On January 21 2022, Better Collective entered into a media partnership with the New York Post to bring the best in commercial sports betting content to the pub- lication’s readership of more than 92 million unique users. The agreement covers the delivery of content, data, and statistics for the betting section of the New York Post. New York state opened for online sports betting on January 8, 2022. Better Collective is off to a great start across all assets, in particular Action Network.
  • On January 11, 2022 the share buyback program of 10 mEUR initiated on December 8, 2021 was completed with 532,482 shares accumulated under the program.
  • The board of directors have implemented a new Long Term Incentive Plan (LTI) for key employees in the Better Collective group (excluding the executive manage- ment). Grants under the new LTI will be in the form of performance share units and share options vesting over a 3-year period. The total value of the 2022 LTI grant program is 1.4 mEUR (Black-Scholes value) measured at the target level.

Jesper Søgaard, Co-founder & CEO of Better Collective, commented:

“An all-time high intake of NDCs and an overall strong performance of our business mark the ending of 2021 – a year of many new opportunities for Better Collective. We managed to deliver growth of 44% over that of last year’s Q4. Our US business delivered prime results following the start of the NFL season, and contributed almost 40% to the total quarterly Group revenue. “

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Financial targets 2021

The Group financial targets for 2021 for organic growth (29% vs target of >25%) and Operational Earnings/EBITDA (55.8 mEUR vs target of >55 mEUR) were met. Total revenue ended at 177 mEUR slightly below the target of >180 mEUR. Total revenue and earnings were, as mentioned, affected negatively by an exceptionally low sports win margin in Q4 as well as a high intake of NDCs, which has a short- term dampening effect on margins.

Financial targets 2022

The Board of Directors have decided on new financial targets for the Better Collective Group for the financial year 2022. Excluding potential new M&A-trans- actions:

  • Double-digit organic revenue growth of 15-25%
  • Operating profit (EBITDA before special items) of approx. 75 mEUR
  • Debt leverage (Net interest bearing debt/EBITDA) <3,0
  • High operational cash conversion rate expected to be maintained

Conference call

A telephone conference will be held at 10.00 a.m. CET today by CEO Jesper Søgaard and CFO Flemming Pedersen. The presentation will simultaneously be webcasted, and both the telephone conference and the webcast offer an opportunity to ask questions.

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TEN Launches First-ever Fully On-chain Poker Powered by Autonomous AI Agents

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TEN, The Entertainment Network for AI‑Native iGaming, has launched House of TEN—the first fully on-chain poker application featuring autonomous AI agents with trustless, encrypted gameplay.

More than just a technical milestone, the launch signals the arrival of AI-native iGaming—a new category of on-chain entertainment where AI agents and trustless wagering converge. The successful launch of House of TEN illustrates how TEN’s unique, encrypted execution environment is expanding the possibilities for what can be achieved on the Ethereum blockchain. With programmable privacy, verifiable randomness and no off-chain logic, TEN enables fully autonomous, high-stakes games that merge crypto trustlessness with real gameplay complexity.

Poker That Actually Works On-Chain

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Poker has been played for over 200 years, but until now, it couldn’t exist fully on-chain without compromising fairness or privacy. By solving long-standing limitations around privacy, randomness, and user experience—without relying on off-chain components—TEN is enabling games that were previously considered impossible to build on-chain. Users can stake on AI agents with distinct strategies and personalities, earning ZEN—a prediction-based rewards system that converts into future airdrops.

Poker requires hidden information, strategic play and fair randomness—none of which have been possible in previous blockchain implementations without compromising trust assumptions. TEN uses TEEs to deliver encrypted card hands and secure, verifiable randomness, without any off-chain logic.

“We’ve built the world’s first true on-chain poker with AI agents you can stake on. It’s one of the most technically advanced dApps ever deployed in Web3. To make it work, we had to solve cryptographic challenges that most thought were impossible—like fully private card hands, autonomous logic, and fair, tamper-proof dealing,” said Cais Manai, Co-Founder & Head of Product at TEN.

AI Agents That Think, Bluff and Deceive

TEN’s poker experience includes autonomous AI agents with unique personalities and play styles, from aggressive risk-takers to unpredictable wildcards. Players can follow and stake on these agents as they compete in real time. The gameplay experience mirrors leading online poker platforms, only now, it’s fully on-chain, transparent and decentralized. Each hand is unpredictable. Odds move in real time based on player actions, not bots, because the game state is encrypted and can’t be sniped.

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The launch of House of TEN is a live demonstration of what the protocol makes possible:

• Trust in the protocol, not the people.

• Chain-level encryption.

• Lightning-fast finality.

• Seamless user experience (UX) that hides complexity.

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A Glimpse Into What’s Next for Ethereum

While poker is the first showcase, TEN is built to support much more. Its encrypted execution environment enables entirely new classes of on-chain games and AI applications that require privacy, randomness or complex off-chain-like logic—spanning DeFi, gaming and AI-based applications.

“TEN isn’t just another L2—we’ve built what we believe is the most sophisticated infrastructure in the space. This launch proves that real utility, strong user experience (UX), and cryptographic privacy can all coexist on Ethereum. We’re building for the future of institutions, enterprises, and autonomous systems entering Web3,” said Gavin Thomas, CEO of TEN Protocol.

The post TEN Launches First-ever Fully On-chain Poker Powered by Autonomous AI Agents appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Ygam Welcomes Two New Trustees

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Ygam has strengthened its board of trustees with two appointments bringing combined expertise in governance, policy, public affairs and safeguarding.

Judy White joins the Ygam board with over 20 years of experience in governance and operational leadership across the not-for-profit sector. A Chartered Secretary, Judy has a proven track record in governance, risk management, data protection, transformation and stakeholder engagement. She most recently served as Head of Governance at the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), where she oversaw governance, assurance and risk across the organisation.

Previously, Judy spent seven years at the Gambling Commission as a Senior Manager in Licensing, where she played a key role in assessing complex licensing applications. Judy’s deep understanding of governance frameworks and regulatory environments will provide crucial oversight and support as Ygam continues to grow and evolve.

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Iain Corby joins alongside Judy as an experienced leader with a diverse career spanning consultancy, government policy, and the third sector. His early career included 12 years as a programme management consultant at Deloitte before transitioning into policy work.

Iain has experience working in gambling harms prevention sector, previously serving as Deputy Chief Executive of GambleAware. He is currently the founding Executive Director of the Age Verification Providers Association which prioritises child protection in the digital space. With an MBA from UCLA and a reputation for delivering performance improvements, Ian brings strategic insight, commercial acumen and a wealth of knowledge in public affairs and communications.

Mike Wocik, Chair of Ygam, said: “We are delighted to welcome Judy and Iain to the Ygam Board. Their wealth of experience and expertise will further strengthen our governance and strategic leadership, ensuring we continue to operate at the highest standards. Strong governance is the foundation of our success, and their insights will be invaluable as we grow our impact and evolve as a leader in our field. I look forward to working with them to drive our mission forward and make a lasting difference.”

Judy White said: “I’m excited to join the fantastic team at Ygam. I’m passionate about supporting children and young people, and I’ve been hugely impressed by Ygam’s position as a leader in their field, with a clear commitment to high standards of governance and impact. I look forward to engaging and collaborating with the board and staff to advance Ygam’s vision and mission, ultimately supporting children and young people in safely navigating our increasingly digital world.”

Iain Corby said: “Although it has been six years since I was at GambleAware, I have followed developments in the field from a distance and recognise this is a time of great change and opportunity with the introduction of the new levy. The growing focus on prevention has never been more important, and I look forward to supporting the board, the whole leadership team, and the impressive team that is delivering such a formidable impact for young people across the country and beyond.”

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Narva Communications Becomes Svenska Spel’s New Agency for Corporate Communications

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Narva Communications has become Svenska Spel’s new agency for corporate communications.

“We received high-quality bids from some of Sweden’s leading agencies in Corporate Communication. After a thorough evaluation process, Narva was the agency that received the highest score. They have demonstrated great strategic acumen, strong analytical skills and a very good understanding of Svenska Spel’s mission and communication needs,” Andreas Jerat, Head of Corporate Communication at Svenska Spel, said.

Narva’s assignment includes strategic communication support within Corporate Communication, Public Affairs and financial communication. The assignment also includes the production of annual and sustainability reports. The agreement is valid for two years starting in May 2025, with the possibility of extension 1 + 1 year.

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“We are extremely proud that Svenska Spel has chosen Narva as a partner for its group communications. Svenska Spel is one of Sweden’s most well-known brands with an important social mission. We look forward to working with them to develop communications and help further strengthen the image of Svenska Spel as a role model for games that are offered in a safe and responsible manner,” said Frida Dahlgren, CEO of Narva Communications and account manager for Svenska Spel.

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