Industry News
Inspired Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results
Inspired Entertainment, a leading B2B provider of gaming content, technology, hardware and services, reported financial results for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023.
Lorne Weil, Executive Chairman of Inspired, said: “We have completed the financial restatement process and as of today, all amended filings are complete. For the first half of 2023, the net impact to Adjusted EBITDA from the restatement was effectively zero, with a $1 million decrease in previously reported results in Q1 offset by a $1 million increase in Q2. The impact to our Adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2022, was a decrease of $0.6 million, from $99.6 million to $99.0 million, or less than 1%. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the third quarter was 27%, but excluding Low Margin Gaming Hardware sales, the margin was 36%, compared to 37% in the prior year quarter.”
Weil continued: “For the quarter, our aggregate digital business, which includes our Virtual Sports and Interactive segments, grew Adjusted EBITDA 9% to $16.4 million from $15.0 million. Year to date, our digital business generated 58% of Adjusted EBITDA contribution compared to 50% in the prior year period. This performance reinforces the shift in our strategic focus towards our higher margin, scalable digital business and we continue to invest in premium content creation for these segments. At the same time, our Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was impacted by the timing of several one-time sales moving into the fourth quarter. Excluding one-time product sales, Adjusted EBITDA grew 4% year-over-year during the third quarter. As we look forward, we expect our fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA to be in-line with consensus. Additionally, our fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA would have been nearly $2 million higher if not for the ransomware attack on our IT systems impacting results.”
Weil added: “Our digital business third quarter results were led by the Interactive segment where revenue and Adjusted EBITDA increased 28% and 55% year-over-year on a constant currency basis, respectively, underscoring both the growth and scalability of the business. Interactive results reflect another quarterly record as we continue to benefit from an increased footprint through new customer launches, the consistent deployment of new content and increased promotional activity through exclusive deals with tier-one customers as well as revenue growth from existing customers. In our Virtual Sports segment, we generated $13.4 million of revenue during the quarter compared to $14.4 million during the prior year. The year-over-year decline was driven by a major customer’s optimizing of their customer base, with a partial offset due to increased retail revenue. In the last two to three years, we’ve seen extraordinary growth in our Virtual Sports business, driven by new products and market expansions. We believe we are heading into another strong growth phase, driven by our exciting new content partnerships with the NFL and NBA. We have two major markets with substantial growth opportunity, North America and Latin America. In addition, we’ve recently launched Hybrid Dealer, a revolutionary new iGaming product. We are proud to have partnered with BetMGM to launch this innovative new product. With all of this recent progress, we are more convinced than ever that we are in the early stages of an expanding global opportunity with our digital business that will continue to exhibit a high margin and low capital intensity profile.”
Weil continued: “In our land-based operations, which includes our Gaming and Leisure segments, we’ve completed the deployment of our new ‘Vantage’ cabinet across two of our largest licensed betting shop customers, recording another $22.7 million of low margin terminal sales in Q3. We continue to see approximately 11% year-over-year revenue per machine increases with these new terminal deployments. In our pubs business, we’ve deployed ‘Vantage’ across approximately 20% of our customer estate and have experienced approximately 20% year-over-year growth in revenue per machine. This gives us confidence that we are seeing a reacceleration across our land-based businesses.”
Weil concluded: “Fundamentally, our business remains very strong, which was reflected in our repurchase of $1.5 million of our stock during the third quarter. We are optimistic about the compelling digital growth dynamics of the business, as a wider audience engages with online betting and gaming while new jurisdictions continue to launch. Combined with a resilient land-based business, our diversification and expansion ability reinforce our omni-channel strategy combining our high-margin, capital efficient digital businesses with our steady land-based businesses.”
Kaizen Gaming, one of the biggest GameTech companies in the world, had an impressive double-win at the SBC Awards Latinoamérica 2024 on the 31st October in Miami, Florida. Awarded ‘Brazilian Market Entrant of the Year’, and ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’, the two wins follow an impressive year of growth and exposure for Kaizen Gaming, as well as its premium brand Betano, across Latin America and globally.
Betano is rapidly growing its user base and presence in Brazil, serving as the main and title sponsor of Brasileirão Betano and Copa Betano do Brasil. As a founding member of the ANJL and IBJR regulatory bodies, Betano is recognised for its dedication to upholding the highest standards of responsible gaming and integrity. Furthermore, the Betano brand has launched multiple CSR initiatives across the country in partnership with sponsored team, Clube Atlético Mineiro. It also recently launched the “Juntos em Campo” long-term program in cooperation with CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) to promote initiatives focused on gender equality.
Awarded for the results and creativity of its innovative “Football in America” marketing campaign, Betano successfully introduced Latin America to its “Confia” brand platform by leveraging on its CONMEBOL Copa America™️ 2024 sponsorship. The campaign chimed with the spirit of fans across the continent by celebrating Latin America’s rich football heritage, playfully responding to Kylian Mbappe’s 2022 comments questioning the region’s football quality.
Vangelis Skarkalis, Kaizen Gaming Senior Commercial Director LATAM, said: “Latin America is one of the world’s most dynamic and exciting regions for i-gaming. Being recognised as a leading player in this important market with two wins at the prestigious SBC Awards Latinoamérica is a great honour – especially on the heels of our recent double-win as ‘Operator of the Year’ at both the EGR Operator Awards and SBC Awards. Achieving this success requires an exceptional team of dedicated, ambitious professionals. This award honours everyone’s hard work and commitment to always going above and beyond in delivering the best experiences for our customers not only in Latin America, but worldwide too.”
SOFTSWISS has won the Socially Responsible Initiative of the Year nomination at the SBC Awards Latinoamérica 2024 for its impactful ‘Help Brazil’ initiative. This recognition underscores the company’s support for Brazilian communities affected by severe flooding earlier this year and its dedication to implementing meaningful social responsibility projects.
The SBC Awards Latinoamérica celebrates excellence in the Latin American gaming industry, gathering leading experts to acknowledge the achievements of operators, platform providers, affiliates, and suppliers across various sectors. SOFTSWISS’ ‘Help Brazil’ initiative distinguished itself among the top entries, with judges marking its focus on community sustainability and industry engagement.
Launched in May 2024, ‘Help Brazil’ provided immediate relief by delivering food, clothing, and clean water to flood-affected areas in Rio Grande do Sul in coordination with Movimento União BR. Further committed to sustainable recovery, SOFTSWISS partnered with PWTech, funding water purification installations in affected schools to guarantee long-term access to clean water.
Ivan Montik, Founder of SOFTSWISS, noted: “This prestigious award affirms our commitment to making a real difference. As we expand our business in Latin America, we build lasting relationships with people and partners in this region and see ourselves as part of the local communities. When action was needed, we could not remain on the sidelines. We are grateful that the Latin American industry recognised and supported our initiative and immensely thankful to everyone who joined us in this effort, both locally and internationally.”
Rubens Barrichello, Non-Executive Director in Latin America, who helped raise awareness for the initiative, added: “I am incredibly proud of SOFTSWISS’ commitment to a sustained and compassionate approach. This recognition underscores our dedication to supporting communities in Brazil, where we focus on making a meaningful impact. Together, with such comprehensive projects, we are demonstrating how our industry can step up when it matters most.”
Continuing its commitment to local communities, this September, SOFTSWISS and its employees provided financial aid and essential supplies to flood-affected regions in Poland, where the company operates two offices. The aid campaigns in Poland and Brazil reflect SOFTSWISS’ commitment to being a responsible partner for local communities and its broader focus on ESG principles through long-term health, environmental, and social initiatives, including World Environment Day, Pink October, and Movember.
SOFTSWISS welcomes its partners and clients to visit stand 2145 at the SiGMA Europe Summit to explore future collaboration opportunities.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS holds 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 23,500 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.
Rush Street Gaming announced that casino and hospitality veteran Cliff Ehrlich has joined the company as chief operating officer.
Ehrlich assumes the role of Rush Street COO from Bill Keena, a longtime company and industry leader, who plans to retire later this year.
“I’ve admired Rush Street’s strong leadership and steady expansion over the past two decades. I’m thrilled to join this dynamic organization and look forward to contributing to the company’s ongoing success,” said Ehrlich.
Ehrlich’s career began in marketing at the Catskills’ Pines Resort Hotel in the 80s and transitioned in the 90s to casino development and operations. In 1996, he became co-owner of the Monticello Raceway and helped recruit the Oneida Indian Nation to build a casino on the property. Following an initial public offering, Ehrlich led Monticello Casino & Raceway as president, chief operating officer and general manager until 2013.
After consulting with Mohegan Sun regarding Upstate New York development opportunities, in 2015, Ehrlich joined The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, serving as general manager and chief operating officer. He later ran two casinos for The Navajo Nation — Northern Edge and Flowing Water. Since 2022, Ehrlich has been Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise’s chief operating officer, with oversight of four casinos, a resort destination hotel, travel plaza and food & beverage manufacturing.
“Cliff’s ground-up casino development experience, deep operations background and team leadership ensure that all five Rivers Casino properties remain in great hands. He will continue the strong forward momentum established by Bill Keena, for whom we wish the very best in retirement,” said Tim Drehkoff, CEO of Rush Street Gaming.
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