For the 52 weeks to 29 March 2020 revenue from the core Bet365 sports and gaming business fell 7.5% to £2.76bn.
The operator noted that excluding the impact of COVID -19 in the final weeks of the reporting period, and taking into account the lack of a major football tournament, revenue from sports and gaming would have been up 2% year-over-year.
Over the year, amounts wagered on sports was down by 8%, though the number of active customers grew 4%, Bet365 noted. In-play accounted for 75% of sports betting revenue for the year, and while mobile revenue fell 7%, it remained the most popular channel for the business.
While the latter stages of the year were affected by COVID-19, chief executive Denise Coates said she was “delighted” with how the business responded and adapted to the circumstances.
“We continued to operate the business successfully throughout the lockdowns with business continuity plans enacted resulting in staff being able to work from home whilst significant investment was also made to ensure the office environments were Covid secure,” she explained.
At the start of the pandemic, the operator said, it set a policy not to reduce staff pay, and not to lay off any employees. It achieved this without taking any government support or making use of the furlough scheme. Total employees at the sports and gaming business rose to 5,014 individuals by the end of the fiscal year.
As countries around the world went into lockdown at the end of the reporting period, Bet365 then implemented a series of measures to ensure at-risk players were protected. As with all BGC members, it significantly limited advertising.
A number of changes to the group’s products were also completed during the year, including improvements to the trading platform, website, mobile, app virtual sports, bet builder and gaming offering.
This has seen pre-game and in-play markets for esports rolled out, as well as the virtual sports range expanded with American football and basketball games.
Bet365’s gaming product performed well over the year, with live casino in particular expanded, and a “record” number of new titles added to its platform. External content is being complemented with in-house games, to aid launches into new markets.
Turning to outgoings, and the operator incurred £403.6m in direct costs associated with the sports and gaming business, up 12.2%. Coupled with the decline in group revenue, gross profit for the year declined 11.0% to £2.41bn.
The business’ total tax contribution to the UK Exchequer, including taxes on salaries and dividends, came to £614.6m for the year, a 37.2% year-on-year increase.
The Coates family have consistently been ranked as the country’s highest taxpayers by The Sunday Times Tax List. For the 2021 edition, the family’s tax contribution alone was estimated at £573m.
Source: GMB / iGB
