Any business looking to stay ahead of corona virus-induced financial catastrophe should study the folks running Betsson. The Stockholm-based gambling operator posted record revenue during Q2 2020 – which was arguably one of the worst quarters in recorded financial history. For the three months ending June 30, Betsson raked approximately $172 million (USD).
So how did Betsson do so well when most of the world was falling to pieces? For starters, they have very wide exposure with regulated players across the globe. This helped them both spread their risk, and take advantage of home-bound players desperate for some sort of action. That said, the company’s biggest growth came from outlet in Western Europe (up 40 percent over the previous year) and Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia (28 percent over the previous year). Between those places, the company really covers a lot of ground, though they freely acknowledge that the “rest of world” only accounted for eight percent of the Q2 haul.
In an official Betsson press release Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall touted their excellent quarter saying, “The second quarter was strong and followed the positive trend from the start of the year despite market challenges during this extraordinary period. The global pandemic had immediate effect on the Company from March onwards. We responded quickly and decisively to make changes in the offer, and I am particularly pleased to see the strong performance in casino. Sports betting revenues continued to be impacted in the second quarter by the pandemic as expected, however benefited from the progressive return of football and other sporting events at the end of the quarter. Our business has remained financially robust and resilient to this impact, being both diversified and flexible.”
He went on to predict that shifting trends and habits would benefit the company stating, “From March to date, we have seen many changes in habits of how people work, interact, shop and enjoy entertainment, many enabled by advancements in technology and the use of digital devices. We believe the ongoing transition from offline to online has been further accelerated as a consequence of the global lockdowns. This will benefit the strategic direction of our business both short and long term.”
There’s little doubt that long-term trends favor gambling operators like Betsson with strong worldwide operations and the ability to adjust their strategies to the new realities of life in the pandemic.