Amaya Gaming Posts Q4 2015 Losses

Amaya Gaming reported a net loss for Q4 2015 due to a number of divergent factors, but a single lousy quarter is unlikely to stop the steamrolling Canadian operator from its mission to dominate the online gambling market.
Amaya CEO David Baazov reported the bad news on a conference call to financial analysts yesterday. While reporting the bad news, Baazov was upbeat about the company’s future, particularly its abilities to carve out a niche beyond its current core competency, online poker.
Baazov blamed much of the loss, $15.8 million CAD ($11.8 million USD) on the rapidly declining value of the Canadian dollar. While the Loony has definitely been sinking over the past few years, many reporters have pointed out the fact that Canadian depositors only account for a fraction of Amaya’s player base.
One international factor that definitely did take a toll on Amaya Gaming’s bottom line was the onset of value added taxes (VAT) in several big markets. In Australia alone, a new VAT shaved $32 million CAD ($23.9 million USD) off Amaya’s profit sheets.
International market fluctuations also took a toll on Amaya’s active real money player base. In that department, the company saw a decline of nearly 4%. That number was greatly impacted by Amaya’s departure from Greece and several other, smaller, European markets.
Online poker is, of course, Amaya Gaming’s core competency and that sector is still in pretty good shape. The company’s controversial decision to revamp its player rewards program saved nearly $8 million in costs and that number is likely to grow significantly in 2016.
Critics and investors would foolish to write an epitaph for Amaya Gaming based on a single, lousy quarter. Baazov has proven to be a skilled executive who seems quite capable of executing his company’s ambitious plans for the future.