The top line
- Net win rose 82% YoY to A$69.5m ($52.2m) with sports-betting up 76% to $67.3m and igaming contributing A$2.2m.
- Australian net win rose 56% YoY to A$54.8m while the US more than trebled to A$14.7m.
- PointsBet is live in seven US states with launch plans in 11 more in the next 14 months
Taking a dive: Shareholders reacted badly to the evident struggles PointsBet is having in the US retaining market share with its shares tumbling over 18% at close. Of the six states operational in the fourth quarter, all saw market share declines in Q1 with the share of GGR in New Jersey halving to 3.9%. Asked whether PointsBet should temper 10% market share ambitions and settle on aiming for 5%, CEO Sam Swanell was sanguine:
“If you are talking about a $50bn market in time, obviously it is very clear you could have a thriving very strong business at 5% of that market,” Swanell said on the call.
Learning lessons: Swanell suggested the marketing battle that took place around the start of the NFL season and into the NBA opening had been “informative”. However, he admitted to a large percentage of wastage in the referrals it gains from its tie-up with NBC and its predictor games. That has currently generated 516,000 referrals but they are across the entire country. Hoping to avoid a marketing “arms race”, Swanell insisted the company would “focus on our product,” including same-game parlays, in-play and igaming.
Arms control: Deutsche Bank analysts pointed out that net sports-betting revenues of $9.2m (up 307% YoY) were augmented by higher hold and lower promotions as a percentage of GGR (down to an implied 57% in Q121 from 68% in Q320). But promo spend was still up 150% YoY to 4.8% of handle vs. 4.1% in Q320 and Pointsbet also spent $27.9m on external marketing.
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