Score Media & Gaming FYQ3
The top line
Betting handle was C$73m, down from C$81.9m in Q2 due to sports seasonality. Betting GGR was -40k, NGR losses were C$2.4m. EBITDA losses were C$21.1m from -C$8m in Q320 with C$5m of IPO costs contributing to the worsening metric.
Media revenues came in at C$8.9m, up 270% YoY and 5% up on Q319, theScore said it has enjoyed record media revenues of C$27m so far in 2021.
Jay walking: Management emphasised the ongoing plan of bringing all its betting technology and player account management (PAM) system in-house. CEO John Levy said “the core strategy from the outset has been to own and develop our own platform.” Score will roll out its PAM and promotional engine from next month, which will be a “major step” in the streamlining process to execute a “complete migration” and “vertical integration” in the next 12 months. That project will be led by Patrick Jay (previously at Ladbrokes and then CEO at HKJC but last seen helming failed Gibraltar-based startup MoPlay) who will be joining the group from the Fall as head of sportsbook and tasked with developing a risk and trading team for the group.
Swings, no roundabouts: Asked when theScore would be profitable, COO Benji Levy reiterated that it wouldn’t be drawn on when a specific handle number would convert into profitability. “At scale we’re starting to see (the betting activity) normalise, there will be some swings but we’re going slow and steady and it’s not about us buying scale through marketing. And in Ontario we think we can do it on our own terms and fully in-house.” Score is currently live in four states, icasino is set to go live in New Jersey in the Fall and the group is readying for Virginia, Tennessee and Maryland. “Over the next 12 months we anticipate our footprint to double and are well-positioned to execute on that,” said Benji Levy.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas: The upcoming launch of online betting and gaming in theScore’s home province of Ontario in December is “a major milestone” and “very exciting”, added Levy.
“Not just because we have a tremendous user base and brand legacy, our presence allows us to attack the market in a different way to the US, which is mainly conversion-based and through selected digital options,” said Levy. “Because the audience knows us (in Canada) we can do lots more from a marketing perspective and the brand can generate much stronger ROI because there is no need to educate the audience.”
Analysts at Macquarie said Canada would be a “major catalyst” for theScore and argued that US market share goals “become slightly less important.” “We conservatively estimate that SCR can generate 6.5% share in Canada, and we expect a launch/ramp in the next few months.”
Set the controls: Having control over its tech stack is a “critical” aspect of group strategy, John Levy added, allowing it to provide an integrated and uniform offering. “It touches on every aspect of our work: marketing, offering, market access and increased penetration.” CFO Alvin Lobo added that control over margins was a side benefit and that “having an integrated media and gaming approach is about the whole experience, and what it looks like from the user‘s perspective: not just acquisition, but retention and engagement” across the group’s 3.7 million monthly active users and how many of these can be converted into sports bettors.
