Independent online gambling group Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G) has today published its interim results (26-week period 28 December 2017) reporting double-digit growth across its core metrics and product KPIs.
The fast growth Leeds-based enterprise, would report group revenues of £339 million up 47% on 2016/17: £230 million, recording a revenue split of Sky Bet £210 million (2016/17: £133 million) and Sky Gaming £117 million (2016/17: £89 million).
Closing a period of high activity, in which SB&G verticals would record + 2 million active customers, SB&G governance declares a period EBITDA increase of 92% to £118 million (2016/17: £62 million).
In its update, SB&G leadership details that it has been able to refine and optimise its customer offering through key investments in data, user content and enhancing its betting markets range and promotions.
Updating the market Richard Flint, CEO of Sky Betting & Gaming, commented: “The business continued to perform very well in the first half of 2017/18. Our focus on the customer, and delivering quality experiences, offers and promotions continue to differentiate our brand, and we extended our lead as the UK’s most popular online betting brand.”
Leading SB&G operations, Flint continues to focus on developing sustainable and responsible online gambling frameworks. During the trading period, Sky Bet launched the industry’s first “safer gambling” campaign.
“It was particularly pleasing to launch a fully integrated safer gambling campaign during the period, and we continue to increase our investment in research, data analysis and capability to provide a safe and responsible gambling environment for our customers.
“We support a mandatory research levy and increased regulation from the Gambling Commission to protect customers that are at risk. We also extended our headline sponsorship of the English Football League for an additional five years, taking it through to the 2023/24 season, with responsible gambling at the heart of the agreement.”
A tech-savvy SB&G continues to enhance the in-house development of its platform and systems, seeking to gain a digital advantage over its UK legacy competitors. During the period, the operator significantly expanded its Yorkshire employee headcount;
“We are proud of our record of job creation and investment in Yorkshire, with an additional 230 jobs created in the period, as well as our contribution to regional and national taxation. A report by WPI Economics estimates that we contributed over £300 million gross value added to the Yorkshire economy in 2016/17, and we plan to continue investing in the region.
