iGaming makes solid start in Córdoba
Córdoba online data, Dreams’ earnings, Chile license bid, Brazilian lotteries +Más
Argentina: Online betting in Córdoba surpasses $6.8m in first two months.
In +Más: GiG’s Sigar partnership, Colombia lottery.
Chile: Dreams records EBITDA of $88.8m for 2023.
Also in Chile, Enjoy and Dreams compete for Chiloé casino license.
Brazil: Municipalities defy authorities with own lotteries.
Córdoba’s solid start
Fantastic four: The four iGaming platforms authorized to operate in Córdoba accumulated bets totaling $6.86m in the first two months since online gambling was authorized in the Argentine province. According to official data, between January 5 and February 29, 2024 an average of $122,370 was bet per day, with over 40,000 users participating.
Playcet (a joint venture between locally based CET and Paraguayan operator Daruma Sam) topped the list with nearly 22,000 (54%) users.
Betsson (associated with Daniel Mautone) claimed 8,474 users, followed by Bplay (official betting house of the Argentine Professional Football League and brand of Boldt Group) with 6,933 and Jugadón (Slots Group from the province of San Luis) with 2,875.
The provincial government received $25,623 from the total income of the four platforms in the form of royalties.
High maintenance: “If the level of betting recorded in February is maintained, when the four operators ran at full capacity with advertising... online bets in Córdoba could reach another 32,000 million pesos [$37.4m] by the end of the year," said Lottery officials.
During the same period, Quiniela accumulated bets worth $11.8m, at a rate of $197k per day, of which $2.3m (19%) went to the state coffers.
In those two months, the Lottery collected $126k and delivered $66,448 to the state, representing 53% of the tickets sold.
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+Más
Gaming Innovation Group has signed agreements with Spanish operator Juegging and Argentina’s Sigar SA to provide its new iGaming platform CoreX and sports-betting platform SportX. The latter will see GiG’s CoreX enter Argentina for the first time.
In good health: In January 2024, lotteries, chances and Scratch & Win contributed $14.3m to the Colombian health sector, representing a 27% increase, Coljuegos has revealed. The lottery transferred $6.8m, compared to $3.7m in Jan22 – an increase of 83%, while the chance game contributed $6.7m and Scratch & Win $791k.
GAT Expo Cartenega 2024, set to take place in Colombia on April 9-11, will address topics such as the central role of AI in the entertainment industry. The program also includes a panel titled ‘Empowering the Industry with Equity as a Challenge’, led by the Women’s Gaming Association (ASFEG).
SAGSE Latam 2024, the B2B entertainment industry expo held in Buenos Aires on March 20-21, saw a 23% increase in visitors compared to last year.
Dreams’ earnings
Dreamstime: The Chile casino giant’s EBITDA for 2023 came in at $88.8m, just 2% above the 2022 figure, despite revenues exceeding $318m due to a 15% increase in casino visits. This growth in footfall offset the decline in average bets in its casinos.
Generated free cash flow reached $69m, compared to $41m in 2022. The increase was down to higher EBITDA, repayments of payments from previous periods, and includes various dividend payments and loans from related companies.
With this increased positive cash flow, the 2023 fiscal year closed with a balance of $32m, compared to $19m in 2022.
The company’s financial debt decreased by 8% in the same period.
Administrative and sales expenses (GAV) accounted for 24.3% of revenues in 2023, compared to 25.8% in the previous year.
License to thrill: Dreams operates 22 licenses and permits for casinos through various operating companies belonging to the group: nine in Chile (including operation permits for gaming casinos in the communes of Iquique and Talca, projects under development), seven in Peru, four in Colombia – two in the city of Bogotá and two in Cartagena de Indias – one in Argentina and one in Panama.
Chile license bid
Island life: Meanwhile, Dreams and Enjoy will compete for the license to operate a casino in Castro, the largest city on Chiloé Island, which is currently operated by Enjoy, the Superintendence of Gaming Casinos (SCJ) has reported.
Rantrur SA (owned by Enjoy) and Inversiones y Turismo Chiloé (Dreams) submitted bids for the casino in Castro, while Casino de Juegos Coyhaique (also Dreams) was the only company that applied to retain the license in Coyhaique (Aysén Region).
Both permits were granted in 2008 for a period of 15 years and are available until 2027.
Person of interest: The Chiloé casino license is generating the most interest, as Enjoy is currently undergoing a judicial reorganization process and is considering offers to divest some of its assets due to its complex financial situation.
The Evaluation of Technical Offers stage will conclude within a maximum period of 120 days or no later than September 16, 2024.
Earnings in brief
Codere’s FY23 revenues came in at €1.43bn ($1.55bn), 2% up on 2022, excluding the impact of operational issues in Mexico and Argentina – which, according to the company, have already been overcome.
During the same period, Codere Online’s revenues rose by 40%, reaching €172m, driving the growth of the entire company.
In Q4 alone, digital revenues surpassed €50m, the most successful quarter in its history.
The group’s cash position reached €107.5m (€66.2m from retail, €41.3m from Codere Online).
Codere ended the quarter with 44,813 machines and a network of 133 gaming halls, about 900 salons, 151 sports-betting points and around 8,000 bars.
The company said it was in advanced discussions with its major bondholders to finalize the commercial terms for global recapitalization to improve its capital structure and enhance future growth.
Brazilian lotteries
Cloud nine: Since the Supreme Federal Court (STF) decided in 2020 that the exploitation of bets is not exclusive to the Federal Union, at least nine municipalities in Brazil (Cuiabá, Anápolis, Embu das Artes, Guarulhos, Sao Vicente, Porto Alegre, Pelotas, Caxias do Sul and Belo Horizonte) have created their own lotteries in defiance of the authorities.
The Ministry of Finance – responsible for regulating the sector – has asserted that the prerogative granted by the law is only for the states, the Federal District and the Union.
However, Anápolis, for example, will allocate 80% of the revenue from the municipal lottery to the Social Security Institute of Employees.
In Guarulhos, the resources will help the economic recovery of the municipality after the pandemic.
The prefecture of Porto Alegre will allocate the proceeds to subsidize the public transportation system and reduce its cost for citizens.
In Belo Horizonte, the creation of the lottery aims to supply the social assistance fund.
These lotteries are in different stages of implementation. Some prefectures have not yet progressed in regulations, while others have already hired companies to operate the bets.
Calendar
April 9-11: GAT Expo Cartenega 2024
Publication schedule
This is the English version of the LosIngresos+Mas newsletter published yesterday (March 27).
An +More Media publication.
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