Bet365 has released its annual filing to the British government. The report covers the year ending on March 26, 2023. Over that time, the privately owned company generated £3.39 billion ($4.32 billion) in revenues, which was a substantial YoY jump from £2.87 billion ($3.6 billion) from the previous period.
Sports betting revenues were up 15% from the previous year, while online casino experienced a 31% bump.
However, the company reported losses during the period compared to a profitable year in the 2021-2022 period. Administrative expenses ballooned up more than £500 million to more than £2.9 billion.
With the uptick in costs, revenues swung from £42.8 million in profit in 21-22 to £61.2 million in losses in 22-23.
In her letter opening the report, co-CEO Denise Coates acknowledged some of the expenses stemmed from the group’s expansion into the U.S. and Canadian markets.
“During this period, the Group has invested significantly in its American platform and successfully launched in Colorado, Ohio, Virginia and most recently Iowa, Kentucky and Louisiana. In addition to the U.S. market activity, resource was also allocated to support product development and a subsequent new business launch in Ontario,” she noted.
The period began with the April 2022 launch of bet365 in Ontario and concluded not long after bet365 rolled out an aggressive launch in Ohio. Over the first three months of the year, the operator dropped more than $45 million in promotional credit alone in the state.
The period was a time of extensive expansion for bet365, which chose to lay relatively low in the U.S. market prior to last year. From 2019 to 2022, bet365 was only live in New Jersey. From September 2022 through the end of the period, the group expanded to four states as well as Ontario. Since the end of the period, that list has grown to seven states.
It is difficult to tell exactly how the brand’s North American expansion is going. Most states where the company is live do not offer operator data. In Ohio, bet365 generally ranks in the top five of sportsbooks thanks to sustained promotional spending. Based on the first revenue report out of Kentucky, the app had a strong start, debuting in third place.