Betsson Posts a Record €326.5m Quarter as Casino Grows 14% but EBIT Falls 31%

Latin American revenue rose by more than half and casino carried a weak sportsbook to Betsson's highest quarter yet, but gaming taxes and a shrinking B2B line took almost a third off operating profit. The record also rests on the region where Brazil has already shut its market and a Buenos Aires senator wants to do the same.

• Betsson AB's third-quarter revenue rose 10% to €326.5 million, 8% organically, its highest for a single quarter, according to the interim report it published on 22 October
• Casino revenue grew 14% to €253.5 million, 77% of the group, while sportsbook revenue rose 1% to €71.8 million on a margin of 8.1%, against 8.8% a year earlier and 10.5% in the second quarter
• EBITDA fell 23% to €63.4 million and EBIT fell 31% to €46.1 million, an EBIT margin of 14.1% against 22.6%, as cost of services rose to €145.4 million on higher gaming taxes and payment costs
• Latin America grew 51.8% to €116.1 million and now provides 36% of revenue, while Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia fell 16.8% and the Nordics 10.0%
• Betsson says October started with average daily revenue 11.0% above last year's fourth-quarter average, but its Brazilian subsidiary has stopped taking deposits under the federal betting ban

Casino and Latin America Carry Betsson to a Record Quarter

Betsson AB, listed on Nasdaq Stockholm as BETS B, reported revenue of €326.5 million for July to September, up 10.4% from €295.8 million, or 8.1% in constant currencies and excluding acquisitions, according to its interim report. The previous high was the second quarter's €310.2 million. Net income fell from €50.1 million to €28.2 million, or €0.19 a share.

Casino revenue rose 13.7% to €253.5 million. Sportsbook turnover rose 8.1% to €1.37 billion, but revenue rose only 0.8% because the margin after free bets fell to 8.1%, below the eight-quarter average of 9.0%. Chief executive Pontus Lindwall called the record "particularly positive given that the sportsbook margin was considerably lower than in the second quarter", and credited the FIFA World Cup and the new European football season for customer activity. Active B2C customers rose 40.1% to 1,874,687; deposits across B2C and B2B rose 6.4% to €1.55 billion.

Gaming Taxes and a Smaller B2B Line Take the Margin

Cost of services rose to €145.4 million from €106.0 million, mainly on higher gaming taxes and payment provider costs, according to the report, and the gross margin fell from 64.2% to 55.5%. EBITDA fell from €82.5 million to €63.4 million, a margin of 19.4% against 27.9%. EBIT fell from €66.9 million to €46.1 million, though it was above the second quarter's €42.2 million, a point Lindwall made.

Revenue from locally regulated markets rose 35% to €253.8 million, 77.7% of the group against 63.8%. B2B licence revenue fell to €46.7 million from €76.9 million, which Betsson says is "mainly explained by lower revenue for one of the B2B customers", whom it does not name. Marketing spend rose to €41.6 million from €34.4 million, driven by Latin America.

Latin America Up by Half, Central and Eastern Europe Down

Latin America rose 51.8% to a record €116.1 million, with strong growth in Argentina, Peru and Colombia; Lindwall said Peru and Argentina "once again stood out", largely on World Cup marketing. Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia fell 16.8% to €99.2 million on lower B2B licence revenue, although B2C grew in Croatia, Georgia and the Baltic states. Western Europe rose 13.8% to a record €64.8 million, led by Italy; in Belgium, where revenue fell, betFIRST was renamed Betsson at the end of the quarter. The Nordics fell 10.0% to €32.7 million, with Sweden and Denmark both down.

The rest of the world doubled to €13.7 million after Betsson consolidated Rhino Entertainment Group, the Canadian operator it bought in early August. The report puts the preliminary purchase price at €73.1 million on a cash and debt-free basis, above the €64.5 million reported at completion; Rhino's revenue contribution is not disclosed. Net cash fell to €98.3 million from €220.0 million.

Brazil, Buenos Aires and the Outlook

Betsson says its Brazilian subsidiary has suspended registrations and deposits and ended all advertising and sponsorship since the ban of 25 September, with authorisations due to expire on 25 October unless the measure is suspended, leaving "significant uncertainty". It gives no Brazilian revenue figure. Entain reported last week that its Brazilian revenue fell 36% in the quarter.

The report notes that Buenos Aires Province has enforced a 2% tax on winnings from online instant-win games since 8 September, now under administrative appeal. It does not mention the "Ley Lula" bill from provincial senator Federico Fagioli, which would repeal articles 146 to 173 of the province's online gaming law, Law 15.079, banning online betting and casino, according to Focus Gaming News. Betsson has held a Province of Buenos Aires licence since 2022 through a partnership with Casino de Victoria. In Peru, a bill would raise the selective tax on online bets from 1% to 5%.

Betsson gives no guidance. Average daily revenue up to 18 October was 11.0% above the average for the whole of the fourth quarter of 2025, or 9.4% excluding currency effects and acquisitions, with the sportsbook margin "significantly lower" than its eight-quarter average; the company says this is not a forecast. Lindwall says the group is "well positioned to return to earnings growth".

The Record Is Built on Volume While the Margin Goes in Tax

Revenue rose by €30.7 million on the year, yet gross profit fell by €8.7 million. That is the cost of Betsson's stated focus on locally regulated markets, which now supply 77.7% of revenue and bring local gaming taxes with them. The pattern is not new: in the fourth quarter of 2025 the regulated share reached 68% as gaming taxes rose 23%. The rise in EBIT from the second quarter suggests the margin may have found a floor, and the next comparison is easier, against fourth-quarter 2025 EBIT of €53.2 million. The B2B decline, pinned on one unnamed customer, is the part investors cannot assess.

Latin America Is Both the Growth Engine and the Largest Political Risk

At 36% of revenue, Latin America is Betsson's largest region. Brazil has shown how quickly a licensed market can be withdrawn, and the Fagioli bill borrows its name and its mechanics. One senator's bill is a long way from law, but Buenos Aires has already added a tax on winnings, and Peru is weighing a fivefold rise in the tax on stakes. Each measure tests the channelisation argument: when licensed play becomes too costly or is banned, demand rarely disappears; it tends to move to unlicensed operators who pay nothing. How much of the Peruvian and Argentine growth Betsson keeps depends on legislators, not marketing.

Forty Percent More Customers Is Not Forty Percent More Money

Active customers rose 40.1%, deposits 6.4%. The figures are not strictly comparable, since deposits include B2B volumes, but the gap points to a larger base of lower-value players. The share of active customers using deposit limits fell to 24.8% from 34.2%, which Betsson attributes to geographic mix, while customers manually reviewed for risky play rose to 23,747 from 16,810. Faster growth in markets with lighter tool usage is a commercial success that is likely to draw regulatory attention.

Betsson has shown that casino can carry the group through a soft sportsbook quarter. Whether that becomes the earnings growth Lindwall promises depends on tax bills and legislatures it does not control.