Betclics parent company, FL Entertainment, anticipates its online sports wagering and gaming operations to maintain a strong growth trajectory following a successful 2022.
The organization stated that the robust trend in its online sports betting and gaming division will persist in 2023, building upon a solid performance over the preceding year.
In a recent business update, the group indicated that its entire enterprise, encompassing online sports wagering, gaming, and content production and distribution, remains in a healthy state.
FL highlighted that within the betting and gaming sector, the Betclic digital platform has proven particularly attractive, evidenced by double-digit growth in wagering volume during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which concluded at the end of 2022, and the 2020 European Championship.
FL also observed that in 2022, the number of active participants in betting and gaming experienced a substantial increase compared to 2021.
In the realm of content production and distribution, FL reported a 25% expansion in its content library length compared to 2021, alongside the completion of acquisitions of 12 production companies.
FL Entertainment made its public debut in July, a new moniker for the consolidated entity resulting from a merger with special purpose acquisition company Pegasus Entrepreneurial Acquisition Company Europe.
The consolidation agreement encompassed all Betclic Everest subsidiaries, including Bet-at-home, and the television production firm Banijay, which initially combined with Betclic to form FL Entertainment, and subsequently merged with Pegasus. Nevertheless, the media division of the enterprise, including production company Banijay, is considerably larger.
Now as a publicly traded entity, FL declared that it has been assessing capital market opportunities that would aid in diversifying its funding sources, bolstering its capital structure, and providing balance sheet flexibility for implementing its strategy.
In this context, FL indicated that it is presently evaluating potential convertible bond financing, but this is contingent upon market conditions.
FL Entertainment also stated that it intends to augment its free float and stock liquidity over time, which could involve some organized disposals by shareholders following the expiration of the initial lock-up period earlier this month.
Bet-at-home’s Difficulties
However, 2022 wasn’t entirely positive for FL, which has considerably scaled back the operations of the Bet-at-home brand in specific regions, most notably in Austria.
In October 2021, the company lost a legal dispute with an Austrian player association seeking compensation from unlicensed operators. Subsequently, Bet-at-home announced its withdrawal from the market and the gradual closure of the Maltese company established for it.
In the month of July, Bet-at-home declared their intention to relinquish their license in the United Kingdom and permanently depart from the market. This decision followed the operator’s suspension by the Gambling Commission due to alleged violations of anti-money laundering regulations and social responsibility standards.
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