Online gaming operator bwin.party has said that its outlook for next year remains ‘positive’ after citing increased betting volumes during the 2014 Fifa World Cup national team football tournament as one of the key catalysts that will help drive growth.
In a pre-close trading update issued today (Wednesday), bwin.party also said new product launches, continued mobile expansion and prospects for further growth would contribute to business in the New Year.
Elsewhere, the operator said that its overall trading in the 11 weeks since September 30, 2013 was in line with management expectations, with 52% of average net daily revenue coming from nationally and/or taxed markets.
The firm also said that gross win margins in sportsbetting remained strong during the period, with betting volumes slightly lower reflecting a reduced during the international series of football matches in December. Bwin.party said that mobile remains a key part of its sports business, with the channel representing 25% of sports average daily net revenue in the period.
It now plans to roll out a new version of its sports mobile product in early next year, following an initial launch in Spain earlier this week.
Elsewhere, bwin.party said poker revenues had grown as a result of the introduction of its new poker client and its launch in the recently regulated New Jersey online gambling market. The company reported that casino operations had also benefited from the New Jersey launch.
Bwin.party said with the planned launches of casino and poker apps on iOS, this growth in its poker and casino businesses is likely to continue in the first quarter of 2014.
The operator did report that the New Jersey launch costs amounted to between €7 million and €10 million ($9.6million and $13.7 million).
Owing to these costs, bwin.party expects to continue clean earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31 to be between 16% and 17%.
