Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall believes the company’s long-term strategy in Italy is starting to pay off after it led the business to a 10.3% increase in Western Europe Q1 revenue.
Betsson published its Q1 earnings on Friday, with double-digit growth in Western Europe driven by all-time high revenue in Italy, as well as record levels of turnover and deposits.
In a post-results interview, Lindwall told iGB Italy was an example of Betsson’s long-term strategy leading to profitability in a market.
“In general it takes quite a long time to build a profitable B2C market,” Lindwall said. “You have to invest in brand awareness, building customer base, building your team. You start almost from zero. And it takes many, many years to get something like that profitable.
“I think Italy is a good example. We took costs and negative profits in that market for some 10 years before we became profitable. And that’s what it takes to build your position in a big B2C market.”
H2 Gambling Capital expects the total GGR of the online betting and gaming market in Italy to reach nearly €7 billion in 2026. By 2030, H2 anticipates the market to generate over €9.3 billion in online GGR, with Betsson looking set to capitalise on that growth.
In Q1 2026, Italy’s betting revenue fell 7%, despite a strong March rebound, virtual betting grew 16%, and horseracing continued its sharp decline.
Record regulated revenue for Betsson
Betsson’s Q1 total group revenue stood at €285.3 million in Q1, a 3% year-on-year decline, hampered by the company’s B2B performance.
Betsson’s share of revenue from locally regulated markets reached 73%, up 20% year-on-year. The quarter marked its highest regulated revenue on record. Lindwall says this transition is a key priority for the business moving forwards.
“It’s in our long-term strategy,” Lindwall explains. “We believe that the market overall will go from point of supply regulation to local regulation over time, and that goes for most of the markets.
“So if you want to have a strong position in the market in the long-term future, you need to be big in the regulated markets. That’s the strategy.”
Further M&A on the cards for Betsson
After entering into an acquisition agreement last month, Betsson is in the process of finalising its acquisition of Rhino Entertainment Group’s B2C business.
Lindwall hopes the acquisition is completed by either the end of Q2 or early Q3, with regulatory approvals still required.
When asked if Betsson was considering further M&A, Lindwall said the company is constantly evaluating new opportunities.
“It’s not a secret that M&A is a constant part of our growth strategy,” Lindwall added.
“I would say that it’s standard business that we always have a couple of potential M&A opportunities that we assess.”
LatAm continues to be a focus for Betsson
Betsson’s sportsbook revenue in Q1 was up 1%, but its overall results were hampered by a 4% fall in casino revenue.
EBITDA in Q1 was €50 million, a 36% decrease from the €77.7 million reported in the same quarter of last year.
However, LatAm continued to be a key region for Betsson, with revenue there rising by 25% in Q1 and accounting for a third of its total revenue.
Betsson’s LatAm growth was led by strong performance in Peru, and Lindwall said both that market and the wider region would continue to be a crucial part of its strategy.
“I think we have a good brand position [in Peru], Lindwall declared. “We have some good sponsorship assets. We’ve been there for a while. Our technology is well adopted to the market and the market is well adopted to our technology. So I think we have a good position there.
“Latam is a part of our business where we put a lot of effort, and a few markets there are our focus markets where we invest quite a bit in marketing and sponsorships. So I do definitely expect continued growth there.”
