Betsson AB has issued a preliminary warning on its Q1 2026 results, signalling margin performance pressures across its core markets.
The Stockholm-listed operator expects group revenue to reach €285m (£248.2m), down 3% from €294m in Q1 2025, while EBIT is forecast to fall sharply to €34m, a 47% decline (Q1 2025: €64m), reflecting the impact of a changing revenue mix and increased cost pressures – primarily attributed to elevated tax impacts.
Providing a breakdown of geographic performance, Betsson’s Q1 results saw growth in Latin America (€93m, up from €75m) and Western Europe (€61m, up from €56m). Yet market growth is offset by sharp declines in CEECA (€96m, down from €122m) and the Nordics (€31m, down from €38m).
Whilst sportsbook revenue remained consistent year-on-year at €80m, revenue from casino dropped by €8m to €204m.
Its B2B arm also saw a significant decline in performance, as revenue slumped to €51m compared with Q1 2025’s €90m.
The B2B unit sees its revenue contribution reduced to 18% of group income, in what Betsson views as mirroring adjustments impacting the sector as “the gross margin amounted to 57.6% (64.0) during the quarter.”
Within the first 10 minutes of the announcement at 4pm CET, Betsson saw its stock plummet from 104.8SEK (£8.37) to 81.95SEK. It has since recovered in the hour since and, at the time of writing (5:21pm CET) sits at 91.30SEK, which still represents a daily drop of over 13%.
Betsson CEO remains bullish
Despite the dip in the B2B segment of the business, which looks to be one of the reasons which has worried investors, President and Chief Executive Officer Pontus Lindwall remained confident in its direction whilst acknowledging concerns.
“Our B2B business continues to be weighed down by lower revenue at one of our customers,” he explained.
“However, since the start of December, this B2B customer has seen a stabilisation in average activity levels.
“In the slightly longer term, I am excited about growing our B2B revenue with existing and new partners, as we continue to follow our strategy to generate shareholder value over time.”
There was a similar level of belief which exuded from Lindwall’s statements about Betsson’s B2C operations.
He said: “Our B2C business continues to perform well overall with good growth and significant contribution to operating income.
“Nevertheless, we are investing in several B2C markets that are not yet profitable, negatively affecting total EBIT by approximately €10-15m on a quarterly basis.
“We still believe that these markets have potential to become profitable but continuously monitor and evaluate their performance and prospects.”
Looking back to last year as a whole, FY2025 saw Betsson achieve 8% revenue growth to €1.197bn, yet group earnings stalled at 1% decline to €313.7m (2024: €316.0m). Stagnant earnings were attributed to the beginning of higher taxes impacting bottom-line results from Q4 onwards.
Leadership note improved conditions as early Q2 trading shows average daily revenue up 9% year-on-year to 8 April, while sportsbook margins are running above the eight-quarter average.
Betsson will publish the interim report for the first quarter 2026 on Friday 24th April at 07.30 CEST. As of April 2026, the business has not provided a specific financial guidance for the full year FY2026.
