Super Group Remains 'Confident' in U.S. Sports Betting Growth Following Q2 Results
The company remains unwavering in its commitment to enhancing its presence in U.S. markets.
Super Group, the parent company of legal sports betting operator Betway, is still “confident” in its North American strategy despite losses on the continent once again offsetting gains elsewhere.
According to the sports betting and online casino company’s second-quarter numbers that were released on Thursday, NA revenue came in at $174.4 million — down 4% year-over-year.
Excluding the U.S., however, Super Group reported a record $476.9 million during the second quarter, thanks to growth in Africa/Middle East and Europe.
Super Group was hurt once again by Ontario’s transition to a regulated market, but revenue from the rest of Canada increased in Q2.
Betway's plan in the U.S.
The company remains committed to enhancing its nine U.S. markets, and the strategy includes getting Betway Global Technology active in all states.
Betway operates in Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, New Jersey, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. It went live in Louisiana during the second quarter and has secured markets in Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, and Massachusetts.
The platform is currently active in four with the plan to have migration for the other five markets completed by the early fourth quarter at the latest. Once the Betway technology is fully implemented, Super Group then plans to ramp up its strategy to gain more of the market share.
“With regards to the U.S., the business is tracking in line with expectations and we are confident in our strategy,” Super Group CFO Alinda Van Wyk.
Plan vs. commitment
Super Group knows it's got a lot of ground to make up in the U.S. While it has a multi-year strategy, President/COO Richard Hasson said they don’t necessarily have a long-term commitment to gaining ground in the states.
“We’ll continue assessing everything on an ROI-driven basis as we progress on a day-by-day basis,” Hasson added during Thursday's Q2 earnings call.
Super Group committed $16.5 million in net investment during Q2.
Marketing changes
The belief in the Betway brand also fuels their optimism. Among the most popular online sports betting sites in the world, Betway brought in nearly $292 million of the total revenue — up 37.7% from the previous quarter and 33% year-over-year.
The company, led by significant growth in Africa, remains committed to marketing, but 22% of net revenue spending was lower than in the previous quarter.
“It does not reflect any change in our marketing strategy,” CEO Neal Manashe said, “but rather some specific market factors in the quarter that we do not expect to prevent us from achieving our target level of investment for the full year.”
Company enhancements
Part of Super Group’s investments includes buying a majority stake in Sports.cc earlier this month — a data-enabled sports media content provider that will help Betway improve sporting content and customer acquisition.
Super Group has also made “good progress” in discussions with sports software provider Apricot, with the intent of complete acquisition of a dedicated sportsbook from the gaming technology company.
During the second quarter, Betway increased its brand by becoming the official partner of U.S. Major League Cricket and the official betting partner for Toronto’s National Bank Open.
