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A daily podcast delving into the biggest stories of the day throughout the sports betting and igaming sector.
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2026 is the year of the FIFA World Cup and of course the sports betting segment is under the spotlight and that's why today we have a very special episode of iGaming Daily brought to you by Optimove, the creator of positionless marketing and number one player engagement solution for iGaming and sports betting operators. Learn how OptiMove Positionless Marketing is changing how iGaming teams operate. Discover how operators are using OptiMove's Positionless Marketing platform to launch personalized CRM campaigns, dynamically change casino lobbies and bed slips, and create engaging, gamified experiences. Learn more at OptiMove.com. To see how this approach comes to life, OptiMove Connect returns to London on March 11th and 12th, 2026. is the only user conference where marketers from around the world share real-world results of positionless marketing driving, efficiency and ROI. Register at connect.optimove.com. I'm Fernando Nott, your host for today and media manager for SVC, where we will have a very special guest talking with Dan Benmure, the editor-in-chief for SVC, but first a very quick breaking news straight out of SVC News. sports software provider Genius Sports has agreed to acquire Digital Sports and Gaming Media Network Legend in a deal worth up to 1.2 billion dollars. So make sure you go to SBC News and check this uh breaking story from the SBC News team. Big shout out to Patrick Killing for reporting on this story and of course make sure to subscribe to SBC News newsletter and all the SBC media newsletters out there. But now we're going to jump into the interview we have today. Ted Memir is joined by Pontus Limbaugh, CEO of Betsson to discuss the latest financial results from Betsson and of course the future ahead in a very important year. Like we said, the World Cup is right around the corner. So let's jump straight to the interview between Ted Memir and Pontus Limbaugh. Hi Pontus. Thanks for joining me. podcast. I don't know how busy you are this morning, so let's just jump straight into it. Q4 has kind of proved kind of the tougher landing across several markets. So how is kind of better managing this initial wave of regulatory and fiscal headwinds and what are kind of the controls that you've initiated in place? Yeah, I mean, we're used to facing complex operational surroundings and high taxes. It's a part of this industry. So this is something that we're used to. We have to make sure that we can work efficiently and as a company, you know, be super fit in everything that we do uh because that's needed when you operate in a relatively high tax level regime. as we do in most markets. And if you could just give me kind of your leadership view of these kind of headwinds and what are the kind of the growth challenges facing uh any type of iGaming PLC, but especially one has kind of diversified as Betson, not only in B2C, but B2B and in pretty much every continent that is regulated. Yeah, but I don't think we... I don't experience that we work in constant headwinds and I think this quarter was, we have the second highest revenues that we've had ever. And we have been on a very strong development for the past four or five years. So I think the way to address the situation we are in, in general, in this industry is to be fit for the market and the market is what it is. Internet gaming is always taxed and you have to make sure that you have a strong product, that you have a lean organization, and then you will be able to operate profitably in regulated markets where there is tax, of course, and that's not a surprise to us. Yes, but I realize kind of taxes on everyone's agenda. And I guess we're trying to get this to ease. Do you not think that? The conditions are reflective to the transition to a new era of 50 % tax across all markets, regardless of whether they're in Europe, South America or Africa. This is the ever constant reality of the industry. It's that we've now entered the plus 50 era. It's hard to say. What we know so far is that gaming is an area where most countries have chosen to kind of decide over their own taxes and regulations. And there are not many, you know, similar regimes in different countries. We don't see anything of that coming. I think what will decide where the taxes go in the future is how the regulated market can stand against the unregulated market, because that's like a tough competition and Obviously regulators, if they want to have any tax and any control of the gaming markets, they need to have control of the regulated markets. They need to make sure that the regulated markets can exist. And that will be a strong instrument in how to decide taxes. And do you come to any solace that under your leadership, know, Bettson has been able prior to these kind of final two quarters to deliver, you know, 10 consecutive quarters of growth on growth. And how does, does that give you kind of confidence in what is now kind of a lower margin environment? Yeah. The fact that we have been growing so strong for many years, it's, it's, comes out of operational efficiency and that we have our system has our gaming systems has been improved over the years. So I think that puts us in a, in a, in a very good position to keep on. being able to deliver in growth, even though competition is tough, taxes gets higher, but I think we're in a good spot. And regardless of margin pressures, I mean, you're maintaining investment in product and you still pretty much stand by your diversified strategy, even as you kind of reflected on kind of deepening kind of B2B uh impact. Can you tell us more about how you see kind of this strategy changing or evolving in the coming years? Oh, still with this kind of headline investment applied by Betson. Yeah. I think the strategy that we have been working on for the past five years, it has served us well. So I don't see any needs to do any big changes in that strategy. We believe a lot in best customer experience, which means that we need to have a product which really attracts the player in every single market. And that's quite complicated to achieve when you operate in like 25 different jurisdictions with different regulations. one very important thing of our strategy going forward or of our daily work is to continue to work on the product so that we can be fit in every single market. Because by doing that, we will be very effective and then we will be competitive also in the future. That's interesting because one of the feedbacks we're getting is that the investor sentiment towards gambling PLCs is changing and the investor now wants new new dynamics, to see new dynamics on cost controls, considering kind of particular factors in terms of, you know, product simplification, more kind of simplified strategies for leadership. Do you think that those sensitivities are changing and how do you see them kind of impacting Betson or are you not concerned at all? What the investor, what the investor thinks? ah Maybe investors think that You know, in general in the industry and but we are quite uh profitable. We have an EBIT margin in this recent quarter of 17 % and more. We give good dividends to the shareholders. So at least when I speak to our investors, they keep on, you know, supporting the way we invest in the product, the way We invest in marketing and sponsorships going forward to be able to grow the company. I think that's, mean, to grow a company with profits and give dividends at the same time, that's like, that should be a dream to any investor because then you don't need to dispose your shares. You just sit there and see it grow. You're all at stands. What is your view for 2026? Like many, is this just a year of adjustments and getting through it and seeing what the outcome is? um Do you kind of view kind of any potential for kind of for growth or growth in any market in particular, especially undertaking these these adjustments? Yeah, we have the World Soccer World Championship coming up. That's an interesting. events to bring in new customers to the business. Of course, it puts us under a bit of pressure to make sure that we have our product in good shape before that event. We're going to continue to explore M &A as we always do. It's an important part of our growth strategy. em As you can see in our report, we are in a strong position to be able to do M &A's as we have a net cash position of more than 150 million euros. em yeah, that's how I see we're going to and how we're going to maneuver going forward in this year. just my final two questions. I mean, Petson this week, has been linked to potential M &A in the crypto sector. And as you know, we're market conditions. How is this kind of impacting kind of industry, your view of strategic acquisitions and what do you want in an asset for it to be acquired? We invest in, as you can tell from the history of our uh M &A's. invest both in operators, but we also invest in technology. We have acquired sporting solutions. We have acquired some payments companies some time ago and other companies. So we have quite a broad appetite when it comes to M &A. Anything we can do to fuel our existing business and make sure that we can continue on a good path is interesting for for our M &A appetite. And Pontus, I think one of the things you're of underlining is that you've seen this before, or that you've led Betson through kind of troubled waters back when you retook leadership. How important is it to kind of think long-term and to actually kind of tell investors and markets that this is just a phase and that you can transition through it? I think that the investors that has been with us for long time, they know where we are heading. They know that we are really hungry to keep on running this company, you know, with a quite forward leaning way. of course, it's any company need to be able to navigate and be flexible in this industry because the industry is changing all the time and you need to flexibility in order to cope with that. And I think we have proven that we can do that. yeah, um the investors that has followed up us for quite some time, they know about this. Pontus, thank you so much and good luck this year. Thank you very much. Bye bye. And we're back with more iGaming Daily Ted after listening to your conversation, your interview with Pontus Lindwell. So a very insightful conversation. I feel like he pushed back on the idea of the headwinds concept that we have been discussing throughout the last few weeks or the last few months even on iGaming Daily about taxation and regulatory headwinds, mostly from the fiscal or the taxation side of things. Um, so what were your impressions on what Pontus had to say about, uh, the, latest results by, by Betson and, and, how this, uh, this new taxation landscape all around the world, uh, impacts on the company. wouldn't call it so much a pushback, but I think that, you know, Pontus is right to kind of recognize that Betson had been one of the fastest growth companies in the sector. and that it's executed its strategy right both in Eastern Europe and South America. Now, as you're aware, yes, conditions are turning. What Pontus has, I think what Benton has is that I think they have kind of a strategic leverage in which they know that they can accommodate adjustments and they're not necessarily changing their strategy. They believe in investment. They believe in scouting new markets and there is kind of a commitment to kind of the this ongoing diversification, think the standing by the business plan as stands. now, course, this uh Q4 was one of the weakest quarter for bets and after a uh long period of time where they had been growing and growing. do you think this a, this is just, and of course, after stocking with Pontus, do you take this as something that was a sudden, that taxation was a sudden impact or had a sudden impact on their operations or What's your take away from this? Look, I do think that there is an element of Betson being the bellwether for the industry, especially for European PLCs. There's no doubt about that. And they're always kind of the early caller for the industry. However, I think in terms of taxation and the issue here is that it is a bottom line impact. with a of a headline adjustment across the board. This is not just going to be suffered by Betzen, but by every European PLC, especially those with kind of greater Western exposures. If it's bad to Betzen, I think it's going be bad to the rest of the pack. Right. And of course, since it's Betzen would be a reference for the rest of the segment, the revenue grew by 8 % in 2025, but still saw a bit and a bit decline. Do you think this is part of a growth first and profit second strategy from then? Do you think that could be like a role that other gambling PLCs may take in the future? Good question. Looking back at my kind of interview and the interviews I've had with other CEOs and post-dice and at the start of the year, one thing that they're being very coy on is the sensitivities and the sensitivities on strategy. and how that's changing between the investor makeup and the actual leadership. It seems that, yes, it's an easy narrative to say that they're just prioritizing profits, but it's how those profits are made and where the cost cutting is being executed across the value chain and on operations. I don't think that investors just look at it and say, well, it's just a case of, you know, cost cutting or sacking staff. They're looking for kind of uh I think we're looking for much greater emphasis on leadership, on strategy, and what is actually enterprising for an iGaming business. At what point do you think that investors can take this or may start demanding slower investment in exchange for margin protection? That was a tough question, Fernando. I wish I knew. I think that just the kind of political dynamic. of and at that top level between the board and investors is changing. And again, this goes back to just what a game changer these tax decisions are, not only in the UK, not only in France and in Sweden, but I mean, look at kind of the adjustments that they've had to undertake in Brazil and Colombia and Peru. These are markets that were thought of as very scalable and in the space of a month or two months, the strategy has had to completely change, right? And with that kind of that investment focus, I think we're apart with like, I don't think, I think we're literally looking at companies now where it's the strongest, but also the smartest will survive. right. That's quite the sound bite there, but before we wrap this episode up, I want to know how are you going to continue following Bedston's like new developments or what Bedston does throughout 2026? taken into consideration their performance, their financial results, and of course, what you just talked with Pontus. For me, primarily I look at the European Bills series, not just Bettson, it's going to be how they kind of reshape and refocus those operating margins, right? Where are they coming from? uh I think kind of the easy narrative here is that, by the way, we've got a World Cup coming in June. I think we've got to have a much better analysis in there. How are they squeezing more margin out of products? What relationships are they reorganizing? Where are they spending money? Where they cutting back? This again points back to I think there's going to be so many big leadership decisions in 2026. The dial has really changed. All right, Ted, thank you very much. And of course, thanks very much Pontus Lindwold for joining Ted Vermeer in this conversation for iGaming Daily. Thank you very much, Anaya MacDonald for producing this episode. I'm Fernando Nott. And to our listeners out there, we'll see you in the next one. Goodbye.