Bwin.party ekes out small profit despite slide in sports, casino and poker revenue

Online gambling operator Bwin.party digital entertainment eked out a small profit in H1 2015 despite revenue falling across all verticals except bingo.

Total revenue in the six months ending June 30 fell 6.5% to €296.5m but clean earnings rose 2% to €47.3m, resulting in an after-tax profit of €2.9m.

Bwin.party blamed the revenue decline on the lack of a major football tourney like last year’s FIFA World Cup, lower sports margins, a significant decline in poker, plus €5.3m in new value added tax in its top market Germany and €5.1m in point-of-consumption tax in the UK.

Revenue from Bwin.party’s mainstay sports betting vertical fell nearly 13% to €111m, casino was off nearly 5% to €98.4m and poker tumbled 23% to €34m, while bingo was up less than 1% to €27m as increased TV marketing boosted signups by 27%.