Allwyn International reported a 4% year-on-year increase in total revenue during the third quarter of its 2025 financial year on Wednesday, with CEO Robert Chvatal forecasting further growth in 2026 and beyond as the group prepares to merge with OPAP.
In October, Allwyn announced it would combine with OPAP to create a business worth €16 billion ($18.5 billion). Allwyn will hold a 78.5% economic interest in the new company, with OPAP taking 21.5%.
Allwyn currently owns a 51.78% of the total holding in OPAP through KKCG, its controlling shareholder, which first invested in OPAP in 2013. The merger is expected to close in H1 of 2026.
“For Allwyn, this represents the natural next milestone in our journey, with a public market listing expanding our capital markets access to equity markets and elevating the profile of Allwyn’s global platform,” Chvatal said.
Speaking during the operator’s earnings call Chvatal said these agreements, coupled with the group focusing on establishing Allwyn as a consumer-facing brand, would prepare the business for further growth and strategic process over the coming years.
“We see the introduction of a single brand as an important enabler of our growth strategy, allowing us to connect with new audiences in new and existing markets and to achieve marketing synergies across the group,” he said.
“Our progress so far this year reinforces the strength of our proven strategy and, looking forward, we are well prepared to deliver the next phase of our growth story and further strategic progress.”
M&A drive
This was not the only M&A activity in recent months at Allwyn. In September, it agreed to acquire a majority stake in daily fantasy sports operator PrizePicks. Allwyn will acquire a 62.3% stake in PrizePicks, paying an initial cash consideration of $1.6 billion.
There was also an agreement to acquire a 51% majority stake in Logflex MT Holding Limited, the owner of online sports betting and gaming group Novibet, in H1. In addition, Allwyn will sell land-based casino assets in Germany and Australia and has acquired the remaining minority stake in Greece- and Cyprus-facing online operator, Stoiximan.
Lottery remains king for Allwyn
Breaking down its Q3 results, total group revenue for the three months to 30 September reached €2.20 billion. This was 4% higher than the previous year.
Of this total, €2.12 billion was classed as gross gaming revenue, surpassing last year by 5%. Net revenue for the group in Q3 also climbed 5% year-on-year to €1.02 billion.
Again, lottery drew the most revenue at €551 million, a rise of 7%. Video lottery terminal (VLT) and casino revenue increased 6% to €139 million while sports betting revenue was 3% higher.
Allwyn drew €120 million from iGaming operations, up 2% from 2024. Incidentally, total online net gaming revenue for the quarter reached €343 million, some 8% more than last year. An additional €84 million was noted in revenue from non-gaming activities, which was level year-on-year.
Geographically, Continental Europe remains the group’s primary source of revenue at €729 million, up 6% year-on-year. This covers operations in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece and Cyprus and Italy. Within the region, Allwyn noted a “strong” lottery performance and “solid” growth in sports betting and VLTs and casinos.
In the UK, where Allwyn operates the National Lottery, revenue also increased by 6% to €250 million. Allwyn said digital was a key growth driver, with online gross gaming revenue up 10%, while it was also helped by high jackpots in the EuroMillions and targeted promotional activity.
However, it was North America where growth was most apparent. Revenue for the region was 15% higher at €55 million, helped by the consolidation of Instant Win Gaming stake in September last year.
Customer-friendly sports results hit Q3 earnings
Despite an upward revenue trend across the business in Q3, the same could not be said for earnings. Adjusted EBITDA for the period was 8% lower year-on-year at €374 million.
Allwyn said this was mainly due to a lower contribution from equity method investees, down €36 million from last year. This was driven by Betano, the performance of which was affected by customer-friendly sports results in September.
The group also noted the impact of recurring non-operating items that supported results in the comparative period. Simplification of the group structure on corporate costs increased €14 million year-on-year, hitting earnings this year.
Allwyn did not publish a full breakdown of its bottom-line performance but did reveal data for the year to date. In the nine months to the end of September, total revenue was €6.65 billion, up 6% from last year.
Of this, €6.39 billion went through as gross gaming revenue, 6% more than last year. Net revenue for the period topped €2.99 billion, which was 5% more than at the same point in 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year-to-date came in at €1.09 billion, level with last year’s figure.
OPAP also reports Q3 growth
Just hours before Allwyn released its Q3 preliminary results, OPAP also published its figures for the quarter. These revealed a 6.6% increase in gross gaming revenue to €602.9 million, while net revenue jumped 6% to €409.9 million.
OPAP said the revenue rise was mainly due to the performance of its Tzoker lottery game and “robust” growth from its Powerspin offering.
Lottery gross gaming revenue climbed by 9.8% to €219.6 million, helped by a record Tzoker jackpot during August. Instant and passives revenue was also 10.8% higher year-on-year at €24.9 million, while VLT revenue was up 6.0% to €88.4 million.
There was a slight decline in sports betting revenue, with this down 0.7% to €180.1 million. Again, this was on the back of customer-friendly sporting results that impacted the wider market in September.
As for iGaming, growth showed no signs of slowing down as revenue increased 14.4% to €89.8 million. OPAP referenced “strong demand for gaming experiences” among players as the reason for ongoing growth in this segment.
Uptick in net profit for OPAP
Looking towards the bottom line, gross profit from gaming was 4.8% higher at €253.4 million in Q3. Operating expenses increased 10.9% to €111.6 million although revenue growth meant EBITDA edged up 0.5% to €214.2 million.
Net profit for the quarter topped €127.9 million, an increase of 6.1%. In addition, recurring net profit at OPAP was 2.9% higher at €129.9 million.
For the year-to-date, gross gaming revenue in the nine months to 30 September was 6.5% ahead at €1.76 billion. Net gaming revenue also increased by 6.3% to €1.20 billion.
Other key year-to-date figures include gross gaming profit of €740.4 million, up 6.9%, and higher EBITDA of €612.6 million, a rise of 4.4%. Net profit climbed 6.3% to €361.3 million, with recurring net profit up 4.4% to €363.3 million.
“Overall, profitability has risen in tandem with healthy margins and a solid cash position,” OPAP CEO Jan Karas said. “These positive trends reinforce our confidence in achieving our outlook for FY2025, as well as our broader strategic and business goals.
“In this context, we are working toward a strong finish to the year and are looking forward to operating in 2026 under the new brand of Allwyn, which will mark a new era of growth opportunities, innovation and best-in-class gaming entertainment experiences for our customers.”
Allwyn expects to complete its merger with OPAP during the first half of 2026.