Playtech reported a 10% year-on-year decline in revenue during the first half of its 2025 financial year. This was primarily due to its amended agreement with Mexico-facing operator Caliente over their Caliplay joint venture.
Revenue for the six months to 30 June reached €387 million ($452.3 million), Playtech said in its H1 results announcement. This lagged behind the €429.7 million reported in H1 2024.
The new-look agreement with Caliente caused a 9% drop in B2B revenue to €347.6 million, as Playtech stopped receiving an additional B2B services fee during the period. As such, revenue from the joint venture declined during the first half.
Announced in September 2024, the new agreement signalled the end of a dispute between the two companies, with Playtech holding a 30.8% interest in Caliplay as of 1 April this year.
Excluding the impact of the revised agreement, Playtech’s B2B revenue was up 3% year-on-year. Playtech maintained the joint venture is “ideally placed to deliver significant value” for the group in the mid-term.
“Our revised agreement with Caliente Interactive, which completed in March, sets both parties up for continued success in the future,” Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said. “Caliente Interactive paid its first dividends in the second half of the year following a period of strong performance.”
Caliente impact clear to see with B2B decline
Taking a closer look at H1 data, the biggest B2B decline came in Latin America – on the back of the revised Caliente agreement – with revenue in this market falling 32% to €87.7 million.
UK B2B revenue dipped 3% to €64.2 million. Playtech reported growth across new and existing licensees but absorbed a decline in revenue from an operator continuing to insource their self-service betting terminals.
There was better news in Europe, however, where revenue climbed 4% to €102 million. The supplier said this was primarily driven by strengths in Poland, Spain and Switzerland. It added that it continues to scale its product offering across European markets. Rest of world revenue increased 27% to €6.6 million.
Playtech also saw growth in the US and Canada, with revenue jumping 64% to €21.8 million. In the US, revenue more than doubled, due to a combination of increased wallet share with existing licensees and the impact of successful launches with new operators in 2024.
The group went live during the year with several major brands including DraftKings, FanDuel and Delaware North.
Playtech returns to B2B focus with Snaitech sale
H1 also saw Playtech complete the sale of Snaitech to Flutter Entertainment in a deal worth approximately €2.3 billion. This lined up with the supplier’s switch in strategy to become a pure-play B2B supplier.
Also forming part of this new approach was the sale of HappyBet, which went through on 28 May. The German-facing brand was sold to Pferdewetten AG subsidiary NetX Betting, just two months after Playtech began the sale process.
UK affordability regs hit Playtech H1 B2C revenue
As a result of these sales, Playtech H1 B2C revenue totalled €41 million, down 17% year-on-year. As HappyBet was disposed of part-way through H1, Playtech only drew €7.8 million from the business.
The remaining €33.2 million of B2C revenue came from Sun Bingo and other B2C activity. This was 17% lower than the previous year, with Playtech blaming increased regulation including financial vulnerability verifications in the UK. This, it said, resulted in a drop in overall player activity.
While Wiezer said recognised revenue was down, he talked up what he saw as a “strong” performance in H1. He said Playtech transitioning “back to its roots” as a predominantly pure-play B2B business will be of value in the long term.
“We continue to see significant growth opportunities in the market for Playtech,” he said. “I am confident that the combination of our market-leading technology and talented people puts us in a strong position to deliver on this exciting potential.”
Earnings-wise, Playtech reported €12.9 million in EBITDA, which was 87% short of €99.3 million in 2024. However, adjusted EBITDA came in at €91.6 million. Although 16% less than the previous year, this was in line with expectations.
Pre-tax loss for the period hit €58.8 million, while after tax, loss from continuing operations stood at €78.1 million. However, when including €1.65 billion in profit from continuing operations – namely the Snaitech sale – this left a healthy bottom line net profit of €1.58 billion, compared to just €5.9 million in 2024.
But when adjusting this bottom line to discount one-off items, including selling Snaitech to Flutter, net profit was €93.1 million, marginally ahead of €92.3 million last year.
What can we expect for Playtech in H2?
In terms of the rest of the year, Playtech said it has had a “solid” start to H2 with normal seasonality.
It has plans to increase investment for growth in both the US and Brazil. However, it flagged certain headwinds in Brazil and Colombia. In its May trading statement, Playtech highlighted Brazil’s transition to a regulated market, as well as Colombia introducing a temporary VAT charge.
Despite this, it remains on track to deliver FY 2025 adjusted EBITDA ahead of expectations. As such, it has retained its guidance of between €250 million and €300 million for the full year.
“These results show the strong start Playtech is making in its transition back to its roots as a predominantly pure-play B2B business,” Weizer said.
“I’m very pleased we have reported earnings ahead of expectations from earlier in the year, reflecting the strong performance across our key markets.”
Playtech blamed increased regulation including financial vulnerability verifications in the UK for a drop in B2C revenue in H1. New regulations resulted in lower overall player activity, it said.