Inspired Entertainment chief executive and president Brooks Pierce has said the gaming supplier sees expansion potential even as higher gaming taxes prompt rivals to scale back.
Speaking a month after the 19‑percentage‑point increase in remote gaming duty took effect, Pierce said the firm’s UK business remained resilient, as it unveiled a 40% year-on-year (YoY) increase in GGR for April, with revenue up 10%.
“With just over a month of data, the impact we are seeing tracks exactly with what we had forecast,” he said.
“Importantly, despite the step up, we saw our UK interactive revenue grow in April, driven by our continuing share gains.
“Our UK GGR was more than 40% higher than a year ago, offsetting the tax increase and net-net resulting in our revenue growing by more than 10%.
“Where we see others retrenching in the UK market, we see opportunity to continue to grow our share, and we’re committed to the resources to leverage this opportunity.
“Even with the tax headwind, the UK continues to demonstrate strength and resilience,” Pierce added.
Some operators have pulled back from the UK market due to what have been described as “unsustainable tax rises”.
Aristocrat shelved its white-label operation in the UK back in January, while last month Richmond Athletic pulled the plug on ITV Win Bingo & Spins just months after launch.
Operators have also said they would revisit existing supplier relationships with views to cut costs as the tax burden bites.
Inspired Entertainment’s revenue for Q1 was up 15% YoY to $57.2m, with adjusted EBITDA up 29% to $23.7m.
The full-year adjusted EBITDA target range for 2026 was reiterated at $112m to $118m.
Inspired reported market share increases in UK, Greece and North America, with the latter now accounting for 30% of the GGR of the firm’s interactive division.
Commenting on this growth, Pierce said: “This isn’t just driven by content alone, but by a consistent roadmap of high-performing new game releases.
“We’ve also enhanced our account management teams to work more closely with our operator partners on securing prime placements and supporting promotional activity for exclusives as a key part of our offering.”
The chief exec added that growth in other regions was being offset by Inspired’s performance in Brazil, which he described as a “key market”.
For Q1 2026, the interactive division earned $16.7m in revenue, 29.2% of the total, and 49.8% of total adjusted EBITDA. A year prior, the figures stood at 20% and 41.8%, respectively.
Inspired divested its holiday parks business in November last year.
The post Inspired CEO defiant on UK tax rises: “Where we see others retrenching, we see opportunity” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Brooks Pierce remains bullish on projected performance in the UK despite sharp rise in remote gaming duty
The post Inspired CEO defiant on UK tax rises: “Where we see others retrenching, we see opportunity” first appeared on EGR Intel.