Bragg Gaming Group Announces Strategic Review Amidst Revenue Growth

The Prague Gaming Group has established a special panel to examine strategic choices for its operations. In the meantime, the provider reported a net deficit of €5 million (£4.3 million/$5.4 million) for 2023, despite a rise in income.

The panel, headed by independent board member Don Robertson, will evaluate all strategic alternatives. This could involve selling the group or its assets, as well as mergers, funding, and further acquisitions, or other strategic choices.

Prague stated that no timeline has been set for the strategic review and no decisions have been made. It added that there is no assurance that any transaction will ultimately be finalized.

The group stated it will provide further updates in due time, while its management will continue to focus on carrying out its strategy and business plan.

Income growth in 2023
The announcement comes as Prague released its results for the 12 months ending December 31, 2023. Income for the period reached €93.5 million, up 10.4% year-on-year, which Prague attributed to the impact of new partnerships and market launches.

Prague has content agreements with major operators such as Betsson, 888/William Hill and PokerStars.

The organization also ventured into fresh markets through collaborations, including Mexico with Caliente and Italy with Microgame.

Furthermore, Bragg stated that it broadened its reach in existing markets with several new games. The group emphasized the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Switzerland as regions of notable expansion in 2023.

In response, Chief Executive Officer Matthew Mazur, who joined last August, commended the effect of Bragg’s ongoing strategic initiatives. He mentioned that the strategy focuses on becoming a content-driven iGaming B2B provider and exercising “cautious” control over expenditures.

“By continuing to expand our higher-margin proprietary and exclusive third-party game collection at a faster pace to a wider range of new partners, we are well-prepared for long-term growth, including top-line income, gross profit, and adjusted EBITDA, as well as enhanced operating margins,” Mazur stated.

Despite new obstacles, the Netherlands is essential for Bragg.
Analyzing the yearly data clearly demonstrates that the Netherlands is a key market for Bragg, and by a significant margin. Revenue in 2023 was €33.6 million, down 8.9% from €36.9 million the previous year.

Bragg stated that it maintains a “leading” position in the nation, with its player account management (PAM) system serving five customers. However, the revenue decrease reflects some concerning reasons.

Bragg said it has encountered difficulties since July 2023 due to heightened competition and new regulations.

Bragg has inked a fresh agreement with BetCity, a subsidiary of Entain, in the final quarter. However, certain stipulations require re-negotiation.

Bragg also mentioned observing sustained expansion in the Czech market and are investigating new avenues to broaden their operations in other global regions utilizing their PAM platform, content aggregation, player engagement tools, and managed services. The Czech Republic is classified as “Other,” and income from this sector surged by 27.3% to €8.4 million.

In Europe, revenue in Malta climbed by 22.6% to €17.9 million, while Croatia witnessed a 43.3% rise to €4.3 million, Belgium expanded by 340.6% to €3.7 million, and Serbia increased by 12.5% to €1.8 million.

How did markets beyond Europe fare?

On a global scale, Bragg also reported some progress. Curaçao is Bragg’s second largest core market, trailing the Netherlands, and revenue climbed by 11.6% to €19.2 million in 2023.

In the United States, revenue also expanded by 17.5%, from €4 million to €4.7 million. Bragg again highlighted that this was attributed to collaborations with new operators, which broadened their overall reach.

“Our worldwide distribution of proprietary and exclusive third-party content is expanding rapidly, particularly with an increasing number of top operators,” stated Mazij. “We anticipate further explosive adoption of these games globally in 2024.”

Over the previous twelve months, our company successfully introduced twenty-nine new online games, encompassing twenty-six European online casino games and fifteen North American online casino games. We anticipate maintaining or surpassing this game release rate in the current year.

Increased expenditures resulted in a net deficit of five million dollars.
However, spending was elevated across the board. The cost of revenue was the primary expense, reaching forty-three point six million euros, an increase of nine point eight percent year-over-year.

Other noteworthy expenditures include fifty point eight million euros in sales, general, and administrative expenses, an increase of eight point six percent. This led to an operating deficit of seven hundred seventy-seven thousand euros, an improvement over the eight hundred twenty-eight thousand euro loss in the previous year.

However, interest and other financial costs totaled two point one million euros, resulting in a pre-tax loss of two point nine million euros, compared to one point nine million euros in two thousand twenty-two.

Bragg paid nine hundred ten thousand euros in income tax and also recorded a negative cumulative foreign exchange adjustment of one point two million euros. Consequently, the net loss for the year reached five million euros, exceeding the one point nine million euro loss in the previous year, with higher costs offsetting revenue growth.

Nevertheless, there was positive news on the adjusted EBITDA front, which increased by twenty-five point six percent to fifteen point two million euros.

Revenue declined in the final quarter
Bragg’s full-year results were affected by a decrease in revenue during the fourth quarter. Revenue in the fourth quarter decreased by one point three percent to twenty-three point four million euros.

The group did not release complete results for the quarter.

In spite of this, the firm did report an operational deficit of €431,000, in contrast to a gain of €162,000 in 2022. Modified EBITDA also decreased by 23.7% to €2.8 million.

Bragg pointed out that both income and modified EBITDA were greater than in the third quarter, while its operational deficit was smaller.

Bragg is hopeful about the future
Looking forward to 2024, Bragg anticipates income and modified EBITDA to increase. Income is projected to be between €102 million and €109 million, which equates to growth of 9.1% to 16.6%, with the middle point indicating growth of 12.8%.

In terms of modified EBITDA, Bragg stated it could be between €15.2 million and €18.5 million. This would equate to growth of up to 21.7%, while the middle point of the range would indicate growth of 10.9%.

“Our strategic plans have positioned Bragg as a key content provider for leading international iGaming operators, setting the stage for continued profitable expansion,” said Mazigi.

“We believe we have the right strategy, financial strength and infrastructure in place to maintain our momentum while putting into action plans that drive cash flow growth and create further value for investors.”

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