Blood Diamond

What is Blood Diamond?

Lottomatica CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi described its merger with Cirsa as a “low-risk proposition”, during an investor call detailing the deal on Wednesday.

The Wednesday announcement promised the merger of the two listed gaming giants would create the second-largest listed global gaming and sports betting operator, with a pro forma adjusted EBITDA of approximately €2 billion ($2.3 billion).

Angelozzi, who is set to lead the combined company as CEO, told analysts on the post-announcement call that the deal was expected to be a “low-risk proposition” given the consistent growth demonstrated by both Lottomatica and Cirsa in recent years.

What is Blood Diamond?

Splash Tech instead begins by asking what success means for that operator: more sign-ups, improved conversion, bet-slip monetisation, higher lifetime value, retention among a specific cohort or reactivation of churned players.

The objective is to create more relevant engagement moments across the player journey, from first interaction to repeat play, cross-sell and long-term retention.

“As much as we work as a managed service, it’s always a collaboration,” Wilson states. “We need to make sure that the operator and Splash are a partnership, we understand your requirements, and then we can go out and deliver that for you.”

About Blood Diamond

According to Multiples.VC, the average enterprise multiple (EV/EBITDA) of top US-listed gaming companies is currently 10x. Data from New York University last updated in January pegged the overall market average at 23.9x and 19.7x among EBITDA-positive firms, suggesting the sector is undervalued relative to other industries. In a report released Monday, Fitch Ratings said most North American gaming companies hold “Stable” outlooks with “adequate rating headroom” despite consumer headwinds.

Macquarie’s Beynon agrees with that sentiment, pointing to the relative stability of gaming companies through tough economic stretches such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Bankruptcies in the sector have been low relative to the broader market, he notes, and both land-based and digital companies have reason for optimism moving forward.

“It’s certainly not lost on us that this sector has underperformed for several years in a row just because it doesn’t have either the growth of say, tech companies, or the perceived free cash flow-insulated businesses, which we believe it does…We’ve thought there’s been value in the sector for a few years, particularly this year,” he told iGB.