Esports and sports bookmaker Rivalry has announced record revenues and an all-time high gross profit during its Q1 2023 financial results.
For the quarter, which ended March 31st 2023, Rivalry reported revenues of CAD$12m (~£7.14m) and a gross profit of CAD$5.4m (~£3.21m), the highest figure recorded by the bookmaker in a quarter.
Despite record revenues, the company did still record a net loss of CAD$3.26m (~£1.94m), though this is Rivalry’s lowest loss since Q2 2021. For the same period last year (Q1 2022), the bookmaker recorded a CAD$6.55m (~£3.9M) net loss with CAD$4.77m (~£2.84m) in revenues.
Rivalry’s Q1 2023 net loss can be attributed to the bookmaker’s operating expenses, totalling CAD$9m, with ‘General and Administration’ (CAD$4.47m) and ‘Marketing, Advertising and Promotion’ (CAD$2.91m) expenses taking up the majority of this segment.
In a report analysing its results, Rivalry highlighted that the near CAD$2m increase in General and Administration expenses from Q1 2022 to 2023 was due to its increased headcount, as well as legal and professional fees to support its operations and expansion.
Other interesting figures collated from Rivalry’s Q1 2023 report include the bookmaker’s betting handle totalling CAD$120.2m (~£71.52m), which is up 199% from the same period last year. Moreover, as of March 31st 2023, the company had CAD$13.1m (~£7.79m) in cash and is debt-free.
Rivalry has spent 2023 building on its developments from last year. In particular, last month Rivalry announced a private placement financing round which Rivalry has now revealed raised approximately CAD$7.3m (~£4.34m).
In addition, the bookmaker secured partnerships with the likes of Australian organisation Grayhound Gaming and Brazilian content group Tribo.
Steven Salz, Co-Founder and CEO of Rivalry, commented: “Rivalry’s content and brand strategy is setting the industry precedent for betting entertainment, allowing us to acquire customers profitably and engage them through authentic touchpoints without having to consistently deploy additional marketing and promotional spend for growth.
“It is this approach that is generating breakthrough industry economics, user engagement, and charting a path to profitability for the Company that we are very bullish on.”
Rivalry also highlighted that it reached 1.5m users by the end of Q1, which is an increase of 114% from Q1 2022. According to the company, Millennial and Gen Z consumers represent 97% of its active users.
