PokerStars

The Stars Group, which owns some of the world’s biggest gaming brands, including PokerStars, BetStars and Full Tilt, saw revenues jump by 23.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, compared with the same period a year prior.

In the three months to March 31, online poker accounted for 62.6 per cent of revenue while combined casino and sports betting revenues amounted to 34.2 per cent of revenue for the quarter.

Poker revenues in Q1 were US$245.9m, a 12.4 per cent year-on-year rise, primarily driven up by the Stars Rewards loyalty programme, foreign exchange fluctuations and the launch of shared poker liquidity in France and Spain.

Real-money online casino and sportsbook combined revenues for the period were $134.5m, up around 55 per cent year on year, with a fifth coming from sports betting.

The climb in casino and sportsbook revenue was predominantly driven by continued improvements in the group’s casino and sportsbook product offerings, positive impacts of foreign exchange fluctuations and the addition of revenue related to the CrownBet acquisition.

Rafi Ashkenazi, CEO of The Stars Group, said the strong results continued the company’s “organic growth trajectory”.

“We are pleased with the performance of each of our verticals, poker, casino and sportsbook, which are benefiting not only from the continued success of Stars Rewards, but also from our strategy of focusing on the customer and continued improvements to our product offerings,” he said.

“Moving forward, the exceptional foundation of our existing business will be complemented by our acquisitions of CrownBet and William Hill Australia, and expected completion of the Sky Betting and Gaming acquisition.

“These acquisitions will help diversify our revenue base, increase our exposure to regulated markets and transform our combined sportsbook into a second customer acquisition channel,” continued Ashkenazi.

“These new additions will accelerate not only the organic growth we are seeing in our existing business but also our progress towards realising our vision of becoming the world’s favourite igaming destination.”