16
Affiliate Monitor Company-by-company Q3 results analysis
GAMBLING . COM GROUP THIRD QUARTER REVIEW
DOWN TO THE WIRE
Gambling . com Group didn ’ t waste time in making its first substantial transaction in its short life as a listed entity .
The deal to buy RotoWire for up to $ 27.5m followed on from its third-quarter results which showed that even without a substantial contribution from the US , the company continued with its organic momentum .
Revenues were up 37 % yearon-year to $ 10.1m but adjusted EBITDA dropped 14 % to $ 3.5m . This growth came despite the disruptions caused by the introduction of new regulations in Germany and the Netherlands .
As with its peers , the group noted that the introduction of a new regime in the Netherlands would be a net positive with a financial benefit flowing through in 2022 . Germany is clearly trickier and GAMB noted it had seen revenue volatility and lower NDC values as a result of the new interstate treaty going live .
However , it is Gambling . com Group ’ s prospects in the US that are garnering the most attention . The RotoWire deal has seen the company snap up RotoWire ’ s largely fantasy sports audience of 17 million unique visitors in the last 12 months and partnerships with over 70 media outlets for content provision .
The operation has 32 full-time staffers and over 150 external contributors and has three revenue streams : subscriptions , media services and advertising . The $ 27.5m price tag works out at a circa 4x multiple to revenues , according to Gambling . com .
On the call announcing the deal , CEO at Gambling . com Charles Gillespie said that though the historical focus of RotoWire has been fantasy sports , the acquisition was “ all about sports betting ” and specifically about growing affiliate revenues . Noting that only 20 % of RotoWire ’ s revenues come from advertising , he said that would expand “ dramatically ”.
“ The main purpose of this acquisition is to accelerate the
“ Everything in our pipeline is very good and our targets continue to move deeper into the pipeline ”
CHARLES GILLESPIE , GAMBLING . COM GROUP growth of Gambling . com Group ’ s sports betting revenues in the US ,” he added . “ It is ripe for substantial growth . We believe we can drive significant incremental traffic via RotoWire ’ s content plus new traffic , leveraging RotoWire in the sports betting area .”
The end game was to “ make RotoWire one of , if not the largest , affiliate marketing sites in the US ”.
TIDYING UP EXERCISE
Attracting less attention was Gambling . com Group ’ s other acquisition , the buyout of USBettingReport . com for an undisclosed sum , which was completed after the third quarter close . Gillespie also suggested Gambling . com Group was on the lookout for further domain name acquisitions and has recently added , in anticipation of potential legislation down the track , BetCalifornia . com and BetTexas . com as well as Scores . com .
He also noted that further acquisitions were likely . “ The party line hasn ’ t really changed since the last conference call ,” he noted . “ We are extremely busy and we have had the great pleasure of looking at a huge number of deals . Everything in our pipeline is very good and our targets continue to move deeper into the pipeline . But there won ’ t be the same amount of delay for the next deal .” iGB Affiliate Monitor