PointsBet: Anomaly in NFL Betting Causes Net Win Dip Last Quarter
El corredor de apuestas Johnny Avello de Las Vegas Strip lo expresó de manera acertada hace unas semanas: esta última temporada de la NFL, con el Super Bowl este domingo, fue, desde el punto de vista de las apuestas, bastante desigual en comparación con otras temporadas de la NFL.
At the start of the NFL season, approaching Week 4, the narrative focused on the strong performance of underdogs, indicating it wasn't an ideal moment for bettors placing teasers, money line parlays, or contests. However, Avello mentioned at the time that the circumstances would balance out for gamblers, and they did.
Operators Sense the Pressure
Sportsbooks have been experiencing it everywhere. DraftKings and FanDuel published reports in November cautioning about lower revenue forecasts in the U.S. PointsBet was the most recent to disclose the effect.
In an investor presentation conference call on Friday, Group CEO Sam Swanell discussed the Q2 FY2025 results (Q3 in Canada, ending Dec. 31, 2024), revealing that Canada's total net win was $8.5 million, reflecting an 8% decrease from Q2 FY2024. The net profit from the sportsbook segment was $2.8 million, a decrease of 22% year-over-year, while the igaming segment generated $5.8 million, reflecting a 1% increase compared to Q2 FY2024.
NFL Favorites Prevail
PointsBet’s overall net earnings of $63.7 million CAD were adversely affected, “because of some highly customer favorable outcomes in Canada for NFL and slots,” Swanell informed shareholders. The firm announced that NFL wagering affected net win by $2.9 million, whereas unfavorable variance on igaming slots influenced net win by $1 million.
“This NFL season has been the most customer friendly since the launch of regulated online sports betting, with the highest rates of favorites winning in nearly 20 years,” he added. “On the igaming side we continue to see positive shifts in the composition of our igaming customer base and the overall mix of gameplay shifting towards higher margin slot games. While the higher than expected customer payouts on slots games were a drag on our results in the quarter the higher mix of slots activity that we are seeing is expected to deliver improved performance in H2 and beyond.”
Hopefulness Regarding Alberta
Casino.org contacted PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwel for comments regarding the financial results; however, we have not yet received a response.
PointsBet has been prioritizing the growth of its content portfolio in Canada, introducing three new content providers in the quarter, which increases their catalogue of games to 600.
There’s significant optimism regarding PointsBet and the upcoming launch of a private operator, Ontario-style igaming market in Alberta. Swanell mentioned it during the call, stating it will contribute a “significant amount” to the Canadian market size, and that “it won’t incur a lot of extra costs.”
If the market in Alberta becomes operational when the next NFL season starts – and that’s a significant “if” – it will certainly imply an even greater effect on financial outcomes.
