Gaming Realms eyes further North American growth after FY22 success

The developer launched in the newly regulated state of Connecticut in the US, as well as both Ontario and Quebec in Canada in 2022, building on its existing presence in major markets including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

North America remained its largest territory for content licensing, with revenue rising by 112.0% year-on-year in the region, and the developer said further regulation of igaming in other states will help drive further growth over the next two years. 

Gaming Realms also expanded its European business with launches in Belgium, Denmark and Spain in FY22, with executive chairman Michael Buckley saying these roll-outs will contribute to the developer’s wider growth plans.

“The distribution of our content has continued to expand on a global level, strengthening our position as a leading supplier of games to the international regulated igaming market,” Buckley said.

“Slingo has also cemented its position as a category in its own right, allowing us to partner with leading games and entertainment brands and immerse them into the Slingo format.

“With a strong pipeline of new partnerships and games set to launch, the outlook for 2023 is encouraging as the company continues to deliver on its proven strategy. It is highly likely that additional states within America will commence the process to regulate igaming within the next two years. 

“This process, coupled with the development of other new markets, will lead to increased distribution of group products.”

Full year

Revenue for the 12 months to 31 December reached £18.7m (€21.3m/$23.0m), up 27.2% from £14.7m in the previous year.

Licensing accounted for £14.9m of all revenue, up 34.2% year-on-year, helping launches in a number of new markets. Content licensing revenue stood at £14.3m and brand licensing £600,000.

Meanwhile, social publishing drew £3.7m in revenue, a 2.8% increase on the previous year, while head office revenue amounted to £23,000 for the 12-month period.

Turning to costs, marketing spend was reduced by 70.0% to $113,799 but operational costs were 34.5% higher at $3.9m as a result of expanding into new jurisdictions in both North America and Europe. Administrative expenses were also up 21.5% to $6.9m for the year.

Expenses were higher across both amortisation of intangible assets and the depreciation of property, plant and equipment, but finance costs were lower and finance income increased.

As a result, pre-tax profit rocketed 218.2% year-on-year to £3.5m, while after taking into account £90,355 worth of income tax payments and a positive foreign exchange impact of £131,432, this left a net profit of £3.7m, up 184.6% year-on-year.

In addition, EBITDA increased 45.1% to £7.4m.

Ongoing growth

Gaming Realms also published an update on its performance in 2023, with revenue for the two months to the end of February up 53.0% to £3.7m. The developer went live with 13 new operators and released three new Slingo games.

“2022 was another exceptional year for the group as we continue with our proven strategy of expanding our Slingo portfolio with new titles and entering new igaming jurisdictions alongside our operating partners,” said Mark Segal, who was appointed chief executive in February. 

“Having grown our portfolio of games to 65 through 2022 and launched with 56 new partners for our Slingo Originals content, we are experiencing our games being enjoyed on a global level.

“As we look ahead to 2023, the year is already off to an exciting start with 13 new launches implemented and new Slingo games, such as Slingo Cleopatra and Slingo Golden Envelope, already proving popular among fans. 

“With our strong foundation built in 2022 already proving fruitful in 2023, we are excited to continue delivering further game launches, new partner deals and expanding our global footprint even further.”