Playtech Plc’s transition to a solely B2B enterprise hit a glitch during the first half of the year as both revenue and EBITDA from this activity declined between January-June 2025.

The FTSE group’s interim results show a 9% decline in B2B revenue to €347.8m (H1 2024: €382.2m) while EBITDA also dropped 35% to €73.3m (€112.3m), attributed by the group to the revision of its deal terms with Mexican firm Caliente.

Playtech was able to resolve a long-running dispute with Caliente, one of Mexico’s largest gambling groups, in September 2024. The dispute revolved around Playtech’s partnership with the Caliplay brand, which was not paying service fees.

The dispute ended with the duo agreeing to a revised structure to their partnership while Playtech also took out a 30% equity stake in Caliente Interactive. While Playtech has been able to put the legal dispute behind it, it seems that some adjustments are still being made to the revised terms of the deal.

However, Playtech remains confident in its restructuring and re-focus, or perhaps a re-re-focus, as a B2B company. The group stressed that if the revised Caliente deal was discounted, both B2B revenues and EBITDA would have grown 3%.

As of 31 March 2025, the Caliplay agreement was revised, resulting in significantly reduced B2B service fees for Playtech in its role as the primary technology provider. In H1 2025, only €10m in service fees were recognised before the revised terms took full effect, compared to €54m in H1 2024.

The Caliplay partnership will likely face revisions in H2, as the draft budget of the MORENA government has pledged to introduce sin taxes to Mexican gambling, to 50% GGR.

Group-wide performance still suffered, with revenue dropping 10% to €387m (€429.7m) while EBITDA was down 87% from €99.3m to €12.9m as group accounts and comparatives continue to adjust to Playtech standalone transitions.

“These results show the strong start Playtech is making in its transition back to its roots as a predominantly pure-play B2B business,” said Mor Weizer, Playtech CEO.

“I’m very pleased that we have reported earnings ahead of expectations from earlier in the year, reflecting the strong performance across our key markets. Our revised agreement with Caliente Interactive, which completed in March, sets both parties up for continued success in the future.”

Snaitech sale drives Playtech profits

Despite the drop in revenues, Playtech was still able to declare a more than reasonable post-tax profit of €1.6bn, up significantly from €5.9m the year prior. This was almost entirely due to the sale of Snaitech to Flutter Entertainment for €2.3bn.

Proceeds from the sale of Snaitech have been used to pay down bonds repayments of €150m, as Playtech accounts received an initial cash reward of €248m.

The Snaitech was the watershed moment for Playtech’s pivot back to B2B operations, significantly reducing its B2C footprint. As a result its B2C revenue dropped significantly during H1, understandably, from €49.5m to €41m, though EBITDA rebounded from a minus figure of €4.3m to €1.5m.

The winding down of its B2C operations is continuing with HappyBet’s ongoing withdrawal from Germany and now completed withdrawal from Austria, while revenue from Sun Bingo and other B2C activities was also down 17% to €39.9m (€33.2m).

As the company is in a transition period, aforementioned profit came from continuing operations i.e. its B2B activity and proceeds made from the Snaitech sale. Overall, the group declared a loss of €78.1m, up from €55.2m, but is finding confidence in its US and Latin American prospects.

“America remains a core priority given the significant opportunities in the region, and Brazil’s transition to a regulated market represents a key milestone in a high-potential market,” said Weizer.

“We continued to accelerate the execution of our US strategy, with last year’s successful launches translating into strong revenue growth and significant expansion with DraftKings. Demand for our Live offering also continues to grow, with the launch of our innovative partnership with MGM Resorts complementing our existing studio offering.”

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