Playtech has upgraded its 2025 expectations due to strong North American performance, saying it now anticipates full year adjusted EBITDA to be at least €195m.

The LSE-listed company reported strong performance in both the US and Mexico for the last quarter of the year. The positive update comes as welcome news during what has been a whirlwind few months for the Isle of Man-headquartered business.

Playtech’s name was splashed across various headlines last year after being accused of secretly commissioning a defamatory smear campaign against rival Evolution AB. 

Regarding its finances, Playtech also sold its German B2C arm HappyBet to Pferdewetten AG subsidiary NetX Betting in May 2025 in a deal expected to add around €7m onto its annual turnover figure. 

The FTSE 250 constituent told the London Stock Exchange today that its adjusted EBITDA includes the operating loss of HappyBet and its share of income from associates, but excludes the contribution from Snaitech for the period it was owned by Playtech in FY25.

Snaitech was acquired by Flutter in late April 2025 for €2.3bn after a deal was agreed back in September 2024. 

“I’m delighted with the strong performance we saw at the end of 2025,” said Mor Weizer, CEO of Playtech. 

“We have been steadily investing across our business in the Americas for a number of years, and I’m particularly pleased with our recent progress in the US, as the benefits of our hard work start to accelerate and flow through to profitability. We continue to invest selectively into the US and elsewhere in the Americas, where we see additional growth opportunities. 

“While we remain mindful of wider sector headwinds, I am excited by the momentum we are building and the significant growth opportunity ahead.”

Playtech shares stand firm

The  wider sector headwinds referred to by Weizer include gambling tax increases in major markets like the UK and the Netherlands. 

Playtech is expecting to report €250-300m of adjusted EBITDA in 2026 and has seen its share price rise by nearly 4% in the first 90 minutes of trading today to 291.26p. 

However, this is a significant drop from 12 months ago, when it stood at around 738p. Its stock experienced a notable crash in May after its HappyBet divestment and then again in October, following Evolution’s accusations. 

The business did not deny that it hired Israel private intelligence firm Black Cube to investigate Evolution, acknowledging that it had hired an ‘independent business intelligence firm’. 

It did stick to its guns though, claiming that Evolution “knowingly and deliberately allowed its games to operate in sanctioned jurisdictions and black markets both before and after the report’s submission”, adding that it “misled the public” and that “the truth will prevail”. Little has been said on the matter since October last year, but it seems to have had little negative impact on Playtech’s trading since.