Raketech has detailed a strong performance across its verticals, identifying a particularly positive trend among its sports betting divisions, which the group has attributed to its acquisitions policy. 

As detailed in its Q4 2021 and full year interim trading report, total revenue for the final quarter of the year reached €11.84 million (2020: €8.46m), a 40% increase on 2020 figures. 

Additionally, the firm recorded an EBITDA increase of 50% to €5.4 million during Q4 (2020: €3.6m), with both the rise in revenue and EBITDA attributed to the firm’s M&A strategy as well as organic growth in new product categories and geographical presence. 

The aforementioned acquisitions strategy in particular was highlighted as driving sports betting revenue, which now accounts for 22% of the group’s total earnings – a 10% increase on the previous year and representing a growth rate of 150% year-on-year.

US sports in particular experienced significant growth during the final quarter, increasing by 149.5% to €2.6 million (2020: €1m) whilst European casino revenue rose by a smaller but still large margin of 27.7% to €9.22m (2020: €7.22m). 

Meanwhile, full year revenue stood at €38.5 million (2020: €29.4m) with EBITDA of €61.15 million (2020: €12m), each representing a respective increase of 31% and 34.2%. 2021 total sports revenue was marked at €6.89 million (2020: €3.39m) and casino at €31.49m (2020: €25m), an uptake of 103.1% and 25.9% respectively. 

Oskar Mühlbach, Raketech CEO, said: “The fourth and final quarter of 2021 was a strong quarter for Raketech, and I am happy to see that we have continued to deliver on our strategic goals of increasing the diversification of our business.”

However, the company did experience difficulties in some areas despite positives revenue for both its sports and casino offerings, with new depositing customers during the year declining by 10.8% and during Q4 11.7%. 

Raketech has asserted that the decrease is due to temporary gambling restrictions in Sweden, the sale of consumer finance assets in 2020 and the targeting of fewer but higher value leads in the fourth quarter, making comparisons with the previous year difficult. 

Additionally, the firm acknowledged that re-regulation in the Dutch market under the KOA Act regime ‘dampened’ its overall network sales to an extent, but maintained that these sales ‘contributed as before significantly to our organic growth’. 

Moving forward, Raktech aims to increase its US investments during Q1 2022, building on its strategy outside the Nordic markets which has seen its revenue from Non-Nordic jurisdictions increase 154.6% to €5.5 million (2020: €1m).

“January set yet another record with revenues amounting to €4.5 million with recent US acquisitions fully accounted for. We expect US revenues to reach up to 20% of total already in Q1, consequently increasing our footprint outside of our Nordic core markets even further, while also increasing sports share of total. 

“With that said, Raktech is geographically, organisationally and technically well positioned in the global igaming affiliation space and I look forward to using this opportunity to increase investments into growth in 2022. 

“The strategically important goals, as set in early 2020 relating to diversification within verticals, technology and geography are essentially delivered and with local resources in place in the US, strong assets on growth markets such as in southern Europe, South America, Canada and India I believe we have a solid growth platform to build on.”