German gambling operator mybet Holding SE announced today that it is shutting its poker operations, effective June 30, 2016. The announcement comes soon after the company’s management team noted that it is reviewing its poker activities and the division’s financial performance.
Zeno Osskó, Chief Executive of the gambling group, commented that the contribution from their poker business to the overall revenue figure posted for the previous financial year was relatively minor and that there was no actual contribution to the company’s operating results.
The executive further noted that they do not see any considerable growth potential in the area and this is why the provision of poker options is not expedient for them, particularly given the fact that mybet is to launch its new platform very soon.
All poker customers registered with mybet are currently being informed about the operations’ closure and about the possibilities available to withdraw their funds.
During the previous fiscal year, mybet generated full-year revenue of €63 million. Revenue from poker amounted to a little less than €1 million.
It was in 2014 when the German gambling operator launched a reorientation strategy, with its main focus now being sports betting and casino offering as well as the introduction and successful implementation of its new platform.
The said platform is expected to be launched late in July or early in August. It was first scheduled for a pre-UEFA Euro 2016 introduction but the company needed to complete certain detail work and decided on a later date for bringing the product to life.
During the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the German operator generated revenue of €14.9 million, down 11% year-on-year. Revenue from sports betting – its key segment – decreased 10.6% to €8.2 million. Proceeds from casino and poker amounted to €4.3 million, up 20.9%, with the increase being mainly attributed to growth in the casino segment. Horse betting contributed the amount of €2.3 million to the overall figure posted. As of March 31, the company had a total of 1,533,222 registered gambling customers.
It attributed the general decrease in revenue to the recently introduced tax and regulatory changes in Greece and the limited appeal of its old platform.
