Canadian gaming company Amaya Inc. released information about its financial performance during the first quarter of 2015. Revenue amounted to C$340.1 million compared to C$12.8 million posted for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
The considerable increase was mainly attributed to the company’s consolidating B2C revenue, particularly what was generated by PokerStars, with B2B revenue.
Earlier in 2015, Amaya sold several of its non-core assets to focus its attention on online card rooms PokerStars and Full Tilt. The company acquired Rational Group, owner of the two poker platforms, back in July 2014. Amaya reported C$30 million in revenues from the discontinued operations.
EBITDA amounted to C$132.4 million for the reported period. In comparison, the amount of C$46.8 million was posted for the first quarter of 2014. EBITDA from discontinued operations totaled C$14 million.
Amaya revealed that revenue from its poker products accounted for 94% of its overall revenue. Its newly-introduced casino products accounted for 6% of what was generated during the three-month period ended March 31.
PokerStars signed several sponsorship agreements during the first quarter of the year. Japanese model, actress, and newbie poker player Yuiko Matsukawa as well as poker pros Aditya Agarwal and Kosei Ichinose have joined its roster of sponsored celebrities. Furthermore, PokerStars also launched a LIVE poker room at Saint-Vincent Resort & Casino in Italy.
As for Amaya’s casino operations, several new online games were introduced on the PokerStars platform. Previously, only blackjack and roulette had been offered. Now, PokerStars provides players with more table games, slots, live dealer games, etc. Generally speaking, Amaya’s overall casino revenues grew approximately 75% as compared to what was posted for the first quarter of 2014.
The gaming company launched a beta version of its sportsbook towards the end of this year’s first quarter via its PokerStars platform. It is currently available in several countries on the .com network and is expected to be completed by the end of June. The company announced that the sports betting product will be rolled out in Spain and Italy before the end of this year’s third quarter.
Towards the end of March, both PokerStars and Full Tilt were awarded licenses by the UK Gambling Commission to provide their services on the territory of the United Kingdom.
David Baazov, Chief Executive Officer and President of Amaya, commented that the company made “multiple strategic marketing investments”, which were partially driven by its expansion in the casino and sports betting verticals. He also pointed out that Amaya’s customer registrations increased 2.5 million to reach more than 93 million during the first quarter of 2015.
