Gaming

Flexion Q4 Report – 31 December 2021

Published

4 years ago

March 11, 2022

George Miller

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Flexion produces record results: 52% growth in revenue, 63% growth in gross profit and 163% growth in EBITDA

October 2021 to December 2021 performance

Total revenue increased by 52% to GBP 10.5m (GBP 6.9m)*
Gross profit increased by 63% to GBP 1.5m (GBP 0.9m)
Adjusted EBITDA^‡ increased by 163% to GBP 0.33m (GBP 0.13m)
Operating profit increased to GBP 0.63m (GBP 0.06m)
Earnings per share amounted to GBP 1.28 pence (GBP 0.13 pence)
Cash amounted to GBP 14.5m (GBP 12.4m)

April 2021 to December 2021 performance

Total revenue increased by 46% to GBP 26.1m (GBP 17.9m)*
Gross profit increased by 43% to GBP 3.4m (GBP 2.4m)
Adjusted EBITDA^‡ increased by 68% to GBP 0.43m (GBP 0.25m)
Operating result increased by 734% to GBP 0.56m (GBP 0.07m)

Important events during the quarter

Launch of Evony: The King’s Return from Top Games Inc.
Launch of The Ants: Underground Kingdom from StarUnion
Launch of Puzzles & Survival from 37Games
Signing of Mahjong Treasure Quest from Vizor

Important events after the quarter

Strategic investment in mobile game influencer, Liteup Media UG
Alignment of the financial year with the calendar year by closing the current financial year after 9 months in December 2021

* Comparable number for the same quarter of the previous financial year in brackets
‡ The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, finance costs, impairment losses and other income. Adjusted EBITDA (adjusting operating profit for several non-cash items) is used by the Company for internal performance analysis to assess the execution of our strategies. Management believe that this adjusted measure is a more appropriate metric to understand the underlying performance of the Company

Notes from the CEO

What a great quarter we had – our best so far! We entered the 4^th quarter with three new top titles leading up to the important Christmas period and I am really pleased that we managed to launch all of them and benefit from store promotions during the festive season.

Evony: The King’s Return, The Ants: Underground Kingdom and Puzzles and Survival are some of the biggest titles in the market and generated more than USD 40m in Google Play during December. These are now part of our portfolio and contributed to our strong performance in Q4. We experienced 52% growth in quarterly revenue compared with the same period last year and an increase of 46% for the whole year, which was in line with our guidance. The strong performance can also be seen in gross profit and EBITDA, up 63% and 163% respectively.

In 2021, we reached critical mass on the platform, and that’s why we now see a positive effect on our EBITDA for each new game we launch. I am also very happy that we generated GBP 0.6m in net profit for the period partly thanks to the recovery of GBP 0.4m from the impairment write-down we made in March 2020. These titles performed better than expected and are now generating positive contribution.

We added one more leading developer during the quarter, Vizor Games, and we are preparing to launch their title Mahjong Treasure Quest. On the back of our current strong performance and growing portfolio, we are actively phasing out low performing titles. This will help us improve the overall portfolio’s performance and increase the average revenue per game. Our top-tier monthly average has improved from USD 560K in Q3 to USD 730K. This can be seen in our KPI section on page 12.

We have now started to invest in new strategic initiatives within paid user-acquisition, with focus on influencer marketing and performance marketing to support our core business and to expand our footprint into the game services market as previously announced. The plan involves acquisition of talent through investments and acquisitions, but we are also strengthening our development and product teams to support these new initiatives. Our first step into influencer marketing was the investment made in January 2022 in Liteup Media. Liteup Media is a promising German start-up that has set out to disrupt influencer marketing and make it more mainstream and accessible to mobile game advertisers. This investment is attractive to us as we get a foot in the door in influencer marketing, while we have the option to acquire the company.

Looking at the wider market, we can see some clear market trends in favour of new services such as influencer marketing. This is partly due to privacy changes such as deprecation of IDFA by Apple, which makes it more difficult to target and track users. Google have also announced that it will make similar changes adding to the problems for traditional performance marketing. In parallel, we are seeing new demand for influencer marketing from blockchain-based games and NFTs. New marketplaces outside the traditional app stores are evolving for these games, adding to more market fragmentation. This in turn will drive new trends in user acquisition which we want to capitalise on. Other interesting recent moves that will expand our market is Microsoft’s support for Android on Windows 11, through their Amazon Appstore partnership. This project is now publicly launched by Microsoft, and Flexion is already supporting it. In addition, Netflix has entered the overall games market principally to support their core business and recently announced it stepped up its push into gaming by acquiring Next Games, a NASDAQ First North listed game developer.

We are now entering a new financial year and the traditionally weaker Q1 period. Our performance has so far been in line with expectations, we are focusing on growing revenue and audiences for our new top titles. On the back of our strong momentum coming into the new year, we expect our annual revenue to grow with 40-60% and our staff cost by 8-12% during 2022. This growth is driven by our core strategy, while new initiatives are ramping up during 2022. Overall, it should set us up for another strong and exciting year.

I would also like to comment on Flexion’s exposure to the terrible events happening in Ukraine and our thoughts are with all those affected. As a company with business in global markets, we have to date not seen any political events where mobile games have been sanctioned and we do not foresee that happening here either. We are very fortunate that our staff have not been exposed to the region, none of our developer contracts are with Russian companies and our settlement structure is relatively well protected against payment freezes or delays. The risks we see lie within the highly volatile Russian Ruble and the ability of our channel partners to transfer funds out of Russia. So far, the effects on Flexion have been limited and in February less than 10% of our global revenue was generated in the Russian market. The situation is very fluid, and we are monitoring it closely.

Finally, I would like to thank all Flexion staff for a fantastic year and welcome our new colleagues at Liteup Media to the Flexion Group.

Jens Lauritzson – CEO

Crash Games

Bet on Games launches horror-themed crash title Zombie Rush

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2026

Wladimir P.

bet-on-games-launches-horror-themed-crash-title-zombie-rush

Bet on Games, the instant and crash games vertical within the Betcore ecosystem, has launched a new horror-themed crash game called Zombie Rush. The title is now available for global integration via Betcore’s single API, alongside content from TVBET and ElCasino.

Zombie Rush wraps the crash mechanic in a graveyard “survival run” theme. Players decide when to cash out as the multiplier rises, with the round ending when the “crash” triggers.

Bet on Games said the game runs on an “Optimized Math Model” with 97.5% RTP and a “dynamically accelerating multiplier curve.” The release also highlights “Visceral Horror Aesthetics,” linking the crash moment to a “grisly, memorable animation.”

On the feature set, Zombie Rush includes Autoplay and Auto Cash-out. It also adds “Strategic Dual-Betting,” which allows play across two parallel rounds simultaneously.

Betcore is directing partnership and integration inquiries to [email protected]. A gameplay video is available here.

The post Bet on Games launches horror-themed crash title Zombie Rush appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Baccarat

ICONIC21 launches Squeeze Baccarat RNG game with player-controlled reveal

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2026

Wladimir P.

iconic21-launches-squeeze-baccarat-rng-game-with-player-controlled-reveal

ICONIC21 has launched Squeeze Baccarat, a new RNG baccarat title designed around the “squeeze” reveal mechanic more commonly associated with live-table play.

In the game, the player controls the reveal pace, using actions such as peeling back an edge to uncover each card, rather than watching a standard automated animation sequence.

ICONIC21 said the title is fully customisable, including interface and card design, positioning it for operator branding and lobby integration.

Edvardas Sadovskis, Chief Product Officer at ICONIC21, said: “The squeeze is one of those moments every baccarat player is excited about. That slow, deliberate reveal before the big win is what makes it tense. The problem? That feeling almost never survives the jump to RNG. It gets replaced by an animation and the magic is gone.

“We refused to let that happen. Getting the squeeze right in a digital environment is genuinely hard but we successfully managed, and honestly, we’re pretty excited about what came out. Instead of watching it happen, the player controls the reveal themselves.

“Add full brand customisation on top of that, and what you have is something operators can truly call their own. We can’t wait to see what our partners do with it.”

The post ICONIC21 launches Squeeze Baccarat RNG game with player-controlled reveal appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Bichara e Motta Advogados

The iGaming Industry’s New Challenges in 2026

Published

4 days ago

April 21, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

the-igaming-industry’s-new-challenges-in-2026

In an exclusive article for Gaming Americas, Udo Seckelmann, partner in the Gambling & Crypto department at Bichara e Motta Advogados, examines how the Brazilian iGaming market has entered a new phase of maturity following BiS SiGMA South America 2026.

Moving beyond regulatory expectations, the industry now faces real operational, political, and economic pressures, raising critical questions about sustainability, enforcement, and the balance between growth and consumer protection in one of the world’s most dynamic betting markets.

BIS SIGMA 2026 made it clear that the conversation around Brazil’s betting sector has fundamentally changed. The industry is no longer being discussed as a future opportunity shaped by regulatory expectations, but as a functioning ecosystem already subject to real-world pressures. With the framework in force and operators active, the focus has shifted to how the market actually behaves under regulation — and where that framework is being put to the test.

This shift was evident both in the quality of the discussions and in the profile of participants. In past editions, much of the debate focused on the ideal regulatory framework, taxation, and market entry strategies. In 2026, the focus moved toward more sophisticated — and, in many ways, more challenging — topics: regulatory implementation, enforcement, and the balance between growth and consumer protection.

An additional element that permeated many discussions was the recent hardening of political discourse toward the sector. Statements from the President suggesting the potential elimination of the regulated betting market, as well as initiatives in Congress aimed at broadly restricting betting advertising, reveal legitimate concerns about negative externalities but also a concrete risk of public policy being shaped in a way that is disconnected from the newly established regulatory reality.

The criticism here is not directed at the concern for consumer protection — which is undoubtedly essential — but rather at how this debate has been conducted. Prohibitive or overly restrictive measures, particularly in the field of advertising, tend to produce adverse effects already observed in other jurisdictions: reduced channeling capacity toward the regulated market, the strengthening of illegal operators, and a weakening of consumer protection mechanisms themselves.

In this context, advertising should not be viewed solely as a risk factor, but also as a public policy tool. It is through advertising that licensed operators can differentiate themselves from unregulated entities, communicate responsible gambling practices, and operate within auditable parameters. Disproportionate restrictions, in practice, reduce the visibility of those subject to regulation while simultaneously expanding the space for those operating outside it.

Moreover, the instability of political discourse — especially when it flirts with prohibition scenarios after years of efforts to structure a regulated market — creates significant legal uncertainty. Investments made based on a recent regulatory framework are reassessed, compliance costs increase, and the appetite of new entrants tends to decline. Ultimately, this undermines not only the development of the sector but also government revenue and the original regulatory objectives pursued by the Government.

Another key topic discussed during the event was the impact of increased taxation — particularly following the rise in the Gaming Tax — on the competitiveness of the regulated market. There is a legitimate concern that an overly burdensome environment, combined with severe advertising restrictions, may create an economically unviable scenario for licensed operators, once again encouraging migration to the unregulated market.

Another highlight of the event was the debate surrounding the role of technological intermediaries — including market makers in emerging segments such as prediction markets. The expansion of these models raises important regulatory questions: to what extent are existing frameworks sufficient to accommodate these innovations? And when will it be necessary to move toward specific regulatory regimes, potentially under the oversight of authorities such as the securities regulator?

A comparison with previous BIS SIGMA editions clearly demonstrates the sector’s growing maturity. If Brazil was once seen as a major promise, it is now a complex reality that requires fine-tuning and institutional coordination. The agenda has shifted from market opening to governance — now under much more intense political and social scrutiny.

Finally, one aspect that deserves particular attention is the increasing professionalization of all stakeholders involved. Operators, regulators, service providers, and even the broader public debate have evolved significantly. There is now a clearer understanding that the success of the Brazilian market depends on its credibility and long-term sustainability.

Udo Seckelmann
Partner in the Gambling & Crypto department at Bichara e Motta Advogados

The post The iGaming Industry’s New Challenges in 2026 appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.