Canada
Rivalry Issues 2023 Business Update
Rivalry Corp., an internationally regulated sports betting, media, and technology company, today issued a letter to shareholders summarizing recent progress and outlining strategic priorities for 2023. The full text of the letter follows. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.
Rivalry Corp. 2023 Business Update
To our Shareholders,
Rivalry experienced a breakout year in 2022, with exceedingly strong performance across the business.The early indicators of sustainable and profitable growth that we demonstrated in October are a positive sign of what’s to come as the business continues to execute its strategic priorities. Having achieved record results every quarter, we believe the prospects for our business are as strong as ever as we kick off 2023.
In 2022 we delivered triple-digit year-over-year growth in both revenue and betting handle, with average month-over-month revenue growth accelerating to 32% through the first 10 months of the year. At the same time, we reduced bonus/promotional spend relative to revenue by over 50% year-over-year, and achieved our first-ever profitable month in October. These results were underpinned by greater product diversification that reduced the impact of seasonality. We’re proud to have finished the year strong and look forward to reporting our full Q4 results.
We have high expectations for 2023, and are confident that it will be another year of record achievements. This shareholder letter provides an update on our business, our place in the industry, and some of the things we’re excited about for Rivalry in 2023.
We are executing against a generational opportunity, and our vision remains clear:
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Become the leader in betting and entertainment globally for the next generation.
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Build the most engaged brand and portfolio of IP in esports betting (original games, content, creators, and more).
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Leverage our technology to innovate on product at every turn, creating a proprietary, interactive, and entertaining betting experience customers won’t find elsewhere.
With an ever-evolving gaming industry and a product suite still in the early stages of fulfilling our vision, we see a huge amount of market opportunity as we continue to trailblaze in this category. We are eager to continue executing on our strategy with financial discipline and scaling purposefully toward profitability.
2022 highlights
We’re proud of our 2022 accomplishments, including:
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Delivering significant growth, including year-to-date betting handle increasing 181% YoY to $186 million, and revenue increasing 130% YoY to $21.7 million in Q3 2022.2
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Continued to build upon the most engaged esports betting brand globally.
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Demonstrating our market leadership in esports betting with 90% of sportsbook handle driven by esports.
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Increasing market share ownership of Millennial and Gen Z consumers, represented by 82% of our active user base being under 30-years old, and an average customer age of 25, approximately a decade younger than legacy sportsbooks.
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Expanding our esports betting product, including the introduction of mobile game titles in March, which has already contributed a meaningful amount of betting handle and strong signs it will carry its momentum throughout 2023.
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Successful expansion into a new product category with the launch of Casino.exe, our proprietary casino interface, which drove immediate impact, contributing 30% of betting handle and 15% of revenue in Q3 2022 with minimal marketing efforts.
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Launching in two new regulated markets: the province of Ontario, Canada, and Australia.
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Best-in-class creative execution, leveraging 100+ brand partners in more than a dozen markets and 20+ owned social media channels to deepen brand awareness and engagement among our target audience, while enhancing customer acquisition and retention.
Notably, these results and signals of sustainable growth are all organic, driven by an overarching strategy that prioritizes great consumer products and brand engagement over flash-in-the-pan trends and promotional spend.
Rivalry’s growing role in betting, esports, and entertainment
Rivalry has created a truly differentiated position within the betting industry that we believe will make a meaningful impact on our financial performance as we scale the business.
The global sports betting industry eclipsed $83 billion in 2022 and is set to grow at a CAGR of 10.2%. Meanwhile, the $197 billion global video game industry is experiencing similar growth with an expected CAGR of 12.9% and expanded generational significance, seeing 87% of Gen Z playing video games weekly among a larger population of 3.1 billion gamers globally. It is at this valuable intersection where Rivalry lives.
Our approach toward attracting the next generation of consumers is different from legacy operators. We scale through word of mouth and organic market entrenchment of brand equity that allows us to operate without a dependency on excess bonusing and player subsidies. This approach helped drive a 50% reduction year-over-year in bonus/promotional spend relative to our revenue, supporting our below-market cost of customer acquisition and further reducing our reliance on linear net new spend for growth. This is continuing to create the operating leverage that has set Rivalry on a path toward profitability.
Gaming and internet culture guides this successful player acquisition strategy, and allows us to engage with a deeply valuable and nuanced demographic of users that legacy operators aren’t equipped to serve. There is tremendous value gained by participating in these communities and cultures, building lasting brand affinity among gaming fans who are quickly emerging as the consumer economy of the future, and similarly by attaching ourselves to the pervasiveness and virality of the internet.
In a world where live-service games are the standard and long-term player engagement is the new benchmark for success, Rivalry is poised to play a prominent role in the future of esports. Betting activity translates into the enhanced viewership, engagement, and economics that are directly aligned with the KPIs of esports and gaming stakeholders, and those represent significant long-term tailwinds for our business.
We believe an intimate understanding of these audiences and cultures will shape the next generation of great consumer products. It is with this understanding that Rivalry is able to tap into a global gaming audience and drive betting activity among the 532 million esports viewers worldwide.
We will continue making strategic and measured investments in key areas of the business that we believe set the stage for further growth in 2023, and beyond, with objectives that should ensure our current momentum toward profitability remains intact. Some of the initiatives we expect to drive continued growth in 2023 include:
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Expanding our esports offering with new titles and markets to deepen our core product and attract new customers.
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Continued evolution of our proprietary Casino.exe platform and release of additional in-house developed and third-party games that cater to our core demographic and further establish a gaming experience unique to Rivalry.
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Launch of a mobile app in our regulated markets to increase accessibility of our product.
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Geographic expansion to increase our addressable market and customer base.
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Expanded content and creator partner program to deepen our ability to reach and engage customers, solidifying Rivalry’s leadership position in the esports betting industry.
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Continuing to grow our investor base through proactive capital markets outreach.
These initiatives are designed to advance us toward consistent profitability, through measurable outcomes including:
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Increased product depth and diversity creates greater margin stability and reduces seasonality while increasing average customer spend.
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Increased TAM through new market launches builds greater intrinsic value capture for Rivalry, and thus upside for our investor base.
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Enhanced brand engagement cultivates a dedicated customer base, which organically improves retention and lowers cost of customer acquisition.
I’m extremely proud of the differentiated approach Rivalry has taken from day one and what it has enabled us to achieve, creating a truly distinct product and brand that is driving operating leverage and bearing fruit across the business. As we move into 2023, we’re eager to continue demonstrating the same operational excellence which has enabled us to stand out in a deeply competitive industry.
With that, I wish everyone a happy, successful, and healthy year.
Steven Salz
Co-Founder & CEO
Rivalry Corp.
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Canada
CasinoCanada Started a New Partnership With Ocean Spin by LaLa Stars
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CasinoCanada, the number one gambling guide for players in Canada, is thrilled to announce its new partnership with Ocean Spin a brand under the umbrella of LaLa Stars.
This collaboration marks an exciting step in CasinoCanada’s mission to provide its audience with the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on top gaming experiences.
The partnership agreement will grant LaLa Stars premium visibility across high-traffic sections of CasinoCanada’s website, which has been a trusted source for Canadian players for over 20 years.
LaLa Stars presents itself as an affiliate program that generates double-digit profits by making it easy and enjoyable to promote the brands. The program features a memorable design, a player-centric retention system, top-tier payment options, and game providers. Fast payments, flexible commission models, high-converting brands, powerful reporting, no middlemen, and outstanding conversion make LaLa Stars a popular choice. Additional company benefits are: a revenue share of up to 60%, a CPA of up to €500, hybrid CPA.
Ocean Spin Casino, a brand of LaLa Stars company, despite being quite new on the iGaming market, is a huge online gambling platform where all casino newcomers are greeted with a welcome bonus of 100% for up to €500, and 200 free spins plus one Bonus Crab. It comes as a first deposit bonus for a minimum deposit amount of €20. Sports-betting enthusiasts can also claim a welcome bonus of 100% for up to €100.
Ocean Spin Casino’s games include: gaming machines, roulette blackjack, betting, video poker, bingo, baccarat, jackpot games, and live games.
“We are excited to meet our new partner Ocean Spin Casino, and hope to bring maximum use and value to our community,” said Aleksandra Drigo, Sales Director at CasinoCanada. “This partnership perfectly reflects our dedication to highlighting the best in the gaming industry while offering our audience valuable insights and chances to experience top-notch gaming. We hope for a productive and long-term partnership!”
The partnership is now live, featuring LaLa Stars reviews and exclusive offers on the CasinoCanada website. This collaboration is set to deliver even more thrilling updates, exclusive content, and personalized promotions for the Canadian gambling community.
The post CasinoCanada Started a New Partnership With Ocean Spin by LaLa Stars appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Blueprint Gaming
Blueprint Gaming partners with Rush Street Interactive to further expand Ontario reach via BetRivers platform
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Blueprint Gaming, the leading UK slots developer and member of the Merkur Group, has doubled down on its Canadian footprint following a partnership with industry leading online casino and sports betting company, Rush Street Interactive, in Ontario.
The agreement will see a host of Blueprint’s top performing games made available to a new wave of slot enthusiasts, including its Megaways offering featuring Napoleon Megaways
and Majestic Fury Megaways
, as well as the company’s renowned branded library offering the likes of Rick and Morty
: Strike Back and The Lost Boys
.
Founded in 2012, RSI has become a market leader in online casinos and sportsbooks across the Americas and is set to have its expansive portfolio of slots elevated by Blueprint’s engaging titles featuring sought after mechanics.
The agreement underlines Blueprint’s ever-expanding global footprint and aligns with its strategic roadmap for Canada where its games continue to resonate with players across the country.
Samuel Haggblom, Director of Key Accounts at Blueprint Gaming, said: “The popularity of Blueprint slots continues to grow across Canada and the Americas, and so we are delighted to go live with an industry renowned operator in the region.
“This exciting deal pays further testament to how our games can resonate with players in multiple markets worldwide and we look forward to seeing the response from BetRivers players.”
Richard Schwartz, CEO for Rush Street Interactive, said: “Blueprint Gaming boasts a growing collection of exciting titles, and we are thrilled to be working with them to bring these games to our BetRivers players in Ontario.
“We are happy to partner with Blueprint Gaming and look forward to watching this collaboration flourish.”
The post Blueprint Gaming partners with Rush Street Interactive to further expand Ontario reach via BetRivers platform appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Canada
Nearly half of Ontarian viewers wagering on Super Bowl LIX
![nearly-half-of-ontarian-viewers-wagering-on-super-bowl-lix](https://recentslotreleases.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/144214-nearly-half-of-ontarian-viewers-wagering-on-super-bowl-lix.png)
The latest sports betting survey from the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) shows the majority of Ontarians plan to watch Super Bowl LIX (63 per cent) and almost half of viewers will place a wager on the big game (48 per cent).
Over a third of Ontario adults have initiated a bet after seeing a gambling advertisement online or on TV (35 per cent); more so among populations at-risk for problem gambling, including those under age 44 (42 per cent) and Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) individuals (44 per cent).
Two thirds believe their sports knowledge gives them an edge in predicting outcomes (67 per cent), particularly men and those aged 18-44 (70 per cent). While knowledge and skill does inform a bet, it doesn’t guarantee a win. The misconception that one can accurately predict an outcome can lead to over confidence that their knowledge will give them an advantage and ultimately, a win. This is known as the illusion of control. This false belief paired with persuasive gambling advertising can increase risk, influencing some to bet more than they can afford to lose. More than a third report doing so in the past 12 months (36 per cent).
Key survey highlights
How Ontarians plan to bet:
- 50 per cent will bet online with a sportsbook website
- 30 per cent will bet with family and friends
- 27 per cent will buy sport-based lottery tickets
- 20 per cent will bet in a pool
How much they plan to wager:
- 55 per cent say they will bet $100 or less
- 19 per cent will bet between $101 and $500
- 8 per cent plan to wager more than $500
Number of bets they’ll make:
- 55 per cent will bet a single time on the outcome of the game
- 25 per cent will bet multiple times throughout the game using one sportsbook website
- 15 per cent will bet using several sportsbook websites
“Gambling is random but your plan shouldn’t be,” says Sarah McCarthy, CEO, Responsible Gambling Council. “Perceived knowledge of the game, persuasive advertising, and substance use can all influence how we gamble. A smart plan includes being mindful of the illusion of control and remembering that even with sports expertise, understanding the game, players or stats won’t boost your chances of predicting a random outcome.”
RGC tips for safer sports betting
- Be mindful of the illusion of control. Remember that even with sports expertise a win is not guaranteed and understanding the game, players or stats won’t boost your chances of predicting a random outcome
- Be aware that time spent, and knowledge gained won’t help you “beat the odds”
- Plan before you play – pre-set betting limits and stay within your budget
- Only gamble with money you can afford to lose – never borrow money or use money intended for necessities, like rent/mortgage or food
- Never chase losses by trying to win back what you’ve lost
- Limit your alcohol, cannabis, and/or other substance intake
- Don’t bet if you are upset or stressed
- View sports betting as entertainment, not a way to make money
Detailed survey insights
Half of those who will wager on the Super Bowl say their main reason to bet is to win money (48 per cent), followed by adding to the excitement of the game (47 per cent). About a fifth bet because they believe they are knowledgeable about the teams and players (22 per cent), they feel confident about their chances of winning (20 per cent), or because their favourite team or player is playing (18 per cent). One in ten bets in a mistaken attempt to make up for last year’s losses (10 per cent).
Over half of those who will bet on the big game will place their bets while consuming substances, which are associated with the additional risks of impaired judgement and decision-making (52 per cent). The majority plan to consume alcohol while betting (86 per cent).
While men and women are similarly likely to watch the Super Bowl, men are slightly more likely to place a wager (49 vs 45 per cent). Age and ethnicity also play significant roles. Ontario sports bettors aged 45+ are more likely to bet on the big game (52 per cent) than those aged 18-44 (45 per cent). White individuals are significantly more likely to bet on Super Bowl LIX (54 per cent) compared to BIPOC Ontarians (42 per cent).
Staying onside
Of those planning to bet on the Super Bowl, the most common strategies to manage their gambling risk remain the same as last year: deciding on a pre-set betting limit (37 per cent), betting to have fun and not to make money (31 per cent), and not betting more to recoup losses (25 per cent).
A quarter of all respondents say they always or often feel anger or frustration at losing a bet (25 per cent), while a third sometimes do (36 per cent). This increases when placing bets while using substances. A third report their gambling has caused them to experience health problems, including feelings of stress or anxiety (36 per cent) over the last 12 months, and that they might have a problem with gambling (36 per cent). These rates are highest among BIPOC Ontarians and those aged 18-34.
As a result, more Super Bowl betters are now paying attention to mood and state of mind when they gamble. Encouragingly, a quarter will avoid betting when feeling emotionally distressed (25 per cent) and a fifth will refrain from betting while under the influence of alcohol or drugs (21 per cent).
To help keep online gambling safer, all regulated sportsbook websites have responsible gambling features. Of those who plan to use online sportsbooks to bet during the Super Bowl, a quarter read online information about the odds of winning and how certain games work (25 per cent) or use money limit-setting tools (23 per cent). A fifth use personalized spending reports or take a cooling off period (20 per cent). Notably, a third don’t plan on using any features to help them manage their betting (33 per cent).
Methodology
An online survey of 1,147 Ontario residents aged 18+ was completed between November 22 – December 6, 2024, using Leger’s online panel. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/-2.9%, 19 times out of 20.
The post Nearly half of Ontarian viewers wagering on Super Bowl LIX appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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