Rivalry Corp. (the “Company” or “Rivalry”) (TSXV: RVLY) (OTCQX: RVLCF) (FSE: 9VK), the leading sportsbook and iGaming operator for Gen Z, today announced financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024. The Company also announced Rivalry Token, a native cryptocurrency token that will act as a nexus between Rivalry, Web3, and gamblers. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.

“Our first quarter results saw a return to growth with sequential increases in betting handle, gross gaming revenue, and net revenue,” said Steven Salz, Co-Founder and CEO of Rivalry. “We are also very encouraged by the improvement to net revenue margin experienced in the quarter, hitting an all-time record, proving our strategy is delivering results, and representing a meaningful improvement as compared to the average levels experienced throughout 2023. Additionally, interest in our original casino content continues to build, unlocking B2B revenue opportunities that we are keen to detail more fully in the near future.”

“Today we also announced a decisive move to more deeply tap into the significant global crypto gambling market through Rivalry Token. This represents a meaningful strategic step for Rivalry, complementing our existing approach which focuses on a generation that grew up immersed in gaming and internet culture, and now extending that reach to the crypto community. The Venn diagram of Gen Z, gamblers, gamers, and crypto enthusiasts or crypto curious has an extremely high degree of overlap that we are uniquely positioned to access.”

“Alongside this announcement, we have also released an overhaul of our homepage, a more fulsome crypto wallet experience, and adjusted the onboarding experience for new users to materially reduce friction while maintaining compliance. Together, this represents a meaningful effort to access a higher value crypto gambling cohort, adding more depth and reach to Rivalry’s global network. This comes at an opportune time, as momentum in crypto gambling has been building amongst our target audience and they’ve been gravitating towards it. By expanding our product offering into this segment, it positions us to compete and win as we innovate product and gain access to this higher value customer cohort.”

First Quarter 2024 Highlights

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Betting handle for Q1 2024 was $94.7 million, increasing by $9.6 million, or 11% as compared to Q4 2023.
Gross gaming revenue (“GGR”)2 was $7.7 million in Q1 2024, up $1.3 million, or 20% from $6.4 million in Q4 2023.
Net revenue3 was $4.5 million in Q1 2024, increasing by $1.5 million, or 51% from $3.0 million in Q4 2023. As a percentage of GGR, the Q1 2024 net revenue margin of 58.5% was the highest in Company history, and compares to 45.4% in FY 2023. As a percentage of betting handle, the net revenue margin of 4.7% was the highest of the past five quarters. The improvements reflect ongoing initiatives to increase margins through innovation and adjustments to the product offering.
The Casino segment continues to be a strong contributor, generating 59% of betting handle and 19% of GGR in the quarter. Segment results reflect the ongoing expansion of Rivalry’s casino product line, including the original game Cash & Dash released in the second half of 2023.
Net loss was $5.2 million in Q1 2024, the Company’s narrowest net loss of the last four quarters.
The Company had $9.4 million of cash as at March 31, 2024.4
Rivalry released a basketball same-game-parlay product coinciding with the 2024 NBA playoffs, building on the Company’s growing traditional sports vertical. This has supported both acquisition efforts and net revenue margin enhancement.
The Company also released pre-made-parlays, driving meaningful customer interest and improving sportsbook hold.
Rivalry released shareable bet slips during the quarter, introducing a social feature to increase user acquisition and community engagement.
Rivalry continues to explore interest in licensing its first-party casino games, accelerating the advancement of its B2B vertical.
The Company is updating its profitability guidance from the first half of 2024 to by the end of 2024.
Rivalry Token

Rivalry has today revealed Rivalry Token, a native crypto token on the blockchain to add increased functionality, economics, and user experiences across the Company’s product suite, continuing Rivalry’s track record of innovation in online betting. The launch of Rivalry Token, anticipated to arrive in H2 2024, represents one of several forthcoming initiatives to position Rivalry in the crypto gambling market and better serve its core audience of under-30 bettors.

“Online gambling is the latest web-based consumer category being increasingly disrupted by blockchain technologies with greater speed, access, and functionality than their legacy counterparts,” Salz added. “Tech-savvy bettors are leading a behavioral shift towards more experiential and crypto-enabled gambling experiences that are taking wallet share from incumbents at an accelerated rate.”

“Rivalry is well-positioned to access the growth opportunity in crypto with a proven product set, a brand entrenched in internet culture, and a captive audience of digitally native users that are driving this economic renaissance. The launch of Rivalry Token, alongside a broader expansion into cryptocurrencies, strengthens our product-market fit among an under-30 audience and positions us competitively to capture a meaningful share of this fast-growing and highly valuable segment of the market.”

Rivalry Token will be a utility token integrated within Rivalry’s product suite – from sportsbook to casino and more – with built-in properties to enhance the customer experience from end-to-end. This introduces a dynamic relationship where every sports wager and casino spin, win or lose, is rewarded with a decentralized asset that delivers meaningful real money utility for the player. The Company expects its token will drive an increase in player engagement, loyalty, and advocacy by establishing more positive economic alignment between itself and users.

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Rivalry has today launched a pre-farming campaign called PLAY-2-EARN, where users can begin accumulating interim token points through site activity and eventually social media which will be converted into Rivalry Tokens later this year.

Following the official launch, Rivalry Token will be available for players to use on Rivalry in all of the Company’s active markets excluding Ontario and Australia.

The Company will release more information about Rivalry Token throughout the coming months, including commercial partners, token economics, and more.

Investor Conference Call

Management will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday, May 30, 2024 to discuss the Company’s first quarter 2024 financial results and its expansion into the cryptocurrency space.

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International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that its Tiger and Dragon multi-level progressive (MLP) game debuted in the number-one position on Eilers & Krejcik’s May 2024 US & Canada Game Performance Report in the “Top Indexing NEW Games – Premium Leased & WAP” category. Tiger and Dragon Cash on Reels took the top position by performing at more than 2.8X zone average and Tiger and Dragon Multipliers ranked third for performing at more than 2.5X zone average.

“Building on the tremendous success of IGT’s Prosperity Link and Mystery of the Lamp games, Tiger and Dragon earning this number-one position in Eiler & Krejcik’s May 2024 game performance report validates our commitment to delivering the industry’s best MLP games. Both Tiger and Dragon themes deliver compelling gameplay mechanics, vibrant graphics, and stunning merchandising that provide our casino operator partners with games that players truly love to play,” said Nick Khin, IGT Chief Operating Officer, Gaming.

IGT’s Tiger and Dragon is housed on IGT’s PeakCurve 49 cabinet and features three unique bonuses: Tiger, Dragon, and the combined Tiger and Dragon bonus. The game introduces an entirely new lock-and-respin and reveals a bonus structure featuring money ball symbols with credit values that can combine. In another new game mechanic, when gong symbols on reels land in the same row, monetary winnings are revealed. Adding to the gameplay excitement are the game’s “up arrows” that appear on reels and increase credit values exponentially.

NorthStar Gaming Holdings Inc. released its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.

“In the first quarter we continued our pattern of strong year-over-year growth, highlighted by record total wagers. Our premium customer experience and growing brand awareness are propelling higher player retention, strengthened loyalty and increased player values. These positive trends enable us to spend our marketing dollars more efficiently, contributing to improved operating leverage as the business scales,” Michael Moskowitz, Chair and CEO of NorthStar, said.

Financial highlights for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024:

• Revenue, including managed services fees, net of bonuses, promotional costs and free bets, was $5.9 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 63% over $3.6 million in Q1 2023.
• Total Wagers1 at Northstarbets.ca were $218.0 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 56% compared to $140.2 million in Q1 2023.
• Gross Gaming Revenue at NorthStarbets.ca was $7.0 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 59% over $4.4 million in Q1 2023.
• Gross Margin was $2.2 million in Q1 2024, an increase of 91% over $1.2 million in Q1 2023, and represented approximately 37% of revenue compared to 32% of revenue in Q1 2023.

Recent Operating Highlights:

• Notable year-over-year improvements in key performance indicators (KPIs) included a 42% increase in active players, a 9% decline in cost per acquisition of a customer (CPA), and a 54% increase in estimated 12-month player values.
• Renewed the strategic marketing agreement with Playtech Software Limited, which will contribute services valued at up to $4 million through to October 31, 2024, designed to accelerate player acquisition in Ontario.
• Secured $3 million of short-term financing to fund the Company’s continued growth through an unsecured promissory note to Playtech plc dated April 25, 2024 repayable in one year, or earlier upon completion by the Company of additional financing transactions.
• Recently celebrated the second anniversary of the NorthStar Bets platform, which launched in Ontario on May 9, 2022. Northstarbets.ca has generated more than $1 billion in total wagers1 in its first two years of operations.
• Ongoing roll-out of enhancements to the Company’s “Sports Insights 2.0” content vertical, an initiative announced in February 2024, with recent additions including player injury reports from industry leader RotoWire and a revised content strategy placing a greater emphasis on casino.
• Launched the VIP Elite program to help secure the loyalty and satisfaction of our most active players.
• Introduced branded studios for select live dealer games, prominently showcasing the NorthStar Bets brand and reinforcing the Company’s positioning as a premium offering.
• Continued to strengthen the Casino vertical, which has surpassed 650 games covering all major categories and curated from leading vendors worldwide.

“March was the strongest month of Q1, and we have maintained that momentum into the second quarter. Our team is making regular improvements to our service offering, such as the recent launch of a VIP Elite strategy aimed at the most active players who drive a meaningful share of our results. We have some exciting demand creation activities planned for the coming months along with further innovations to our platform and content. We remain focused on unlocking value for our stakeholders and are excited about the opportunities ahead of us in 2024,” Mr. Moskowitz said.