Playtech Forges Ahead in 2020, with a Blue Print for Resilience
Published January 22, 2021 by Lee R
An investor update to close out 2020 by an iGaming giant shines a path to sustenance.
To gain a greater sense of market sustainability and adaptability in these new times, it is important to keep track of iGaming's major private operators.
Signs of Private Growth
Most indications for 2020 are that private operators adapted in 2020 to confirm the resilience and continued expansion of the iGaming sector below the negative headlines and negative macro-balances invoked by the pandemic shutdowns.
Playtech Plays Well
Encouragingly, Brand giant owner Playtech Plc's year-end investor update for 2020 characterised corporate performance as “ahead of market consensus.”
Solid Performance Reported
As an FTSE250 technology group, Playtech Plc anticipates “solid financial performance for 2020” crowned an adjusted EBITDA of “at least €300 million,” while further affirming critical strategic progress in the 2020 year of pandemic economic adversity.
Gaining a Foothold in the US
Despite the challenges, Playtech managed to seize on the greater opportunities the market offered for 2020 through highlights such as entering the booming US sports betting market via New Jersey with new technology agreements with bet365 and Entain.
LatAm Expansion
Playtech increased its LatAm presence through the development of its Mexico market leader Grupo Caliente partnership and a new launch in Colombia with Wplay.
B2B Growth
Operationally, Playtech's B2B unit reported significant growth across casino, live gaming, poker and bingo, while strong B2B gaming growth sustained group performance even while sports B2B units suffered from retail closures and sports interruptions from March of 2020 on.
Snaitech Storms Back
Further, Playtech's bold entry into the Italian market with Snaitech bore out an encouraging comeback in H2 to close out 2020.
Selling Holdings
Playtech also announced success in streamlining technology assets through refocusing on real money gambling, punctuated by the $10 million sale of former holding YoYo Games social gaming unit.
Another Sale on the Horizon
Playtech closed its investor update with confirmation of discussions exploring the sale of another holding: Financials division Finalto.
Playtech Assessment
Overall, Playtech had a hopeful outlook:
“Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose challenges and the macroeconomic outlook remains highly uncertain, Playtech remains well placed to make further strategic and operational progress in 2021.”
Outlook
The iGaming industry would do well to learn from the strategic measures of one of its top companies staying faithful to organisational goals by embracing extant technology and holdings to weather the pandemic disruptions.
