Gambling.com expects January to be best single-month ever, North American revenue to nearly double in 2021

Gambling.com Group announced on Tuesday its preliminary 2021 financial results, while also introducing its 2022 outlook. Based on currently available information, the marketing company estimates that, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, total revenue is in the range of $42.1 million and $42.5 million, with North American revenue growing approximately 90%.

Moreover, net income is expected to be in the range of $12.4 million and $13.1 million. The provider of player acquisition services also anticipated Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $18.2 million and $18.7 million, a margin of 43% to 44%. Meanwhile, free cash flow will be in the range of $7.8 million and $8.5 million.

The preliminary financial report for FY21 is based on information available to the group as of the date of its release, and has not yet been audited by the company’s independent public account firm. The group expects to provide a more detailed update on its financial performance for 2021 and Q4 2021 during its fourth-quarter earnings call, planned “for late March.”

But in addition to sharing its preliminary results for last year, the company also issued an update for January. Revenue performance through the start of 2022 has been “healthy in Europe and particularly strong in North America,” due in large part to the launch of sports betting in New York, on January 8.

Today, the Group announced its preliminary operating and financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021, provided a January business update and introduced its 2022 financial outlook.$GAMB pic.twitter.com/H9UUeI3zp7

— Gambling.com Group (@gambling_group) February 8, 2022

The company announced it would be entering New York prior to the market going live, and will provide marketing services to licensed sportsbooks. In anticipation of the launch, the group developed two New York-specific websites with up-to-date information on sports wagering: NewYorkBets.com and EmpireStakes.com.

As a result of this strong kickoff to the year, the group now expects revenue for January “to be the best single-month performance” in its 15-year history, even before consolidating revenue from RotoWire.com, which was acquired on January 1, 2022.

"The year is off to an incredibly strong start," said Charles Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer of Gambling.com Group. "It is great to see our investments at the end of 2021 start to pay off and help drive strong growth, despite a particularly challenging comparable period in the first quarter of 2021 coinciding with Covid-19 related measures."

The Gambling.com Group is also introducing its outlook for the full year and, based on currently available information, it expects total revenue in the range of $71 million and $76 million for 2022. Meanwhile, Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be in the range of $22 million and $27 million.

"I am delighted with the strength in our underlying business, even before consolidating revenue from RotoWire in January and BonusFinder from February,” Gillespie further commented. “We continue to invest in the business and expect to deliver another year of strong organic revenue growth complemented with additional revenue from the recent acquisitions.”

The takeover of NDC Media, publisher of BonusFinder.com, and related assets is set to support Gambling.com Group's growth and expansion strategy in North America. NDC Media is described as a high-growth, high-margin performance marketing business focused primarily on the online gambling industry in North America, with Canada as its largest market. 

Additionally, the company successfully completed its acquisition of Roto Sports, operator of expert fantasy sports news and advice provider RotoWire.com, in early January for $27.5 million. According to the company, this integration will expand Gambling.com Group’s U.S. presence, and is expected to create immediate accretion to fiscal 2022 earnings. 

Gillespie further stated he anticipates “another brilliant year for Gambling.com Group” based on a series of factors, including the aforementioned acquisitions, the launch of sports betting in new states including New York and Louisiana, the expected launch of a regulated market in Ontario, and the debut of a media partnership with McClatchy.

Signed in mid-January, the partnership with The McClatchy Company, one of the United States’ largest news media companies, is set to provide McClatchy access to the group’s proprietary data science platform, sports betting content team and expertise on how to monetize online sports betting traffic. Gambling.com Group will help the media company leverage its audience reach and provide highly valuable content to capture and monetize high-intent traffic.