Rivalry announces 70% revenue climb to $21.6M in 2023, unveils 2024 strategic priorities

Canadian sportsbook and iGaming operator Rivalry has released a business update outlining recent progress, last year's financial results, and the company's "strategic priorities" for 2024. 

During 2023, the company reported that its betting handle grew by 127% year-over-year to reach CAD338.1 million to (250.3 million). Additionally, revenue reached CAD 29.2 million ($21.6 million), a 70% increase from the previous fiscal year. 

According to the report, Rivalry reported gross profit up by 175% to nearly CAD 13.2 million ($9.8 million) through Q3 2023, compared to the first nine months of 2022, while marketing spending decreased by 8%.

The operator also achieved record high customer KPIs, including all-time high average handle per customer, average revenue per user, and record low cost of customer acquisition. Product milestones were also delivered, including the release of "an industry-first" same-game parlay product for esports, supporting an improved sportsbook product mix and enhanced margin profile.

In a letter to its shareholders, the company elaborated on its annual business update: "Rivalry’s brand has become a bridge to Gen Z experiences. We’ve proven we can acquire, engage, and retain this demographic in gambling products under our umbrella. The value we’re beginning to unlock from this cannot be overstated."

"We exited 2023 as a substantially diversified company, both geographically and across our product suite, with the strongest customer KPIs in our history. Our esports expertise no longer solely defines us, and our rapid ascent in other segments such as traditional sports, casino, and fantasy outlines the increasingly widening opportunity set we’re realizing as a result of our unrivaled demographic understanding," the report read.

During the year, the company expanded its interactive casino platform, Casino.exe. The platform features four new titles, including Penalty Shootout, Bomb Squad, Wheel of Time and Courier Sweeper. Casino.exe was designed as a virtual interface that allows users to access titles from Rivalry’s third-party casino titles within an interactive online space.

"In roughly a year’s time, casino has grown to nearly 50% of betting handle, growing 141% year-over-year in Q3 2023 without cannibalizing player wallet share," said Rivalry. "Casino.exe, our custom-built platform, has represented a key part of our success in this segment by differentiating Rivalry’s casino offering from the others out there."

The business also developed and launched its second-ever original game, Cash & Dash, which according to the company has "already become one of the most popular and highest-grossing casino titles on its platform."

Also in 2023, Rivalry expanded the creator network with over 100 brand partners and 90M+ aggregate followers, "creating reliable consumer touchpoints to engage our core audience and enabling us to drive growth without the use of excessive bonus and promotional offers," according to the business.

"We are committed to pursuing strategic and well-measured investments in key areas of our business, positioning Rivalry for sustained growth throughout 2024 and beyond. Our objectives are designed to maintain and accelerate our momentum toward profitability. Initiatives and catalysts anticipated to drive results in 2024 include operating leverage and profitability, new original games, casino B2B opportunities, product innovation, player value focus, geographic expansion, and traditional sports expansion," the company concluded.