Betsson AB shares tanked as much as 20% on the Stockholm exchange Wednesday after the Swedish online gambling operator released preliminary first-quarter results showing a 47% collapse in operating profit to €34 million, triggered by a sharp downturn in its B2B licensing segment.
Total revenue for the first three months of 2026 reached €285 million, down 3% from €294 million a year earlier. The B2B licensing line dropped 43% to €51 million from €90 million, reducing its share of group revenue from 31% to 18% in a single quarter. Betsson attributed the decline to a single unnamed B2B customer, widely believed by analysts to be Realm Entertainment, which operates in Turkey's unregulated gambling market under brands including Bets10 and Casino Metropol. Turkey's ongoing crackdown on illegal gambling has weighed on Betsson for consecutive quarters, with B2B revenue already down 13% in Q4 2025 before accelerating to the current 43% drop.
Intraday Loss Exceeds 20%, Second Major Selloff in 2026
On April 9, Betsson shares closed at SEK 90.10, down 14.4% from the previous close of SEK 104.80, after briefly falling more than 20% during the session. This marks the second steep single-day drop triggered by a preliminary earnings release this year, following a 21% plunge in January that led DNB Carnegie to slash its price target from SEK 190 to SEK 120.
CEO Pontus Lindwall said the customer's activity levels had stabilized since December but acknowledged the segment continues to weigh on group performance. He added that several unprofitable business-to-consumer markets are costing the company between €10 million and €15 million per quarter in operating income.
Regional Divergence: Latin America Surges 24% While CEECA Slides 21%
The regional breakdown showed mixed results. Revenue from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Betsson's largest segment and most exposed to its B2B operations, fell 21% to €96 million. The Nordics declined 18% to €31 million. Western Europe grew 9% to €61 million. Latin America posted the strongest gains at 24%, reaching €93 million.
Casino revenue dipped slightly while sportsbook revenue held flat on an improved margin of 8.4% vs 8% a year earlier. Gross margin dropped sharply to 57.6% from 64%, driven by a revenue mix shift away from high-margin B2B licensing toward locally regulated markets with higher gaming taxes. Tax costs rose to €53 million from €45 million.
Betsson noted that the share of revenue from locally regulated markets hit a record 73%, up from 59%, signaling its strategic pivot away from grey-market exposure. The operator also holds Inter Milan's front-of-shirt sponsorship under a four-year deal reportedly worth around €30 million per season, structured through its Betsson Sport infotainment brand to navigate Italy's Dignity Decree gambling advertising ban.
Average daily revenue in the early weeks of Q2 is tracking 9% higher than the same period in 2025, the company said. The full first-quarter interim report is scheduled for April 24.