The Stars Group reports Q1 revenue of $580m

The Stars Group, a Canadian online gaming and betting company, has announced a year-on-year revenue increase of 47% in the first quarter of 2019, reaching $580m. The adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also increased by 11.6%, reaching $195m.

The UK-facing Sky Bet and Australia-focussed BetEasy acquisitions were cited as key drivers for the positive impact on the group's financial performance. In the UK market, Stars Group made $179m in revenue, which was 31% of the overall group revenue. Sports betting generated $74m in the region, while gaming took $90m. Stars Group completed its $4.7bn purchase of Sky Betting & Gaming in July.

The Australian revenue was $62m, but saw a significant year-on-year increase of 458%. BetEasy was re-launched last year when Stars Group CrownBet merged with William Hill Australia.

The Stars Group's international sector did not experience similarly positive results. Total revenue declined 10% to $340m. Poker revenue declined 13% to $214m, gaming fell 7.3% to $98m, while other areas provided only $7.5m, down 39%. Sports betting was the only vertical to avoid a drop in this market, rising 20% to $20m.

Rafi Ashkenazi, The Stars Group's CEO, said: "Our United Kingdom segment continues to exceed our expectations operationally with record levels of new depositing customers, and an acceleration of growth in QAUs, Stakes and gaming revenue, although this performance was masked in the reported results by a record low Betting Net Win Margin of 5%. As we look at the remainder of 2019, we see opportunities for improved revenue growth, with a deep pipeline of new products, content and offers, leveraging our talent and skills across segments."

On 8 May, Stars Group announced its deal with Fox Sports to provide a national media and sports wagering partnership with the US broadcaster. In addition to the agreement, running up to 25 years, Fox Corporation acquired 14 million newly issued shares in The Stars Group, representing 4.99%.