Gaming group Betsson has decided to withdraw the decision to replace its CEO Pontus Lindwall.
The company stated that based on Betsson's near to mid future priorities, such as the mitigation of the unexpected Dutch decision and its US entry, the newly elected board of directors had decided to revoke the decision announced on September 19 of this year to replace Pontus Lindwall (pictured) as CEO.
In late September this year, Betsson announced it would no longer accept Dutch customers on its international website following guidance from the Dutch regulator that providers who do not actively target the Dutch market without a licence but do serve Dutch players should cease their supply.
At the time the company stated that the decision to stop accepting Dutch customers was expected to impact Betsson's operating profit negatively by approximately SEK25m on a monthly basis, beginning in the fourth quarter 2021. It added that the long-term financial impact would “depend on when a licence from the Dutch market can be granted to Betsson.”
Following yesterday’s decision to revoke the CEO change, Johan Lundberg, chairman of the board of Betsson, said: "We have had several discussions with Betsson's main stakeholders, the Betsson management team, Betsson employees, as well as many of the largest shareholders. Based on those discussions the current board does not believe that it would be good to change leadership now. The company needs to focus on all-important work that lays ahead such as, for example, the unexpected Dutch situation.”
Earlier today the company reported its latest quarterly results, showing overall revenue up three per cent to SEK1,733.3m. Casino revenue decreased by two per cent but sportsbook revenue was up by 24 per cent compared with the same period last year.
"After several records during the previous quarter, we managed to increase revenue by just over three per cent during the third quarter, compared with the corresponding quarter last year, which was a very strong quarter," stated Lindwall.
"At that time, the strong increase in revenue was driven by a surge in demand for digital entertainment. The further increase in revenue is explained by the successes with our sportsbook in combination with good results in the ending rounds of the EURO 2020 and CONMEBOL Copa América and the return of the domestic football leagues from mid-August.
"All in all, this has resulted in sportsbook revenue increasing by approximately 24 per cent year-on-year. The increase in revenue has also benefited from successes in new markets such as LatAm, Croatia and Greece."
