Rivalry CEO and co-founder Steven Salz said the Gen Z-focused casino and betting operator has seen “very motivating early results” from the pre-release of its Rivalry Token crypto offering.
Salz teased the introduction of the Rivalry Token in Q1, when he noted the company had made crypto a core focus of its growth plans.
Reporting its Q2 and half-year results, the company said the Rivalry Token generated CA$1.7m in revenue subsequent to quarter-end and is “expected to remain a revenue stream for the business throughout the remainder of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter.”
“[The] last quarter marked a broader expansion into crypto with the pre-release of Rivalry Token and we have seen very motivating early results,” Salz said.
“Rivalry Token is uniquely positioned to serve a number of our near- and long-term goals to expand our geographic footprint and acquire and retain high-value players, which we are beginning to see signals of.
“In just a few months, Rivalry Token has attracted new customers who are twice as valuable as our average user and marked the most successful reactivation campaign in the company’s history.”
Rivalry Token users are “more active and engaged,” Salz said, adding that the company has an “extensive roadmap” lined up for the offering, including new social-based products set to launch in September.
These will drive “more connected wallets and create engagement loops for players that will extend our momentum in the crypto gambling segment,” Salz said.
Rivalry has also been shifting resources towards VIP players.
“This emphasis on VIP’s marks a course correction of our historical strategy which delivered exceptional outcomes for the vast majority of our player base, but under-indexed on the small percentage that drives the lion's share of revenue in an online gambling business,” Salz said.
“I have extreme conviction that the significantly above-market KPI’s we have driven for that majority of players, led by our obsessive dedication to their success, when now directed toward the smaller percentage of high-value players, that within this industry drives multiple times the value, will lead to a sizeable change in Rivalry’s business outcomes.”
Gross gaming revenue for Rivalry in Q2 dropped by 12 per cent year-on-year to $7.7m, while net revenue climbed by 22 per cent to $4.7m.
As a percentage of GGR, the Q2 2024 net revenue margin of 62.5 per cent was the highest in Rivalry’s history and compares to 58.5 per cent in Q1 2024 and 45 per cent in Q2 2023.
Net loss was $5.4m in Q2, but Rivalry said a $500k interest expense accrued on the convertible debenture that is not due until the end of next year means $4.8m is a truer net loss figure, down from $6.2m a year ago.
The casino segment generated 60 per cent of betting handle and 24 per cent of GGR in Q2.
The operator also expects to enter a licensing agreement for its first-party casino games in the coming months, establishing a new revenue stream for its B2B vertical.
