Horse racing decline hits ATG revenue in H1
On Tuesday, Sweden-facing ATG reported a year-on-year drop in revenue and net profit for the first half of its 2025 financial year, mainly due to a decline within its core horse racing betting business.
Revenue during the six months to 30 June amounted to SEK2.92 billion ($306 million), down 5% from the previous year. ATG also posted a 5% drop in net gaming revenue to SEK2.57 billion for H1.
Of the group’s three core businesses, only sports betting reported an increase in revenue in the period. There was also a double-digit fall in casino revenue.
However, customer numbers remained stable year-on-year at approximately 1.4 million, with CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth maintaining ATG remains the largest gaming company in Sweden.
“Even though the outside world feels more uncertain than in a long time, there is one thing I never doubt, the power of our commitment,” Skarplöth said. “Together, we’ll do everything we can to strengthen trotting and galloping sports and the entire Swedish horse industry.”
How will new Finland JV boost ATG?
Skarplöth accepted that full-year revenue will be lower for FY25, with this, in addition to new tax laws, inevitably impacting bottom line. However, Skarplöth is positive about the future for ATG, highlighting its new online gambling joint venture, Hippos ATG.
Launched in partnership with Suomen Hippos, a Finnish equestrian association, Hippos ATG will offer betting on horse racing as its primary product to players in the competitive Finnish gambling market. It will also offer iGaming and betting on sports.
Subject to the Finnish Parliament passing a gambling reform bill, the country plans to open its market to private operators from January 2027.
In preparation for the planned launch, ATG announced Mikael Bäcke as CEO of Hippos ATG. He told iGB last week that the JV would operate on ATG’s proprietary gaming platform, but it will be commercially separate from the operator.
Sports betting growth fails to offset horse racing decline
Taking a closer look at H1, the headline figure for ATG was the 5% drop in horse racing net gaming revenue. The SEK1.87 billion generated fell short of last year’s SEK1.96 billion total, despite some improvement in Q2.
Sports betting revenue climbed 3% to SEK393 million, with Q1 growth offsetting a decline in Q2. The latter, ATG said, was due to tough year-on-year comps, with Q2 last year benefitting from the early stages of football’s Euro 2024 tournament.
As for casino, revenue in H1 dropped 13% to SEK304 million. ATG put this down to a number of large jackpot wins at the start of the year.
As to where revenue came from, ATG said wagering via digital channels generated SEK2.34 billion of total net gaming revenue in H1. The remaining SEK227 million was attributed to retail locations.
Operations in Sweden were responsible for SEK2.41 billion of all net gaming revenue for the period. Danish activity via its Bet25 brand generated an additional SEK 160 million for ATG.
Net profit falls 22% at ATG
Looking towards the bottom line, ATG again referenced the impact of higher taxes in Sweden. Gambling tax in the country, which is based on GGR, increased from 18% to 22% in July 2024. As such, gambling tax payments jumped from SEK560 million to SEK627 million in H1 of this year.
Operating expenses were slightly lower for the period, although higher tax and less revenue meant operating profit fell by 20% year-on-year. In addition, pre-tax profit – after financial costs – dropped 21% to SEK676 million.
ATG paid SEK26 million in income tax and noted SEK2 million in positive foreign currency translation. As such, it ended H1 with a net profit of SEK652 million, down 22%.
Similar story in Q2
Looking at the latter part of the year’s first half, total revenue for Q2 was 2% lower year-on-year at SEK1.54 billion. Net gaming revenue also declined by 2% to SEK1.39 billion.
Operating profit was down 11% to SEK404 million while pre-tax profit fell 10% to SEK412 million for the three months to 30 June.
After SEK17 million in income tax and a negative SEK1 million foreign currency translation impact, ATG ended Q2 with a net profit of SEK394 million, a drop of 12% year on year.