Score Media and Gaming (theScore) is preparing to take bets from Canada online sports betting fans for the first time. The Toronto-based media and gaming company also expects to launch in at least four new US states within the year.
The company is banking on brand recognition to gain a foothold in the Great White North with its theScore Bet Canada app.
Last month, after years of failed attempts, legislation legalizing single-event sports wagering became law. For the first time, Canadians can bet on individual matches legally. Historically, Canadian gamblers could only make parlay-style bets.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, announced it would open online gambling to private operators before the legal change. Shortly after Bill C-218 passed, the provincial government launched iGaming Ontario, the agency responsible for overseeing the expanded market.
Following theScore’s fiscal third-quarter release this week, John Levy, CEO, spoke to analysts about the long-awaited Canadian opportunity.
“With a large and passionate Canadian user base, strong brand identity, and experience operating a powerful mobile betting platform in the US, we are extremely well-positioned to succeed in Ontario and across the country,” reports Yahoo! Finance Canada.
“There is an enormous potential market opportunity in our home province of Ontario, which is expected to be the largest regulated sports betting market in North America by population upon its expected opening later this year,” Levy added.
Money Matters
TheScore first launched theScore Bet, its app-based mobile betting platform, in the US market in September 2019. Now live in fours states, the company predicts it will double that number over the next 12 months.
According to their Q3 financials, theScore’s gaming handle fell to 73 million Canadian dollars for the quarter ending May 31. That’s a dip of CA$8.6 million from Q2’s CA$81.6 million. However, the company set a record with March’s CA$30.8 million take—their largest single month to date.
theScore reported CA$6.43 million in revenue for the third quarter. However, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) came in at a negative CA$21.1 million. Although higher than the CA$8.7 million loss reported for the same period in 2020, it’s not surprising. Additional expenses of an ongoing expansion and the company’s US initial public offering (IPO) contributed to those heavier losses.
Taking control
According to Levy, theScore will mark a major milestone next month, as it fully deploys its proprietary tech stack. Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) approved the internally-developed Player Account Management (PAM) and promotion engine. Applicable state gaming labs have also given their nod. The custom systems offer enhanced user personalization, cross-platform integration capabilities and platform automation. Which Levy believes will drive near and long-term growth.
“From the start, owning and controlling our entire technology stack has been a strategic priority,” Levy said. “Over the past two years, we’ve made great progress toward accomplishing that objective.”
Once fully deployed, theScore also plans to vertically integrate its sportsbook operations with an in-house managed risk and trading service. The transition is expected to happen over the next twelve months with the assistance of Patrick Jay, a gambling industry veteran.
Jay holds an impressive track record leading risk and trading at high-profile properties, including the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Ladbrokes.
“Patrick will play a major role working cross-functionally on all aspects of our sportsbook operations and theScore Bet, including the rollout of our in-house risk and trading,” said Levy. “We are looking very forward to Patrick joining the team in September 2021.”
