Successful Margin Growth Efforts Drive Jump in Net Revenue; Company Gains Early Traction Among Crypto and High-Value Players with Rivalry Token; Positive Early Signal from VIP Efforts, a Key Area of Strategic Focus
Betting handle of $87.8 million1.
Net revenue of $4.7 million was up 3% from Q1 2024 and up 22% YoY from Q2 2023.
Company achieves record net revenue margin of 62.5%, highlighting the continued impact of its margin enhancement efforts, driving more net revenue per dollar wagered.
Rivalry Token drives new global audience of crypto bettors and high-value players; Token customers exhibiting twice the value of average non-crypto users.
Rivalry Token delivers $1.7 million in revenue subsequent to quarter-end, validating crypto strategy and product potential. Expected to remain a revenue stream for the business throughout the remainder of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter.
Crypto payment and technology development supporting strategy shift toward growing VIP player base; anticipated to deliver growth while maintaining current operational expense levels, driving profitability.
Rivalry Corp., the leading sportsbook and iGaming operator for Gen Z, today announced financial results for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2024. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.
“At Rivalry we have narrowed our focus primarily to two areas that are showing the highest potential for growth in our history: crypto expansion led by tokenization, and VIP’s. Alongside these focused efforts, we are tightly managing working capital, rationalizing our teams, and cutting spend in areas that fall too far outside of these priorities,” said Steven Salz, Co-Founder and CEO of Rivalry. “Our efforts to improve margin are also driving results, achieving record margin levels for two consecutive quarters.”
“Last quarter marked a broader expansion into crypto with the pre-release of Rivalry Token and we have seen very motivating early results,” Salz continued. “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. Behaviorally, we see that Rivalry Token users are more active and engaged, and we are confident in the opportunities being unlocked through this technology. We have an extensive roadmap ahead for Rivalry Token, including new social-based products and games to drive more connected wallets and create engagement loops for players that will extend our momentum in the crypto gambling segment.”
“Rivalry has also been shifting resources toward VIP’s, which is closely aligned with our push deeper into the crypto segment. 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. 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.”
Second Quarter 2024 Highlights
Betting handle for Q2 2024 was $87.8 million, decreasing by $6.9 million or 7% as compared to $94.7 million in Q1 2024, and by $24.4 million or 22% from $112.2 million in Q2 2023. As Rivalry prioritizes margin, it can negatively impact betting handle as players turn over their balances less.
Gross gaming revenue (“GGR”)2 was $7.4 million in Q2 2024, decreasing by $0.3 million or 3% from $7.7 million in Q1 2024, and by $1.0 million or 12% from $8.5 million in Q2 2023.
Net revenue3 was $4.7 million in Q2 2024, increasing by $0.1 million, or 3% from $4.5 million in Q1 2024, and by $0.8 million or 22% from $3.8 million in Q2 2023. As a percentage of GGR, the Q2 2024 net revenue margin of 62.5% was the highest in Company history and compares to 58.5% in Q1 2024 and 45.0% in Q2 2023. As a percentage of betting handle, the net revenue margin of 5.3% was the highest of the past six quarters. The improvements reflect ongoing initiatives to increase margins through innovation and adjustments to the product offering.
The Casino segment continues to be a strong contributor, generating 60% of betting handle and 24% of GGR in the quarter. Segment results reflect the ongoing expansion of Rivalry’s casino product line, including the original game Cash & Dash released in the second half of 2023.
Net loss was $5.4 million in Q2 2024. Net loss includes $0.52 million in interest expense accrued on the convertible debenture, that is not due until the end of 2025. The Company therefore considers the $4.8 million loss from operations in Q2 2024 as compared to $6.2 million in Q2 2023 a better representation of its working capital management.
The Company had $4.6 million of cash as at June 30, 2024.4
Rivalry drove strong upticks in user activity for higher margin product offerings including Pre Made Combos, which has driven over 500,000 wagers since its release in January 2024, supporting ongoing net revenue growth.
Rivalry 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.
Rivalry adjusted its onboarding experience to materially reduce friction for VIP users in global markets while remaining in compliance with regulatory requirements.
The Company maintains its H2 2024 profitability guidance.
Rivalry Token
In May 2024, the Company announced Rivalry Token, a native cryptocurrency to be integrated across Rivalry’s product suite to elevate the overall user experience, expected to launch in H2, subject to a number of market and product related considerations. Prior to the product’s full release, customers have been able to engage with Rivalry Token by connecting their digital wallets, earning rewards through on-site activity, and more recently off-site through a mini-experience called a ‘faucet,’ with more to come in the near future. Since May, Rivalry Token has gained meaningful traction among Rivalry’s user base, drawing a geographically diverse audience of high-value players and creating engagement loops which are driving upticks in site activity.
Subsequent to Q2 2024, Rivalry Token has delivered $1.7 million in revenue5, accelerating the Company’s expansion into the crypto segment. This is expected to remain a revenue stream for the business throughout the remainder of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter.
Rivalry Token is capturing higher value players, where opted-in users are twice as valuable in terms of revenue potential and deposit nearly twice as much as non-opted-in users.
More than half of customers that opted-in to receive Rivalry Token are reactivated users while another 15% are new, marking the Company’s most successful reactivation campaign.
Rivalry Token customers are more engaged users and play consistently during all days of the week with casino driving two-thirds of betting handle.
Rivalry released a Rivalry Token web-based complement product to its on-site pre-farming, called a ‘faucet,’ in mid-August to drive connected wallets and acquire new players. The Company is in the process of developing a social-based product expected to arrive in September to further expand its geographic footprint and audience capture within the crypto segment.
The Company will release more information in the coming months as Rivalry Token continues to develop.