The Stars Group Provides First Peek at Financials in a "Stay at Home" World The Stars Group Provides First Peek at Financials in a "Stay at Home" World
Key Takeaways
  • The Stars Group’s increased revenue at online poker and casino in March and into April more than offset declines in its sports betting products.
  • The international segment is still powered predominantly by poker: In 2019, it made up 60% of revenue.
  • Consolidated average daily revenues in the first two weeks of April in the international segment were up a 75%.
  • The group reported that SBG revenue was 30% lower for March, with a precipitous fall of 65% in stakes partially offset by growth in casino.
  • The Flutter merger has been approved by the competition and marketing authorities of the UK, Ireland, Australia and Spain.
  • A shareholder meeting to vote on the merger is scheduled for this Friday.

The Stars Group’s increased revenue in online poker and casino in March and into April more than offset declines in its sports betting products, the group reported in a rare trading update last week.

It comes ahead of its formal Q1 2020 financial results, expected next month, and a shareholder meeting to discuss the proposed Flutter meeting, later this week.

The group says that it expects to report $378 million in revenue in its “international” segment in Q1 2020, growth of 11% on the same period in 2019 and 14% in constant currency.

Throughout last year, TSG suffered declining revenue in its core product line-up, which consists of the dominant PokerStars online poker product and its associated PokerStars Casino and BetStars brands.

The company has blamed this primarily on operational difficulties in “disrupted markets,” where it saw difficulties in payment processing, marketing, and app distribution in countries where it does not hold a local license, like Russia and Norway.

The group said that it “began to see a reduction in the impact of such disruption” this year, with revenue increasing thanks to “underlying growth in customer activity.”

However, there is no doubt that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns and “stay at home” orders across much of the world, has also been a huge catalyst.

According to the operator, March was up 44% year-over-year due to “increased customer activity in its online poker and casino games, particularly through the reactivation of former customers.”