PointsBet has recorded its first positive quarter since launching in the United States, posting $3.4 million in gambling revenue for the last three months of 2019.
Much of that figure was tipped in by high rollers, who wagered $1.5 million – 44% of total revenue for the quarter – and lost 16.5% of those bets. The Australian betting company admitted those numbers were not sustainable and would even out over time.
PointsBet’s gross revenue figures before bonuses were $8.1 million, meaning the firm shelled out about $4.7 million on sports betting bonuses and promotions in the last quarter of 2019. PointsBet said the money spent on incentives highlighted “an important customer acquisition and retention period”.
There were a little over 21,000 active PointsBet customers in the US in the last quarter of last year. That is an increase of 17% over the previous quarter.
PointsBet’s market share in the lucrative New Jersey sports betting industry decreased from 6.7% to 5.9%. The company believes that slight drop is directly related to the high percentage of losing bets made by high-stakes customers.
While the majority of the revenue from PointsBet’s US gambling operations came from New Jersey, around 3% of the brand’s total revenue came from its sportsbook in Iowa. It is also expected that the company will have a sports betting product in Indiana by April of this year. The states that are next in line for PointsBet sportsbook launches are Colorado, Illinois, and Michigan. The firm also recently announced it had made a deal with Kansas Crossing Casino to offer online and retail sports betting in Kansas. Currently, PointsBet has access to 12 states.
“PointsBet is well-positioned to take advantage of the growing opportunity in the wider US as other states go live,” the company said in its financial report.
“PointsBet has been investing in building the brand and free-to-play database outside of New Jersey. Not only does this mean PointsBet is going into new states with existing brand recognition but it also assists in PointBet’s market access strategy as we expand across the US.”