The GVC Holdings brand has looked back on its 2018 as being a “transformational” year in the books. Financial reports that the company has released seem to suggest that the online assets of the company have helped in cancelling out its losses coming from the retail sector within the United Kingdom.
Boss of GVC, Kenneth Alexander made sure to note that the online growth of the company for the entire 2018 period was “very strong”. Unfortunately, on the other hand, costs did see the brand lose a total of £18.9 million prior to any tax.
Looking at it in a different way though, the financial report notes that both net gaming and the total sales figure experienced an increase of 9% last year. Even though this revenue increase is a great thing, seeing them reach £3.57 billion and £3.52 billion respectively, the downfall part came with the £434.2 million that GVC had to pay out for acquisition costs as well as back-tax.
That being said, the profits that the company reaped last year did improve overall, reaching £434.6 million. The previous costs mentioned are marked by GVC as being necessary expenditure, and the outlook for the company still remains positive.
Where the Costs Came From
Last year saw GVC take over the Ladbrokes Coral brand, which operates online and offline sportsbooks, casinos and more. This acquisition took place in March, and it saw GVC hand over £4 billion, ensuring that it holds a much stronger position in the UK gambling market. Of course, this also saw it expand its reach across the online sector, with Ladbrokes Coral also holding several internet-based platforms.
The company would then go on to sign into a deal with MGM Resorts a little later on in 2018, thanks to the PASPA law being revoked in the United States. It also didn’t long for the brand to build itself into a relationship with the popular Playtech developer, allowing it even more room to expand itself online.
GVC has stood alongside other top brands like William Hill, and has categorically stated that betting shops on the high street are destined to end up closing. Yet, the online innovations that the brand has already and will continue to bring to the forefront is where its focus now rests. The company has made mention that the British gambling market remains in a very good position and therefore, gamers are likely to see a great deal more online innovations coming to light.
There has been a slight worry about this coming from retail-based gambling shop workers – naturally, if a store closes, then they stand a big chance of losing their job. Of course, the upside to this is that gamers will have more online opportunities to satisfy their gambling needs with entertaining products. And as the companies operating in the online field increase their output to compete with one another, that can only spell good things for online players.
