EXCLUSIVE: Betsson CEO Pontus Lindwall was busy pressing the flesh at ICE Barcelona today, tamping down the negative fall-out of his company’s Q4 Profit Warning, which has seen the value of shares in the Swedish iGaming pace setter fall by some 20 percent in recent days.
Speaking exclusively to iGamingFuture, Lindwall, who has helmed the Scandinavian omnichannel since 2015, said: “It’s to be expected because the Profit Warning was unexpected by the markets.
“The revenues of one of our B2B partners operating in the Turkish market have experienced some turbulence, and this has impacted our profitability.
“Yes. There has been a little bit of a downturn but I’m very optimistic. Overall, the company is in very good condition.”
Turkey Terrorism
Responding to concurrent reports that Turkey’s ruling President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has launched a stinging critique of online gambling, referring to it as decadent and comparable “to terrorism”; and that this too may have impacted market sentiment; Lindwall, one of the most respected leaders in world, responded diplomatically:
“I’m not really following the day-to-day political situation in Turkey.
“Mr Erdoğan’s comments may have had an effect but I don’t know.
“What I do know is that Betsson is in good shape and we are moving forward on track.”
Betsson’s preliminary figures for Q4 2025 reported expected revenue of €304 million (£263.65m), broadly in line with the €307 million (£266.25m) recorded in Q4 2024.
Impact
But operating income (EBIT) is being marked at €53 million (£45.96m), down from €70 million (£60.71m) in the same quarter of 2024.
The news had an instant impact on markets, with the value of Betsson shares falling to SEK101.80 on the NASDAQ Stockholm, down by around 20 percent since the Profit Warning was issued at the end of last week.
Nevertheless, despite the poor results from the as-yet “unnamed” Turkish B2B partner, Betsson final 2025 quarter was still characterised by continued strong customer activity and a higher number of active players compared to the same period last year.
Regionally, Betsson’s iGaming revenue has grown in its western European and Latin American markets, while declining in the Nordics and the CEECA region (Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia).
By product, iCasino remained the largest online gambling vertical; with revenue of €220 million (£190.83m), up from the €214 million (£185.62m) of Q4 2024.
Sportsbook revenue declined to €83 million (£71.99m) from €91 million (£78.93m), year-on-year, with a margin of 8.8 percent compared to 9.8 percent.
World Cup Hopes
But the Betsson Group is hoping for a big boost from the upcoming FIFA World Cup to be hosted in North America, affirmed Lindwall.
“Betsson’s business is diversified and spans across many markets.
“Last year, we made significant investments in product development, which is mainly done with our own employees and leads to higher personnel costs.
“I am optimistic about 2026 where I am especially looking forward to the FIFA World Cup and also to be able to start reaping the benefits of the investments we have made in product development.”
Shift
Betsson’s share of revenue from locally-regulated markets reached a new high of 68 percent during Q4 – up from 60 percent. But it also meant that the company’s gaming taxes grew from €43 million (£37.29m) to €53 million (€45.96m).
And this shift in iGaming revenue mix–featuring a greater contribution from locally-regulated markets, and a lower share from sportsbook and reduced B2B licence revenue–will, of course, weigh on gross margins.
As the old saw says: “No good deed goes unpunished!”
The full report for Q4 2025 is scheduled for publication on Thursday February 5 at 07:30 CET.
Watch this space!
