Australia’s market leading sportsbook, the Flutter-owned Sportsbet, recorded revenue of US$329 million for the three months to 31 March 2024, down 6% year-on-year on a softer racing environment.

However, the result could have been even more subdued were it not for revenue margin increasing by 180bps to 12.9%, with the company citing 140bps of more favorable sports results for the quarter.

This, it explained, mostly offset the racing environment, which has been impacted by Point of Consumption tax increases in multiple Australian states.

According to Sportsbet, actual staking was 19% lower year-on-year, but Adjusted EBITDA declined by only 2% to US$83 million thanks to that higher revenue margin.

Group-wide, parent company Flutter reported a 16% increase in revenue to US$3.40 billion while Adjusted EBITDA grew by 46% to US$514 million. The improvement was driven by expansion of the company’s flagship US sportsbook and online casino brand FanDuel.