bet-at-home swings from black to red in H1 2026 but leadership finds positives

Embattled DACH bookmaker bet-at-home has swung into the red after a €1.8m (£1.5m) profit in H1 2025 turned to a €2.2m net loss for H1 2026. The Frankfurt-listed firm saw gross betting and gaming revenue (GGR) drop 4% to €24.3m year-on-year, as reported EBITDA came in at -€1.85m compared to +€2.34m in H1 2025. Marketing and advertising expenses drastically increased by 26.3% YoY to €10.3m driven by its activity around the 2026 World Cup, which had a “positive impact” on the company’s bottom line. “From the management board’s perspective, an additional positive influencing factor is the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which started in the reporting period,” leadership said. “The forecast remains unchanged, supported by increased customer activity at the start of the FIFA World Cup, despite a decline in new registrations compared with the corresponding period in 2025. “At the same time, the management board takes into account that major sporting events typically generate not only positive momentum for gross betting and gaming revenue, but are also associated with increased marketing expenses. “From the management board’s perspective, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is therefore not only a revenue event, but also a significant marketing event, the economic benefit of which depends largely on the extent to which newly acquired customers can be retained sustainably beyond the tournament.” bet-at-home: market-by-market GGR for both gaming and sports betting remained broadly flat in bet-at-home’s key market, Germany, YoY. In Austria, sports betting GGR dropped 18.4% to €6.04m as the business continued to weather the impact of the increase in Austrian betting tax on stakes from 2% to 5%. Eastern Europe (primarily Slovenia) GGR also remained relatively stable at €1.87m, while Western Europe (primarily Switzerland) GGR was up 13.9% to €3.78m after bet-at-home’s sports betting expansion in the region. Overall, gross betting revenue for the company’s sportsbook operations came in at €20.68m, a drop from H1 2025’s figure of €22.25m. The World Cup also didn’t offset a YoY decline in customer acquisition for bet-at-home, as new registrations in H1 2026 reached 40,716, slightly below H1 2025 (41,519). The firm introduced a new targeted digital marketing in late April to help accelerate registration growth in H2. Online casino GGR, however, was up 26.8% YoY to €3.63m as bet-at-home excelled in that department with its German operations. Future plans give reason for positivity The company also revealed its intentions to launch in Finland next year when the existing monopoly system ceases to exist in July 2027. It is preparing license applications for sports betting and online casino ahead of market entry. It also confirmed that it will be able to continue operating without external capital raises. “The management board expects that the available liquid funds, together with the anticipated cash inflows from operating activities, will be sufficient to continue business operations in the 2026 financial year without additional external financing measures,” the company statement read. bet-at-home is preparing an application for a newly expanded casino licensing regime in Ireland in Q4 this year, while it recently launched the new Casinoro brand under Maltese operating entity bet-at-home.com Europe Ltd to offer online casino in permitted European jurisdictions outside Germany and Austria. It looks like there are still positives to take for the firm despite its declining revenue, profit and EBITDA. Shares in bet-at-home are up 44% this year and now sit at €3.17 as it looks to recover from a major decline in the last decade. Management expects full-year GGR between €46m-€54m, and EBITDA before special items between breakeven and €4m.