Codere Online, the sports betting and online casino arm of the Codere Group, has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2021, declaring ‘substantial growth’ across Latin America.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2021, Codere has reported total net gaming revenue of $24.4m, an increase of 43% year-over-year compared to Q2 2020’s $17m.
Mexico and Colombia experienced the biggest increase in NGR YoY, with Mexico growing by 108% to $7.4m (Q2 2020: $3.6m), while Colombia grew by 181% to $1.6m (Q2 2020: $581k). Spain’s NGR YoY improved by 23% to $14.6m (Q2 2020: $11.9m), while the group’s ‘other’ segment NGR fell by 29% to $697k (Q2 2020: $930k).
In June, Codere Online entered into a definitive business combination agreement with DD3 Acquisition Corp. II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, that upon completion will result in Codere Online becoming a public company.
Moshe Edree, who currently provides services as a non-employee independent contractor but will become Codere Online’s Managing Director upon completion of the business combination, stated: “Our second-quarter results reflect the strong revenue trends in Spain and substantial growth achieved across Latin America, with a 43% year-on-year increase in our total net gaming revenue. This performance was driven by a 142% increase in average active players in the second quarter.
“Beginning in the second quarter of 2021, we started to face the expected regulatory headwinds in the Spanish market that have limited our (and all online gaming operators) ability to offer player bonuses and other marketing activities (advertising and sponsorships). Nonetheless, the company has adapted to this new environment and generated substantial revenue growth.
“In Mexico, our second-largest market, we more than doubled our net gaming revenues in Q2 2021, partially due to the impact from Covid on sporting events in Q2 2020, but also on the back of our differentiated omnichannel offering to our customers. Additionally, since we migrated our Mexican online platform in early March, our systems are better prepared to manage the higher customer volume and will offer customers a better, more reliable, user experience.”
In 2021 to date, Codere Online’s NGR has grown overall by 33% to $48.4m compared to the previous year’s $36.5m. Colombia went through the biggest rise YoY by 134% to $2.6m (2020: $1m). Mexico improved by 69% to $14.9m (2020: $8.8m), Spain rose by 19% to $29.7m (2020: $25m), while ‘other’ fell by 25% to $1.2m (2020: $1.5m).
Edree added: “We continue to expand our footprint across Latin America and are eager to deploy our comprehensive marketing strategy once the business combination with DD3 is completed.
“As part of this marketing strategy, we have already strengthened our presence in Latin America through alliances with key football teams in the region, like Rayados in Mexico and River Plate in Argentina, with whom we signed sponsorship agreements in July.”
Oscar Iglesias, current Head of Corporate Development for Codere Group but will become CFO of Codere Online upon completion of the business combination, noted that the total NGR outlook for 2021 is now between $94m and $100m.
Iglesias said: “We are excited about the continued growth of Codere Online and look forward to building on that momentum as a publicly-traded company. The consummation of the business combination will happen a few months later than what we were expecting when we announced the deal, and we now expect that this will happen in Q4 2021.”
Codere Online currently operates in the markets of Spain, Italy, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama and expects to start operating in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in late 2021.
