Caesars Entertainment reported a 1.7% year-on-year drop in group net revenue to $2.83bn in the second quarter, despite double-digit growth in its digital business.
Revenue in the second quarter was slightly behind the $2.89bn Caesars posted in the same period last year. It was also the second consecutive quarter of year-on-year declines, but revenue in the second quarter was up 3.3% from $2.74bn in the first quarter.
The second quarter was a similar story to the first quarter, in that digital was Caesars’ most positive. Caesars’ digital revenue grew 27.8% during the quarter to $276m. The segment also saw adjusted EBITDA hit an all-time high of $40m, just a year after it turned EBITDA positive for the first time.
Eric Hession, president of Caesars Sports and Online Gaming, said:
Our sports betting segment net revenue grew 19% year over year, driven by a fixed handle and retention rate of 7.2%. Our sports product continues to improve, and our customers are responding positively to our growing mix of parlays and in-game offerings. Caesars Palace Online continues to grow as a percentage of our overall icasino revenue. We are aggressively expanding our product offering with new and exciting gaming content, including exclusively developed Caesars-themed games.
Hession added that the digital segment is likely to see stronger growth in the third quarter and beyond following several recent acquisitions.
These include WynnBet’s Michigan operations in June with its new Horseshoe-branded gaming app, scheduled to launch early in the third quarter. Additionally, Caesars acquired ZeroFlucs, an Australian sports betting technology company, shortly after the quarter ended.
Hession commented:
As we look back into the second half of the year, we remain optimistic about the progress we have made in both sports and icasino. I believe we are well positioned to finish the year strong. We now offer sports betting in 32 North American jurisdictions, 26 of which offer mobile betting.
