Playtech 2025 profit beats expectations but revenue falls short

• Full-year adjusted EBITDA of €197m came in approximately 20% ahead of consensus expectations set at the start of 2025.
• Group revenue of €763.6m missed the analyst forecast of €792m, falling 10% year-on-year.
• The company expects FY2026 adjusted EBITDA to beat current market forecasts and targets €250m–€300m in the medium term.

Playtech has reported its full-year 2025 results, posting group revenue of €763.6m and adjusted EBITDA of €197m in a year defined by the completion of the Snaitech sale, a restructured deal with Caliente Interactive, and accelerating growth across the Americas.

Revenue missed the analyst consensus of €792m and fell 10% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA from operations dropped 37% to €135.2m, also below the €175.1m analyst forecast.

Investment income of €61.8m, generated by Playtech’s 30.8% equity stake in Caliente Interactive, pushed group adjusted EBITDA to €197m, approximately 20% ahead of where consensus stood at the start of the year. That EBITDA upgrade had been signalled in February, when Playtech raised guidance off the back of a strong Q4 in the Americas.

The revenue shortfall is primarily structural. The revised Caliente agreement removed a B2B services fee from revenue and replaced it with equity-based investment income, meaning the headline figure now understates underlying operational momentum.

B2B picture

B2B revenue declined 9% year-on-year to €688.3m, with B2B adjusted EBITDA falling 36% to €141.4m. On an underlying basis, stripping out the Caliente impact, regulated B2B revenue grew 6% year-on-year.

US and Canada revenue rose 61% to €48m, with the Americas region posting underlying revenue growth of 17% year-on-year. Playtech cited expanding live casino studio capacity, new state launches and growing platform wallet share as the primary drivers.

Europe (excluding the UK) grew 4%, with Poland and Spain performing solidly. The UK declined 6%, weighed down by regulatory headwinds and certain contractual changes.

Mor Weizer, Chief Executive Officer at Playtech, said:

“2025 was a year of significant transition for Playtech, as we completed the sale of Snaitech and returned to our roots as a leading, global, predominantly pure-play B2B business. Against this backdrop, we delivered a performance well ahead of expectations earlier in the year, demonstrating the strength of our technology offering. The US delivered a particularly strong performance, with revenue nearly doubling as momentum accelerated across our partnerships.”

B2C and costs

Free cash flow fell 60% to €29.5m, down from €73.1m in FY2024. B2C operations added further drag.

Playtech has launched an operational review of its Sun Bingo white-label business, with CFO Chris McGinnis confirming it is not expected to remain profitable once the UK’s incoming 40% remote gaming duty takes effect in April.

The wind-down of HAPPYBET in Germany is expected to complete during 2026, with adjusted EBITDA losses from that business narrowing to €6.3m in FY2025.

Total B2B costs rose 3% year-on-year, driven by strategic investment in live casino expansion including new studios in São Paulo and Las Vegas, alongside higher general and administrative expenses.

Net cash stood at €29m at year-end, swinging from a net debt position of €142.8m at the end of FY2024, largely due to net proceeds from the €2.3bn Snaitech sale to Flutter.

Legal exposure

Playtech carries a live legal risk not addressed in the results presentation. Evolution has moved to add a Playtech subsidiary to its New Jersey lawsuit after identifying the company as the commissioning party behind a 2021 report prepared by intelligence firm Black Cube.

Playtech has confirmed paying Black Cube €1.8m to investigate Evolution. No claim has yet been formally served on any group entity and no cash provisions have been set aside in the FY2025 balance sheet.

Outlook

Playtech guided for FY2026 adjusted EBITDA to come in ahead of current market expectations, with capex and capitalised development costs forecast at approximately €90m–€100m and an effective tax rate of 25%–28%. Medium-term targets remain an adjusted EBITDA range of €250m–€300m and free cash flow of €70m–€100m.

The company flagged the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Mexico, as a near-term catalyst for Caliente’s business.

Weizer highlighted a potential partnership with Brazilian state-owned bank Caixa Econômica Federal on a betting product, describing the tender as potentially one of the most significant opportunities for Playtech in the coming years, though the launch remains on hold pending political developments in Brazil.

With underlying regulated revenue growing and the US accelerating, the revenue miss looks more like a structural accounting shift than a signal of weakening demand. UK tax headwinds, the Sun Bingo review and the Evolution litigation remain the key watchpoints heading into the first half of 2026.