(AsiaGameHub) –   Lottomatica’s online gaming segment continued to drive growth in the first quarter, helping the company achieve modest gains in gross gaming revenue (GGR) despite weaker results in sports betting.

Italy.- The operator reported Q1 GGR of €1.25bn, a rise of 2 per cent year-on-year for the period ending 31 March. Profit rose 3 per cent to €602m, while adjusted EBITDA climbed 7 per cent to €236m.

The online segment was the standout performer, with revenue rising 10 per cent year-on-year to €264.7m. This offset a 5 per cent drop in sports betting revenue, which fell to €142.4m. Although betting volumes grew by 11 per cent to €12.4bn, unfavourable payouts weighed on returns.

The operator’s share of Italy’s online market rose by 1.4 points to 31.8 per cent. Its online sports betting share rose by 0.7 points to 32.5 per cent and its igaming share by 1.9 points to 32.2 per cent.

As for the PlanetWin365 (PWO) brand, the rebranded SKS365, which Lottomatica bought for €639m in April 2024, its sports betting share recovered to 9 per cent, returning to pre-migration levels. PWO’s igaming share rose to 5.5 per cent, regaining half of the ground lost during the transition to Lottomatica’s proprietary platform.

CEO and chairman Guglielmo Angelozzi highlighted the company’s position across its markets, stating that Lottomatica is on track to hit the upper end of its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of €940–980m. He also confirmed plans to return up to €1bn to shareholders across 2026 and 2027.

On the investor call, he also downplayed the threat posed by prediction markets, describing them as a “non-issue” due to their illegality in Italy and limited consumer demand. “The product-consumer mismatch continues to be strong. We don’t believe there is market space,” he said.