Playtech Adjusted EBITDA Rises 77% as US and Canada Revenue Surges

Playtech reported a 77% rise in first-half Adjusted EBITDA to €162.5 million on 10 septiembre de 2026, with revenue from continuing operations up 10% to €425.1 million for the six months ended 30 junio de 2026 as revenue from the US and Canada grew 161% year on year.

The gambling technology group said in its 2026 half-year results announcement that adjusted profit after tax rose to €95.0 million from €16.6 million a year earlier, while reported profit after tax from continuing operations came to €98.1 million against a loss of €78.1 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations was 33.1 euro cents, up from 5.4 cents. Free Cash Flow reached €101.0 million (H1 2025: €6.6 million), and the group ended the half with net cash of €39.2 million, compared with €28.5 million at 31 diciembre de 2025. Group Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 38% from 24%.

Playtech said the results were significantly ahead of analyst expectations prior to its trading update on 9 julio de 2026. The prior-year comparative included Snaitech, whose holding company Playtech sold to a Flutter Entertainment subsidiary for an enterprise value of €2.3 billion, with completion on 30 abril de 2025. The company said H1 2026 is its first full half under its evolved model as a predominantly pure-play B2B business complemented by returns from its investment portfolio.

“Playtech has delivered a first half significantly ahead of our expectations at the start of the year, demonstrating the strength of our technology, the quality of our customer partnerships and the disciplined execution of our strategy,” chief executive Mor Weizer said. He said US performance was driven by the partnership with Hard Rock Digital, with another period of growth in Latin America through the revised agreement with Caliente Interactive.

B2B Growth in the Americas

B2B revenue rose 14% to €394.8 million, or 17% on an underlying basis excluding the impact of the revised Caliente Interactive agreement, and B2B Adjusted EBITDA grew 75% to €128.1 million as divisional margin expanded to 32% from 21%. Underlying B2B revenue from regulated markets increased 21%, and regulated markets accounted for 83% of B2B revenue, up from 81% a year earlier.

Revenue from the US and Canada increased 161% to €56.9 million, or 176% in constant currency, with underlying revenue growth across the Americas of nearly 60%. Playtech said the regional growth was driven predominantly by its Games powered by Past Motor Racing sports-betting product with Hard Rock Bet, offered by the Seminole Tribe in Florida, and said it expects Florida performance to normalise at a more sustainable level in the second half.

Playtech launched in Connecticut, its sixth regulated iGaming state, and rolled out online casino with Fanatics in New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It expanded FanDuel’s online casino and Live products into West Virginia and Connecticut and iPoker into Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, extended DraftKings Live into Connecticut and Bet365 Live into Michigan, and launched its PAM+ platform with online casino and Live at Ember Casino, previously Delaware North, in New Jersey.

Latin America revenue rose 14% on a reported basis and 29% on an underlying basis to €99.9 million, driven by Caliente Interactive in Mexico and Wplay in Colombia, where revenue increased by more than 100% year on year. Playtech reported strong customer acquisition during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The company completed its São Paulo Live studio and said it continues to invest in a major new strategic partnership in Brazil that it expects to sign towards the end of 2026.

In Colombia, the government introduced a 16% national consumption tax on online gambling GGR in marzo de 2026 after the Constitutional Court suspended a 19% VAT on player deposits on 1 January, according to the results statement, which also noted a julio de 2026 tax reform bill proposing to reinstate the 19% VAT on deposits from 2027 if approved. In Canada, Playtech added Ontario launches including with Superbet, and Alberta became a regulated market on 13 julio de 2026.

UK Duty Rise, Live and SaaS

B2B revenue from Europe excluding the UK grew 2% to €104.5 million, or 10% excluding one-off hardware sales in the prior-year period, with growth in markets including Spain and Poland. UK revenue fell 8% to €59.0 million, a decline Playtech attributed to the increase in Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% in abril de 2026 and to customer-specific changes including one operator in-sourcing its self-service betting terminals. Rest of World revenue grew 23% to €8.1 million on performance across South African partners, while revenue from unregulated markets rose 2% to €66.4 million, representing 17% of B2B revenue (H1 2025: 19%).

Live revenue grew 8%, including 12% growth from regulated markets, with around 480 tables globally. Playtech launched an AI-powered Live “Virtual Host” with several customers in julio de 2026 and won the 2026 EGR Live Casino Supplier of the Year award. SaaS revenue rose 20% to €69.0 million and now represents 17% of B2B revenue, supporting more than 2,000 unique brands across around 80 licensees. The Playtech Protect safer gambling product added 13 brands in the half to reach 41 brands across 16 jurisdictions, from 28 brands across 17 jurisdictions at the end of 2025.

B2C revenue fell 22% to €32.0 million while divisional Adjusted EBITDA improved to €0.2 million from a loss of €1.5 million. Revenue from Sun Bingo and other B2C activities decreased 5% to €31.7 million, which Playtech linked to stricter UK regulation in place since H2 2024 and the duty increase, while HAPPYBET revenue fell 96% to €0.3 million as the wind-down continued; the company expects the German business to be fully wound down by the end of 2026.

Investments, Buyback and Outlook

Adjusted investment income rose to €34.2 million from €19.8 million, driven by Playtech’s 30.8% holding in Caliente Interactive, which contributed share of income of €30.1 million. The group received a net cash dividend of €35.6 million from Caliente in the half, which is not included in Adjusted EBITDA. Dividends from Hard Rock Digital totalled €4.4 million (H1 2025: €2.1 million), and the fair value of the HRD equity investment rose to €246.7 million from €178.8 million at 31 diciembre de 2025, more than three times the initial investment of about €80 million in 2023, according to the company.

Playtech recognised a full expected-credit-loss provision of €28.9 million (CAD 46.9 million) against its financial guarantee of NorthStar’s loan facility, following a cease trade order issued by the Ontario Securities Commission and the resignation of NorthStar’s independent auditor. The provision, up from €12.2 million at 31 diciembre de 2025, is excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.

The group repurchased approximately 1.8% of its issued share capital in the half for €24.6 million, taking repurchases since septiembre de 2025 to 10% of issued share capital for about €100 million, with the shares transferred into the Employee Benefit Trust. Adjusted gross cash stood at €338.1 million at 30 junio de 2026, the €225 million revolving credit facility remained undrawn, and the €300 million 2023 bond is repayable in junio de 2028.

In a litigation update, Playtech said a New Jersey Superior Court judge on 5 junio de 2026 denied without prejudice Evolution’s motion to add Playtech plc and Playtech Software Limited to its proceedings, with a hearing on the defendants’ Uniform Public Expression Protection Act motion scheduled for noviembre de 2026. The company said the Spectrum Report commissioned by Evolution has been filed in full on the public court docket, that no claim has been served on Playtech or its subsidiaries, and that it stands behind its decision to commission the 2021 Black Cube report and disputes any allegations of unlawful conduct.

Playtech said it remains on track to deliver full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of more than €270 million, within the €250–300 million medium-term target range set in early 2025. It expects second-half Adjusted EBITDA to be lower than the first half, citing normalising Hard Rock Digital revenue, continued investment in the Brazil partnership and a full half-year of the UK Remote Gaming Duty increase.