Gaming Realms Posts 12% Rise in First-Half Content Licensing Revenue

Gaming Realms reported a 12% increase in content licensing revenue to £13.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, while total revenue declined 3% to £15.5 million following a sharp reduction in brand licensing income, according to interim results published on September 8, 2026.

The AIM-listed developer and licensor of mobile-focused gaming content said the period-on-period movement in total revenue, from £16.0 million in the first half of 2025, was driven by a reduction in non-core brand licensing revenue after a significant multi-year brand renewal was recognised in full in the prior period.

First-Half Revenue and Earnings

Total licensing revenues fell 2% to £13.8 million, from £14.1 million in the comparative period. Content licensing revenue rose 12% to £13.0 million, from £11.7 million, an increase of 13% at constant currency, while brand licensing revenue declined 71% to £0.7 million from £2.4 million. Excluding the prior-period renewal, the company said underlying brand licensing revenue more than doubled, from £0.3 million in the first half of 2025.

Social publishing revenue declined 9% to £1.7 million, from £1.9 million, a 6% decrease on a constant currency basis.

Adjusted EBITDA excluding brand licensing grew 16% to £5.9 million, from £5.1 million, representing a 40% margin against 37% in the prior period. Total adjusted EBITDA was £6.6 million, from £7.5 million, and EBITDA was £6.1 million, from £6.3 million. The company defines adjusted EBITDA as profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, excluding share option and related charges and significant non-recurring items outside ordinary activities.

Profit before tax was £3.4 million, down from £4.2 million, reflecting the lower brand licensing contribution. Excluding brand licensing, profit before tax increased 47% to £2.7 million, from £1.8 million. Profit for the period was £2.4 million, from £2.7 million, and basic earnings per share were 0.87 pence, against 0.90 pence a year earlier.

Market and Partner Expansion

During the period, Gaming Realms launched content in four new regulated markets: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Peru. The launches took the total number of regulated markets where the group operates to 32 as of June 30, 2026.

The group launched with 22 new operator partners during the period, against 19 in the first half of 2025. The partners included FanDuel in West Virginia and Resorts in Pennsylvania in North America, Kaizen in Peru in South America, William Hill in Spain and Entain in Portugal in Europe, and Betway in South Africa and Sportybet in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya in Africa.

Eleven new games were released during the period, against six in the comparative period: eight unique Slingo titles and three games from the newly established Lucky Lunar slot studio. The releases brought the total first-party games portfolio to 95 titles at June 30, 2026, from 84 at the end of December 2025. Lucky Lunar, which launched its first titles in the first quarter of 2026, broadens the group’s content beyond the Slingo mechanic into traditional slot formats, the company said.

Gaming Realms also launched a further five third-party slot games, bringing the total number of third-party games distributed to 28, from 23 at the end of December 2025. Unique players in the content licensing business increased 88% during the period, and North America content licensing revenue rose 16% over the first half of 2025.

UK Revenue and Gaming Duty

In the UK, the increase in Remote Gaming Duty from 21% to 40% from April 1, 2026 provided a further headwind for the sector following staking limit changes introduced in April 2025, the company said. UK revenues nonetheless grew 3% against the comparative period, and UK gross gaming revenue is now above the levels seen before the 2025 staking limit changes, a performance the company attributed to the resilience of the Slingo brand and product innovations developed in response to regulatory changes.

“Our UK business demonstrated real resilience, growing revenues despite the near-doubling of Remote Gaming Duty. We are now live in 34 regulated markets following our post-period launches in Alberta, Canada and Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, and we expect that investment to convert into an increased games release volume in the second half,” said Mark Segal, Chief Executive Officer.

Cash Position and Share Buyback

The group’s cash balance stood at £13.5 million at June 30, 2026, compared with £17.8 million at December 31, 2025, with the reduction reflecting £6.0 million returned to shareholders through the ongoing share buyback programme. During the period the group repurchased 17,345,561 ordinary shares at a weighted average price of 34.45 pence per share, at a total cost of £6.0 million including associated trading fees, with the shares held in treasury.

Cash inflow from operations was £6.1 million, against £9.1 million in the prior period, while capitalised development costs rose to £4.4 million, from £3.4 million, reflecting the expanded content development programme that began in the second half of 2025. Net assets were £35.7 million, from £39.3 million at December 31, 2025, a reduction the company said reflects the accounting treatment of the buyback. The group remains debt free, and the board is not proposing an interim dividend for the period.

Post-Period Trading and Outlook

Post period-end, core content licensing revenue increased 23% in the two months after June 30, 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. The group launched in two further regulated markets, Alberta, Canada, and Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, taking the total to 34. Gaming Realms said it became one of the first content providers live in Alberta on the opening day of the province’s newly regulated iGaming market.

A further 13 partners have gone live since the period end, including Hard Rock in Ontario and LiveScore in South Africa, and five further games have been released across the Slingo and Lucky Lunar studios.

“The first half results reflect the continued execution of our strategy and the early benefits of the increased investment we made in content and platform capability in the second half of 2025. Core content licensing grew 12% driven by new market launches, 22 new operator partners and an expanding portfolio of Slingo and Lucky Lunar titles,” Segal said.

The board said trading in the first half of 2026 was in line with its expectations and that it remains confident the group will deliver full-year results in line with market expectations. Its stated focus for the remainder of the year is entering additional regulated markets, deepening its presence with existing partners, continuing the release of new Slingo titles, expanding the Lucky Lunar portfolio in the second half of 2026, deepening third-party content distribution through its aggregation platform, and continued investment in platform technology and data analytics.

The unaudited interim report was approved by the board of directors on September 7, 2026, and an analyst briefing was scheduled for 9.30am on September 8, 2026.