NorthStar Gaming Holdings Inc. (NorthStar) released its financial results for the first quarter of 2024, reporting significant gains.
The Ontario-based company owns and operates NorthStar Bets, which launched in the Ontario sports betting market in May 2022. The platform collected $218 million in total wagers during the first quarter of 2024, which is a record for the period and a 56% year-over-year increase compared to Q1 2023’s $140.2 million handle.
Gross gaming revenue also enjoyed a substantial spike with Q1’s $7 million representing a 59% YoY increase over the $4.4 million in Q1 2023.
Both figures propelled the company to a 91% increase in gross margin of $2.2 million.
“In the first quarter we continued our pattern of strong year-over-year growth, highlighted by record total wagers. Our premium customer experience and growing brand awareness are propelling higher player retention, strengthened loyalty and increased player values," said Michael Moskowitz, chair and CEO of NorthStar. "These positive trends enable us to spend our marketing dollars more efficiently, contributing to improved operating leverage as the business scales.”
Other highlights
This marks two consecutive quarters of strong results for NorthStar.
The company ended 2023 with what Moskowitz called “our strongest quarter-to-date,” turning in fourth quarter performance highlighted by a $213 million handle and $6.5 million revenue.
Gross gaming revenue attributed to NorthStar Bets was $22.5 million in the full year 2023, marking a 205% increase over the $7.3 million in 2022.
Q1 2024 saw other notable year-over-year improvements to continue this strong momentum. Active player numbers increased by 42% while cost per acquisition of a customer declined 9%. NorthStar also renewed its strategic marketing agreement with Playtech Software Limited, a partnership that is expected to accelerate player acquisition in the Ontario sports betting market.
Playtech participated in a $10.3 million funding round for NorthStar in November last year, building on the $12.25 million it invested in the operator in February 2023.
NorthStar Bets celebrated its second anniversary on May 9, and has already garnered more than $1 billion in total wagers in its two years of operation.
New features
Q1 also saw the rollout of enhancements to the company’s “Sports Insights 2.0” content vertical with a recent addition of player injury reports and a revised content strategy placing greater emphasis on casino.
Its casino vertical surpassed 650 games.
NorthStar also launched the VIP Elite program to help secure the loyalty and satisfaction of its most active players.
